Ellen Macpherson, Grade 2 teacher at Ecole Connaught School, rewards her student, eight-year-old Cruz Forest, with a happy meal picnic in the sunshine on Monday - a treat he purchased with "Monster Money" he'd earned throughout the school year.--NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE
A local teacher created a picnic for two to recognize a student.
Ellen Macpherson, Grade 2 teacher at Ecole Connaught School, has a special program that rewards students with coupons called Monster Money. One of the ways students can spend that money is on lunch with the teacher. Normally it would be a food delivery to the school but with COVID-19 Macpherson decided a picnic was the answer.
For Cruz Forest, 8, it was a happy meal in the sunshine on Monday.
COVID-19 has radically changed many aspects of a teacher’s day.
Macpherson says it has required some creativity. There are Google Meets with the students and in some cases that takes place every day for 20 minutes. The challenges have been remembering who needs access of the items she is posting for students and figuring out a schedule when several students would like the same time slots in the day.
“I’d rather be there in person,” said Macpherson.
The students would normally speak French in the classroom so it has been difficult to ensure they spend enough time talking French at home, she said.
Macpherson describes the students as resilient during the lockdown, and Forest says everything has been “good.”
Forest also says he’s rather enjoyed the change.
