Principal John Muise uses a photo of his dog, Fletcher, to create a video of morning announcements for his students at St. John XXIII Catholic School, as seen in a recent screen capture.
What started out as a post-March break “we miss you” message has turned into a way for teachers and staff of one Kingston school to stay connected with their students through morning announcements.
Normally, when schools are in session, mornings start with the singing of O Canada and the morning announcements, but school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made that a little challenging.
For the St. John XXIII Catholic School community, the morning rituals have been somewhat enhanced.
“In our announcements, we do the obvious, and that’s letting staff and students know of any events going on in the school, in regards to sporting events, play practice or what have you,” St. John XXIII Catholic School principal Michael Muise said. “One of the things we try to do each and every day is to recognize the birthdays of staff and students in the school. We wish them a happy birthday and we encourage people to wish them a happy birthday if they happen to bump into them in the hallway.”
In an effort to find some kind of normalcy, Muise and his staff decided to push out a morning announcement, via a video, just to create some routine, to stay connected and to hopefully bring a smile to their school community.
“I downloaded an app that allows me to take a picture of my dog, Fletcher, and you can record your message, ‘Happy Birthday,’ and it appears as though the dog is delivering this message in a sort of interesting, high, squeaky voice,” Muise said. “Not only do they still appreciate getting their birthday messages out individually, kids are having their birthdays recognized in a cute and innovative way that, again, helps them feel some happiness in their homes.”
It all started when it was announced that students would not return to schools after March break. The staff at St. John XXIII Catholic School came up with the idea of reaching out to students and families through a video.
“The first video we put together was really an idea that came through the staff as a way to try and stay connected with the kids,” Muise said. “I think each of them were, in some way, missing not only the connection to the school by being able to go in every day, but, in large part, the kids they work with every day. They really wanted (the kids) to know that they missed them.”
Each staff member made a short video of themselves receiving and then passing along a piece of paper, and then sent it to Muise, who compiled it into a short video and sent it out to families and posted it on social media.
“What was really great was at that point I think we had been away from the school for about two and a half weeks, and really the outpouring of messages from the families and students was really pretty remarkable in that they wrote to their teachers or they wrote to me or they responded on social media, letting us know how much it made them smile and how much it made them laugh and that they missed us, too,” Muise said. “I think in this day and age that we’re living in, there aren’t really a lot of opportunities to laugh and smile and so it was really great.”
What did surprise Muise was how far-reaching the message became.
“What was really interesting was I was receiving messages from people I didn’t know, that were not connected to our school, not even in our province and some not even in the country, just telling us how it made them feel really great as well,” Muise said.
Muise sees the recent school closures from many angles, as a school administrator, being married to a teacher and having children in both elementary and secondary schools.
“Ideally, everyone would love to be back in school, no doubt. That’s where their friends are and where our events are happening,” Muise said. “But given the situation, this is not a terrible option by any means. I think that families are finding that the work is very beneficial for kids.”
He’s also been very impressed how his teachers and support staff have rallied together to provide new learning environment opportunities, as well as a support system for the students they miss.
“We’re living during a time that for many people might be quite frightening, particularly for young learners. I think that finding ways as both as a parent or as a teacher to lift those spirits on a day-to-day basis is really key,” Muise said.
“We’re extremely impressed by our parents and our students, who are working collaboratively with us to support this learning for our kids at home. Again, it’s not the ideal situation, but I think everyone is working tirelessly to make sure that our kids remain sharp and they remain focused and engaged in learning. For that, I’m extremely proud to be part of the process and in this system. And we miss them.”
For anyone who wants to check out the “we miss you” message or the school’s morning announcements, check out Muise’s Twitter account at @duffeydogatwork.
