Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Faculty at end-of-year celebration.
“It’s in my blood; I have to be a teacher,” said paraprofessional Shannon Prevost as she waved to students and families driving by West Woods Elementary Wednesday to celebrate the end of the year.
The school marked the end of the year with a drive-by graduation for 60 sixth-graders.
It also marked the last episode of “Feel Good Fridays,” a video series Prevost and her father launched to keep school fun during a pandemic that forced kids to stay home and learn remotely.
As she waved to the children at the graduation, she described how the video series came about.
Prevost’s father, Christopher Prevost, is also a beloved teacher, over at Dunbar Elementary on Lane Street.
When the Hamden School District closed in March, the Prevosts came together to think of ways to combat heightened loneliness and anxiety through their shared professional perspectives.
“We needed something fun; a good distraction,” Prevost said, referring to staff and family in addition to the kids.
After seeing the success of “Some Good News with John Krasinski,” a Youtube show dedicated entirely to happy headlines, Prevost knew how to help.
She and her father reached out to all those at both West Woods and Dunbar for video submissions of anything they would like to share with the school community that week.
Shannon and Christopher Prevost in episode 7 of “Feel Good Friday.”
The result was a “no rules” talent show of sorts, hosted by “Miss Shannon and Mr. P,” with the sole intention of making those who watched “feel good.” The seven episode series was naturally named “Feel Good Fridays.”
Shannon Prevost “initially worried about not getting any submissions.” The two were quickly overwhelmed by the many emails they received expressing support and sharing video attachments.
The episodes doubled in length over time, beginning at 15 minutes and settling around a standard half an hour. “We wanted to make sure to include everyone,” Prevost said, “but we also started wondering, are we gonna have to start making these biweekly?”
Even the sixth graders, who Prevost noted “are sometimes too cool for that kind of thing,” were excited to join in on the fun.
Perhaps this was because of episodes based around internet trends. Like episode 6, which was “all about the bottle flipping challenge,” as Mr. Prevost said in the show’s introduction. This led not only to lots of beverage tossing, but to human backflips and other entertaining loose interpretations.
In other installments, a little girl has a dance off with her grandfather; teacher Christine Patafio portrays a weather woman who is pelted by stuffed cats and dogs as she prescribes umbrellas to those planning an outdoor walk on a rainy day.
“They’re very silly,” Ms. Prevost warned, her eyes wide.
The weekly videos did not only succeed in making those involved feel a little lighter. They also connected two geographically separated schools— “their own little islands” as Prevost described them— going through similar struggles.
Principal Dan Levy reads the names of sixth-grade graduates as they drive by.
West Woods Principal Dan Levy agreed that the school was more preoccupied with “making sure that we stayed connected with each other” than ever before.
“We didn’t want anybody to feel alone. We’re all part of a fleet.” he said.
For faculty, this meant “meeting up more than ever and imposing a more formal meeting structure” and “doing things they’d never done before,” such as “Feel Good Friday.”
It also meant highlighting the systems of communication that already worked well and figuring out how to continue them remotely, like Levy’s weekly newsletter.
A page of Dan Levy’s newsletter from May 29th.
“I pride myself on readership,” he said with a grin while describing the letter, which is full of photos of students navigating at-home learning and participating in school challenges.
Ann-Marie Blake.
Prevost’s approach to the pandemic was not the only one inspired by pop culture. At the graduation ceremony, second grade teacher Ann-Marie Blake chanted “more cowbell” in reference to the famous SNL skit as she rang the instrument.
“They made history!” she exclaimed, pointing to the long chain of cars carrying the 60 members of the sixth-grade class.
Emily Pollack.
Emily Pollack, another second-grade teacher, pointed out that “they’re really lucky to be able to do this and get recognized for their work.”
Blake also expressed how teaching had been especially important to her personally throughout the pandemic.
“I’m an empty nester,” she said, “so the opportunity to distance teach has been so important to me; the past few months have been incredibly isolating and really hard.”
“My goal is really just to support them,” she reflected. Blake was the kindergarten teacher for this year’s graduating sixth grade class, and wrote individual letters to the eleven students who have attended the school for all seven years.
“It’s nothing special,” she said. “I do it every year.”
While teaching has been a comfort for Blake during these times, she also explained how the other second grade teachers, Emily Pollack and Carolyn Longyear, have served as an important support system.
Ann-Marie Blake on the left and Emily Pollack to the right.
“We’ve had more collaboration than ever before,” she remarked. “And we’ve become closer friends.”
Lauren Mollin to the left.
Sixth-grade teachers Lauren Mollin, Mike Virginelli, and Luke DeVoe focused on some of the practical issues faced by students.
“First of all, our sixth graders were rockstars,” said Mollin. “But a lot of that power usually comes from interaction.”
Luke DeVoe (left) and Mike Virginelli (right) hand out gift bags to the sixth graders.
Virginelli agreed that “the social aspect has been the biggest deficit.”
Virginelli, who lives in North Branford, also works as a little league coach. His three children are all athletes as well.
“We’ve made a mound in our backyard, so someone can be a pitcher and another can be the catcher,” he offered.
He noted that many of his current students are anxious to be able to practice sports with their teams again.
“Having a daily schedule is what’s most important in terms of maintaining continuity,” Virginelli said. But he’s also been bringing current events into the classroom, and “looking through the new phases of reopening” so that students understand the context of state and local decision-making.
This includes the reopening of gyms and indoor recreation that’s scheduled for June 17th.
“We all have a lot to learn on so many levels,” Virginelli stated, in reference to not only the uncertainty around Covid-19, but to the Black Lives Matter protests happening around the world.
“I just want to get through to them that the ability to adapt and acclimate quickly shows a lot of maturity,” he said, “as well as that 2020 is a reminder to enjoy the small moments.”
Felicity Potkay.
Sixth-grader Felicity Potkay, who peered out of a car window obscured by green balloons, and her mother Christine Potkay were both grateful for this small moment, though Felicity wished it could have been a bit bigger.
“It’s a lot different that I expected,” she admitted, looking around at the long line of vehicles behind her own.
“The fifth graders get to attend the sixth grade graduation,” her mom explained, “so last year she got to see the full ceremony.”
“I thought that was gonna be me,” Felicity said softly.
Her mother, who works as a pediatric occupational therapist, said schooling from home has been “challenging,” but added, “I really appreciate and respect all the work that the teachers have been doing.”
“It’s been helpful to have all the assignments written out online,” she said. That way she was able to more effectively answer questions her children asked about her about their homework.
Though teacher Ann-Marie Blake had referred to the end of the school year as “fast and furious,” Felicity observed that “there was a lot less work than usual” and that she got to pick and choose what assignments to do.
She definitely did not choose a drive-thru graduation, but she stated “it’s definitely better than video.”
Felicity carefully selected the word to describe the significance of having an in-person ceremony: “It’s more… momentous.”
Line of cars at ceremony.
