Time to talk? - the only way is through!

I have sent out a number of e-mails over the past two weeks to my staff and already this week about our continuity of learning expectations and new routine procedures. It has been an overwhelming amount of information to sort through for all involved! But what I want to tell you most about is a great interaction I had today with a teacher from my school @negar_puye, which reminded me about what's really important through all of this.

Here is a a bit of our e-mail exchange which started with my first e-mail of the day to all staff. (I have edited this down to remove some specific information with names for privacy purposes),

"Good morning everyone, I hope you are well…let that sink in. How are you? I’m going to guess that you may feel a bit anxious or overwhelmed about the task ahead of you? But breathe for a moment!...I’m not sure exactly what that routine will look like yet. But that’s okay. We do not need to solve every problem instantaneously right now. Okay!?...your connection with your students and parents is the most important thing right now, so make it count! Don’t worry about having a plan or all the answers right now. Just show them that you care! I’m sure this is extremely uncertain and overwhelming for parents right now as well."

She gave me permission to share her response back to me, 

"I love Under Armour’s branding with 'I WILL' and 'Be Humble, Stay Hungry'.  The past few days, our teams have rallied together with incredible effort, have reminded me of one of their more recent campaigns, 'The Only Way is Through.'  As we face this unprecedented situation, the only way IS through and I know with the care and commitment we share for our kids and each other, WE WILL get through it together."

With in class instruction being suspended in our region, and social/physical distancing measures in place, we are having to make sure more than ever before that our communication is clear, thoughtful and uplifting. Every time we write something down we risk a misunderstanding, especially when emotions are already on edge and uncertainty is in the air. But when we write or receive messages like the one I got today, it can brighten our day and give us hope to keep moving forward. Remaining positive and hopeful is so important when we face unknown challenges, and that needs to come through in all our messaging whether it is an e-mail, text, tweet, phone call, video conference or a whole host of new digital platforms that we are figuring out to use for the very first time! It's not the tool that matters, it's the message that makes a difference!

Our routines are different. At school we have been so used to walking down the hall and into each other's spaces to quickly solve problems or collaborate and share ideas. Often even with just a look we could understand what another colleague was thinking. This is what makes working in a school such an amazing place! The energy and activity in schools is something I already miss, just a few days into this new routine. I miss the kids and parents, and I miss the staff. I miss parking lot duty? Did I just say that?? Everyone is feeling a little in the dark and wondering what will happen and how they are going to do this! So do something to shine a little light!

After this e-mail exchange earlier in the day, I was inspired and recorded a video message for my school community and I tweeted it out to them. I shared, 

"Routines feel a little weird and different right now, and that is okay!"

I think one of the best things we can do right now is to to try and connect with each other and be honest about how we are feeling, because that is what others might also be experiencing. At our school our motto is 'Together We Are Stronger!' If ever there was a time where we needed to live this, now is the time. We all need to know that we are not in this alone!

COVID-19 has forced us to think differently and communicate in different ways, and physically it has separated us. It also seems that everything that we want to do, or the way we used to do it, takes much, much longer. But ultimately everyone, and I mean everyone, just needs someone to talk to and someone who will listen and tell them that everything is going to be okay. And in this way it can also be a time to bring us closer if we focus on reaching out to each other. So, do you have time to talk? The answer is yes, because the 'only way is through!'

When nothing is sure, everything is possible!

The COVID-19 pandemic is very serious, and if we take it seriously it will change everything about how we live and interact with each other. And if we are taking the recommendations of the medical professionals seriously, then after repeated days at home we will probably start to feel uncomfortable because we are out of our normal routines.

Social distancing is something I still don't think we all understand clearly 100% here in North America yet, but it is starting to make more sense as things get more restricted around us and affect our ability to live as we did before. Going to the grocery store has become a more complicated and important part of our daily lives. The stories that are being shared by people who have become affected by this first hand or who have had loved ones affected, help to bring us more meaning about how serious this disease really is.

I will admit that I'm trying my best to stay positive, but being isolated and staying home is putting me through all kinds of emotions everyday. There are highs and there are lows. Some days it depends on how much I watch the news and fill my eyes with my social media feeds. I want to be well informed, but I reach a point of saturation and then more is not necessarily more helpful.

My day today started with an online meeting with an important update from my district leadership about the next steps in a very challenging time for all of us. I appreciate how hard they are working and navigating an uncertain time. I thought about my staff and my school community who are all looking for direction from me. I know that the range of emotions they are experiencing are vast, and I can relate because I feel them too. I tried to distance myself from the news, and I tried to focus on the important messaging and communicate to my staff what they needed to hear from me.

I also continued with my reading and some personal writing that I am working on, until that just didn't do it and I had to get out. So, I decided to go out for a run on the local trail - a place that has been a refuge for me. Recently though I started limiting this to certain hours or days when I felt there would be less people I would have to navigate. I have had to let go of my marathon training and have tried to just focus on enjoying my moments when I am fortunate to get them. But over the past few days I have even felt guilty for going out, and I even removed a twitter post of one of my recent runs. Why? Because I am conflicted in how I am feeling, my emotions are all over the place. I realized that we may all be going through this range of emotions every day. And of course I started to think about my school community and the kids at my school. I started to think about how important a healthy routine is right now, and how a healthy routine is going to be so important in the days to come as long as it is also safe. So I ran.

For me the concept of social distancing today meant actually removing myself from my social media because I was starting to feel down and a bit overwhelmed. (Can you feel a bit overwhelmed, or is it like being slightly pregnant? Maybe you just are or you aren't?!) Interestingly, being connected via social media is supposed to be a way for us to be more connected, but today I needed some alone time and put my phone down for awhile, and it was the best thing I did today!

The day has ended with finishing Brian Aspinall's (@mraspinall) latest book "Risk Taker". In one of the last chapters titled 'Tenacity', he writes, "When nothing is sure, everything is possible." This gave me hope today and inspired this writing, late before bed, to realize that although the current situation with COVID-19 seems very overwhelming and desperate, that we WILL find new ways to move forward if we keep hope alive. The challenge before for all of us is great, not just in education but in every aspect of our society! I do remain positive, and I believe that it is important to imagine a better future and in the idea that when nothing is sure, everything is possible!