Teachers, students reconnect to close out school year during item exchanges
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — There were warm smiles, "air hugs" and streams of tears Thursday, as teachers and staff said their good byes to students during item exchanges at each Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. building.
Throughout the week, EVSC families returned school materials and collected personal items from lockers.
Parents arrived outside school doors, where they handed back textbooks, Chromebooks, laptop chargers, musical instruments and other items in exchange for their children's belongings.
Parent Erica Kissinger said the process was organized and proved to be a great way for students and teachers to reconnect, trade good-byes and bring a sense of closure to the school year, which was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kissinger's 9-year-old daughter Fionna, who was tucked in the backseat of her mother's vehicle, happily greeted all of the McCutchanville Elementary School teachers waving outside her window.
"I love it," she said with excitement.
Since the school began exchanging personal and school items, Kissinger said the two of them have made multiple stops to visit with staff.
“(Fionna) absolutely loves it," Kissinger said. "I told her we’d do it again, and she couldn’t wait to see who was going to be there.”
McCutchanville teacher Traci Druschke said seeing her students in person for the first time in weeks brought mixed emotions, many that have been pent up since classes moved online in March.
"You're happy to see they are smiling – not just on a computer screen – but we're sad we couldn't finish the year," she said. "We would've liked to do this while they were in the classroom getting their supplies together instead of this craziness."
To further close out the year, McCutchanville principal Lisa Shanks organized a final wave parade Friday to ensure teachers and students had an opportunity to reconnect before the start of the summer, and ahead of the next academic year.
"We've missed our kids," she said. "We're a family here."