A Burnaby school district video designed to encourage staff, students and families in their struggles to cope with dramatic changes forced on them by COVID-19 has gotten a lot of play.
The 2:43-minute video, featuring stirring music, inspirational quotes and images of staff and students carrying on the business of the school district during the suspension of in-class instruction, was sent out Friday.
Superintendent Gina Niccoli-Moen told the NOW the images were designed to show the connection between staff, students, families and the community – and give them a way to “see themselves in our collective work.”
“Our intent with the video was to honour the shared efforts of our entire community and to provide hope and reassurance that we will, together, find a way through these unprecedented and uncertain times,” Niccoli-Moen said.
By Tuesday morning, the video had been watched more than 12,000 times and elicited more than a few tears, according to the district.
In-class instruction was suspended across the province on March 17 to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
The video notes how quickly the community has responded to phrases, like “social distancing” and “flatten the curve,” that were hardly on anyone’s radar before spring break.
In a press briefing Monday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. had reached “the end of our beginning of this pandemic.”
“We do not yet know what’s going to happen,” she said, “but we know that we have some room to increase our social connections, to increase our work, to increase our school and daycare and childcare.”
What that will mean for kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools, however, is still not clear, and the school district is encouraging staff, students and families to stay connected regardless of what the “new normal” ends up looking like.
“We know with certainty we will absolutely be successful together,” the video states.
