As most citizens know by now, on March 13 Governor Jay Inslee ordered all K-12 schools in Washington State to close from March 16 - April 24. That is a six-week closure. Despite these closures, students are still required to learn their curriculum during this time. How they're supposed to complete work in the upcoming weeks we'll get to in a second. There are many questions that need to be answered, like what the plan is and how Napavine is handling this. Thankfully the district office and Geoff Parks were sure to keep everyone in the loop.
During the first part of the first week of school being closed, staff members at Napavine performed a deep cleaning of all schools, classrooms, and facilities. And teachers formed their plans for how their students would learn outside of the classroom for six weeks. The general plan for the district is making work packets for students to complete at home with help from their parents. Some teachers are looking to online sources as well, especially in middle and high school.
Most elementary school students got a folder of some homework the day these school closures were announced. However, that was more of a last-minute ordeal. They will get learning packets from the school on Friday 19. Some classes at the middle and high school will do the same, but a lot of teachers have been using the internet to get the curriculum to students and to communicate with them. Since these students are more mature and probably spend most of their time on the internet anyway, this is probably the best idea. There are exceptions made for students who do not have internet access, and they are getting learning packets instead.
All school-related events that were to take place during the time of closures are all either canceled or postponed. This includes sports games and practices, band and choir contests, all club meetings and events, prom and more. As of this time, if we get back to school the time we're scheduled to do so spring sports will have a modified season and prom will be held in an undetermined time in May in the middle school gym instead of the venue it was to be at on April 18. Students in Napavine will continue working hard and persevere through these strange and unexpected times.