Volunteers at Beaverbrook School in Moncton had a special surprise ready for students to settle any of those first-day jitters of returning to school during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“It is a stressful time for everyone, and unprecedented times for sure, so we just thought this would be something that hopefully will just encourage them and make them feel good,” said Angela Dawson, the school’s administrative assistant.
Dawson spearheaded the locker beautification project for the kids.
Dawson, along with a retired teacher, volunteered several hundred hours over the summer to paint every single locker in the school to look like the spine of a book.
“It was a great opportunity to do something special for the kids and to show how much we care about them,” Dawson said.
She hopes the colourful lockers, with inspiring messages taped inside, will bring smiles to the faces of students who may be stressed about returning to school.
Dawson also hopes her labour of love will foster a love for reading.
“It is my hope that they will walk by these lockers and see one that inspires them to read that book,” she said.
There are 54 lockers painted at the school which is something school principal Sarah Lowe, currently on leave and teaching at another school, has been wanting to do for years.
“We have classics and more modern books that will stand the test of time so it is really exciting,” Lowe said.
After spending six months away from his classmates and teachers amid the pandemic, Parker Johnson, a Grade 8 student at Beaverbrook, told Global News he loved the idea.
“With all the mundaneness that quarantine has been, it is nice to have a change in the daily routine.”
Dawson hopes that reading the book linked to their lockers will also offer the kids an escape from the reality of the pandemic.
“I think, with everything going on it, is really nice to get lost in a book and go somewhere else,” she said.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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