Empty Halls
Superior School District closed indefinitely due to COVID-19
The Commons stands empty except for activities director Ray Kosey manning a table at the N1 entrance Tuesday, March 24. Wisconsin State Governor Tony Evers mandated a statewide school closure March 13 followed by a Safer at Home directive March 24, at which time the Superior School District gave its staff till noon to retrieve items from their classrooms.
March 27, 2020
Students at SHS and their families were notified Friday, March 13, that school would be closed for two weeks after Spring Break to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 Virus. By Monday March 23 Wisconsin’s Governer Tony Evers announced that Wisconsin schools would be closed indefinitely.
With this news the SHS school board and teachers worked to come up with a solution that would help students finish this school year. Students and teachers started their first week of online learning Tuesday, March 24.
The high school implemented a schedule to reduce stress for both teachers and students. Students have one day a week assigned to each subject. Mondays are math, Tuesdays are English, Wednesdays are social studies, Thursdays are science, and Fridays are the elective courses. Students must check their Google Classroom each weekday between 9 a.m. and noon to view the expected work for that class.
Every teacher has office hours that the students can use to ask questions or raise concerns about the tasks they were given for the week. English teacher Andy Wolfe sets an hour aside each week day for his students from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
There is a due date each week for every assignment. How teachers take attendance varies. Some are using Google hangouts while others may count a Flipgrid video or Google classroom assignment turned in on time as “present” for that week.
The school building officially closed its doors for any activity Tuesday, March 24, teachers were told to clean out their fridges and take any items they would need to complete online learning with their students. Some went to get resources and books, others to remove plants. English teacher Andy Wolfe retrieved food from his fridge. He spotted Spanish teacher Allison Conley exiting with some furniture, and he saw Food Service Director Jamie Wilson chatting with Activities Director Ray Kosey at a table just inside Door N1.
Some eachers are using Google Hangouts to video chat and stay in touch with groups of their students. The Newspaper and Journalism class taught by Andy Wolfe and Christa Kalin had a meeting Thursday, March 26, with student leaders over Hangouts to figure out what steps they will take to continue producing articles for spartanspin.com, their newspaper website.
Activities Director Ray Kosey watches monitors all people entering and exiting the high school March 24. The usually bustling Commons at 9:00 a.m. was empty except for Jamie Wilson, director of food services, who stopped by to chat with Kosey, both staff members keeping a “social distance.” Food services continued to make and deliver food to any student needing it throughout the spring school closure.