HES holds drive-thru meet the teacher
Published 3:35 pm Wednesday, August 12, 2020
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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter
HELENA – As schools begin to open with a staggered schedule, typical beginning of the year events like meeting the children’s new teachers have had to be adapted to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helena Elementary School took the very familiar concept of a drive-thru event, and used it to allow kindergartners starting the school year to interact with their new teachers on Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, so it wasn’t a complete surprise to them when they attended their first day of school on Aug. 13.
According to HES Principal Mary Anderson, the original plan was for all students returning or starting at the school to participate in virtual meet the teacher events, however, to provide some extra comfort and alleviate some of the anxiety that comes with starting kindergarten, the school thought this was a good idea.
“These teachers already had their virtual meet the teacher with parents and students via Google Meet last Friday night at 6 p.m.,” Anderson explained. “This is just another opportunity for parents to help their kindergarten babies feel more at ease about coming to school.”
Parents and students drove by, some in decorated cars, and waved at their teachers who were holding signs to let the kids know which teacher they were and the teachers and staff were all also dressed in blue shirts that said “Kindergarten Crew.”
As students prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, it is very important that they feel comfortable with the new faces they will be seeing every day, and especially during the pandemic they need to know that they are safe.
This drive-thru event helped create some of that comfort and prepare the children for their school year.