"Every problem has an opportunity for something good. You just have to look for it." Recently, our district experienced a weather event. You may have heard of it - Hurricane Florence. It has taught our community many things about preparedness - and compassion.
Our last day of school was September 10, 2018. At this time, the majority of schools should be resuming classes on October 4. Until two days ago, they were heading back this week. So there are still many factors that could shift that target. We actually still have one school that is open as an emergency shelter for those still in significant need. Record setting rainfall meant many roads were flooded or even washed away during the storm. Many homes were consumed by flood waters to their ceilings - and they were not in flood zones. As local waterways crested and high tides came, roads and homes continued to flood days after this weather event. "Catastrophic flooding" the news called it - and catastrophic it was. It was days before we were able to truly see the extent of the damage Florence left behind - many are still sorting through belongings and debris. Twenty-seven people died during this storm. The first casualties were a mother and her infant that perished when a tree fell on their house in our town. The child's father narrowly survived. Among the other causalities during the storm was a beloved high school teacher in our district, who had recently retired, as he suffered a heart attack while being evacuated from his home. Over a week after the storm, people have received eviction notices and terminated leases with immediate deadlines to remove property or lose it. Many still have not returned to their homes and some no longer have a home to return to. Life will never be the same for our town, and that is ok - we will emerge stronger. We have teachers that have had to leave everything behind in their classroom due to the damage to their schools. We have teachers that have classrooms that were untouched offering help and support. We have schools opening their doors for students and teachers that can't safely return to their own. We have families that have grown in size as families welcome the displaced. Our community is coming together in unprecedented ways. As we prepare to get back into the business of teaching and learning, the directive has been clear - help our students heal. Maslow's hierarchy of needs lets us know that our students have to have basic needs met and feel safe before we can even think about teaching them. Our district is making sure that we do just that. All students will have free breakfast and lunch thanks to the USDA's national school lunch program in the month of October. Schools have organized food and clothing deliveries for their students. Each day, I'm humbled by the outpouring of grace and servitude demonstrated by our district. Check out #NHCSchat on Twitter and you'll see what I'm talking about. Almost every child enrolled in our schools, has been impacted by this storm - even those that evacuated. As school resumes, my middle child will be sleeping on a mattress in the living room as his room in inhabitable at the moment. But he has a bed and roof over his head. Many do not. He and his sister, who is sharing a room with her grandmother who was left homeless by the flooding, are thankful and have been helping others in our community by volunteering their time to prepare and serve food and cut trees. We are all looking forward to things slowly getting back to normal. No, not normal - better than before!
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AuthorJeannie Timken Archives
March 2023
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