Addendum to Winter Update

 Firstly, this is going to parents and kids for the Woollcombe class.

A wise person told me that it would be a shame if kids didn't get my last update, so here it is.

Secondly, the attachment is a mental health resource. At the bottom is a list of the help lines. The one to have on your fridge is Get Support - Kids Help Phone, which has a chat app, phone number, and whole bunches of really awesome humans who love listening. 

This season is great, but it's not always easy. The well-deserved break gives us time to process some stuff, and sometimes that requires help. A coach, an extra auntie or uncle, or just someone who answers the text and cares. 

We learned a bit about Rick Hansen in class, and about how he had to be in great shape just to survive his trip. It wasn't a race, he just needed to get back home. We need to keep our emotional muscles strong, too, and we'll get there. Things are going to start getting a bit better every day.

Even Rick needed help.

Christmas Update

 

Well, that went better than expected.

What a year. It's fairly easy to see the downsides of 2020 - both the news and our own individual challenges make that clear - but what are the upsides?

Firstly, my grandson is alive. I know this has nothing to do with our class, but it means the world to me. Felix just turned 1 year old, and there was a very good chance last November that he wouldn't even turn 0. He was in NICU for 62 days, had 3 surgical interventions, and is now perfectly healthy. Kids are tough.

Your kids make me laugh every day. It's not that they're doing dumb 'Oh, kids say the craziest things' TV special stuff - they are honestly trying to make our world lighter and happier. They feel a responsibility to bring joy, and they sure do bring it. Some of the puns are so stinky we have to open the windows wide. We're together so much that they are, like twins, making language. Sure, it's a bit tribalized and prone to a bit of overprotective behaviour (and we've seen that), but it brings strength. In truly original ways, these kids are strong.

Your kids follow me on some odd adventures. We've written about Santa's dyspeptic dragon, Norbert. We've tried to figure out what lobsters have to do with human rights. We've tried to get an understanding of the human immune system and the difference between an mRNA vaccine and an Adenovirus vector. Your kids are mentally flexible and smart.

Some of the kids have been through enough to nuke a buffalo. Seriously. And some of them put their souls into propping up the people they love. There are some heroes where I work, and they're not even teenagers yet. Your kids give me faith.

These are the people who will change the world. They will know that making our communities better, more resilient, and fairer, is more important than any other game in town. They're weird, they're original, they're fun, and they're good humans. You know that, but it needs saying as much as we can. 

I don't get to see Felix this season, and I'm sure there are many of you in the same kind of boat. We'll make do with deferred and virtual hugs for now, knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel may, in fact, be the sun. 

Pax Vobiscum

Bryce Woollcombe

Teacher