For the Love of Teachers, Part II

Thanks to the outpouring of gratitude from our families, we are honored to bring you a second edition of our Friday Snapshot featuring the remainder of our family thank you notes. Here again are our Parker families, speaking in their own words…

Nellie,  Thanks to your endless preparation, perseverance, and loving presence, the 4/5’s continue to collaborate on projects, share in each other’s excitements, admire each other’s pets, and learn ! Just like every other day this year, Vera rises full of enthusiasm and curiosity about the wonders ahead. Your classroom is a home-away-from-school for this group of friends who will tackle any challenge with hope and for whom distance is but a trifle, and you are its heart. Thank you for achieving the unimaginable: making the greatest disruption of our lives feel like just another day at Parker School. You’ve truly inspired a growth mindset in us all! With gratitude,Shira and Alex (Vera, 4th grade)

I am grateful for Priscilla.  She is the best teacher ever and she really knows who I am.  She has been giving us fun assignments and even sent me a letter in the mail!  Eliza (Kindergarten)

Dear Middle School Teachers, You’ve impressed us with your ability to successfully carry out this mission to teach online in such a short time. The interaction via the Zoom platform is key to our children’s ability to more easily persevere through this trying time. We are in awe of you all and proud that our child attends Parker School.  Michael adds, “Thank you. Your efforts mean a lot.”  Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do. With Hugs & Deep Gratitude from The Sirois Family (Michael, 8th grade)

This is a picture of Aldo from one of his breaks during the school day. While he usually takes the time to build with legos or take his bike around the neighborhood, today he was so engrossed in the census project he’s doing in math that he wanted to keep going, researching census data from around the country. I think this is a great example of how Parker teacher’s are finding ways to inspire students, event at a distance. Nathan (Aldo, 6th grade)

Thank you so much for everything you are doing to keep us connected and learning during this time! Miriam (Alan, 1st grade)

Dear Nellie, First of all I just want to say thank you for all you’re doing for us. Since both of my parents are professors and doing online learning, I know how stressful it can be. Since it’s so nice outside, thank you for making alot of nature oriented projects, like the math project with finding the X and Y axis and the other math project with taking a walk and using the stuff you find to make other cool stuff. So just thank you for everything. Love, Reid (4th grade)

I’ve been completely impressed by my experience these last two weeks sitting close to Helen while we both do our schoolwork online. Helen is active and engaged in her classes, asking questions during her Zoom meetings and using her asynchronous class time to work on projects. The schedule Parker set up also gives us time for breaks, which we’ve used to go for walks, play games, and be active. She misses her friends, but knowing that she can see them online everyday is extremely comforting. I can’t imagine having had to create all this structure, connection and learning myself, as I’ve heard many parents have had to do. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all the work that the teachers are doing to make all this happen! Kristen (Helen, 8th grade)

Dear Priscilla, Thank you for meeting with us every day and working behind the scenes designing wonderful learning activities for us! We hope we will be meeting personally soon.  Cheers,Cuicui (Iris, Kindergarten)

Dear Parker Teachers and Administration, We have been so impressed by how well Parker has made the transition to virtual learning.  We know that you have all worked incredibly hard to make that happen. We love that Amy has a set schedule and assignments every day and that these have been clear and easy to use.  We also greatly appreciate how well the school has been communicating information to parents and students. We know that Amy continues to feel very connected to her teachers and classmates. Finally, the warm and reassuring tone in the emails have been very comforting at this difficult time. Thank you for all you do. With much appreciation and wishes for continued good health for all of you,Ana Sobel and George Bizer (Amy, 8th grade)

Dear Teachers, In a time of uncertainty, stress and confusion for our young children (and adults!) you have remained a constant support and presence in our son’s life. He looks forward to seeing you at morning meeting and often talks about classmates! Thank you for all you have done. Setting up an online system, agenda and tools to help us parent/teach our kids during this time was amazing. Each day is easy to follow, clear and has been great for my son. You all have certainly played an unforgettable part in this chapter of our lives.  THANK YOU <3 Love,James and Karyn White (John, PreK 4)

Thank you to the incredible faculty and staff at Parker! You have made continuing learning at home a seamless transition for Laurel & Evan. We appreciate how you have helped the kids have a sense of routine and stay connected with their class. With great appreciation for all that you do,Joe and Daphne (Evan, 4th grade and Laurel, 6th grade)

I’m sitting here listening to both of my kids interact and having classes with their teachers and I just wanted you to know how grateful I am that they are able to continue their education this way. I love that they are having actual “face to face” classes and are still interacting with their teachers and classmates. This all might be more abbreviated than what is normal at school but it is still happening and they are still learning. I can’t say thank you enough to all of the teachers for stepping up and changing the entire way they teach in order to keep educating their students.  Everyone talks about how we are going “back to homeschooling” and I have to say that this is not the case. Homeschooling required me to come up with lesson plans, actually teach the material, assess the work that they did during the day….you know all that stuff. The fantastic staff at Parker is making it so that I don’t have to do any of that except make sure that they stick to the school schedule and don’t miss classes. I am so extremely grateful for this!! I loved educating my kids but as you know, we all needed a break and the fact that we don’t have to go back to it during this strange time we are in….I can’t say thank you enough.  Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you again to you and all of the staff at Parker for continuing to educate my (and everyone else’s) kids……they are all amazing! Kim (Alden, 5th grade and Braelen, 7th grade)