Day #160 Writing Through COVID-19: 23 Weeks

It was 23 weeks ago that Iowa schools shut down for COVID-19.

Tomorrow my (new!) students return, come hell or high water. 

Literally.

Our state positivity rate (14-day rolling average) is at 7.8%. Many countries consider a percentage over 5 (or even 3) to indicate the virus is not controlled. The Atlantic district is currently hovering near 8%.
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Last night as my son Max in New Zealand made his closing arguments attempting to persuade me to take a 12-week COVID leave from school, he told me about the recent (small) outbreak in Auckland.

Because NZ's lockdown was quick and effective, the country went more than 100 days without a case. 

Then last week they were alarmed by new cases in Auckland that likely came in via cold storage. The country used DNA testing to determine who might have contaminated whom. 

At first, they saw no connection. The two early "spreaders" had not spent time in each other's proximity.

However, they had both used the same elevator--although not at the same time!

Was the virus lingering in the elevator air?

Was it passed between two fingers that touched the same buttons?
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Meanwhile, here in Iowa, I feel like a bit of a freak for demanding a mask and a six-foot bubble.

From my perspective, in the US of A, I'm hypervigilant. Half a world away, my son sees me as reckless.
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Today I received nine emails related to school, many with explanatory documents, spreadsheets, and videos attached. 

Unfortunately, I'm already in the starting blocks. The official has the gun raised. At this point, I can no longer absorb advice from my coach. The race is on.
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I held my final Zoom sessions with my incoming freshmen throughout the day. In all, I met with 15 of my 29 newbies. Our conversations were light and hopeful (although several were delayed by technology glitches, which is the new normal). Each student was able to tell me reading preferences, and I helped them understand the lunch schedule and how to find my room. I got to smile at them without a mask. Success?

LEARNING FROM COVID: 
I think in future years I will invite students to introductory Zoom sessions before school starts. I've really enjoyed meeting them a few at a time.
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I just got another admin email. It's 8:53 p.m. School starts in 11 hours.
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This morning during my week's long run, I was interrupted by three phone calls:

1) My dad, struggling to get his church service pulled up on Facebook.

2) My husband, struggling to get his iPad lighting adjusted.

3) My daughter, who--thankfully--had no computer issues and just wanted to chat.

NOT NOW, I gasped to all three.
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Day #160 comes to a close.

Day #1 starts tomorrow.

Enough.
Be well.
Write.

Allison

Sorry (not sorry) if I've already shared this one. 💗