After what feels like three years, the students of Lux Mundi finally went to school. The school administrators decided that enough was enough, so they organized an event where the students of each class had the opportunity to attend school for about two hours. The purpose of this was to, at least for a while, have that interaction between classmates that had been missing for the better part of 2020.
To avoid any and all coronavirus contagion, only one class at a time was allowed into the school grounds, along with essential personnel. Apart from this, participation in this activity was denied if anyone (or their families) had COVID symptoms in the last two weeks. If that wasn’t the case, and you attended the activity, the other pandemic regulations were still present: masks, temperature check, constantly sanitizing your hands, and physical distancing. All of these allowed us to have fun while being safe.
Upon arrival, we were seated in the “claustro,” where we started with a prayer. Then, our counselor, Laura Pichardo, began by asking us how we were feeling. In order to answer this, we were asked to raise one of three pieces of paper: red if you didn’t want to be there or felt angry/sad, yellow if you felt apprehensive, or green if we felt happy and excited. After this, we did an activity where we had to pick three objects to survive on a remote island. In order to relate this to our lives, we talked about the things we need to survive on a daily basis.
For the second part of the event, our Religion teacher, Alexis Henriquez, conducted several activities. We watched a video about true friendship so that we could understand what that means. Afterward, we shared what we contribute to our friendships. To delve deeper into our feelings, Alexis asked us to answer some questions on two different flip charts (papelografos). The first question was; What has affected you the most during this pandemic? The second: What’s the most essential thing 2020 has taught you? After responding, some students decided to share their answers.
Finally, Alexis gave us a space to say whatever we wanted to say to our classmates. To finalize the day, we saw a video where a poem was recited. This poem encompassed the experience that has been 2020 and the hope for the future.
This meeting reminded me of several things. It reminded me how lucky I am to have a school that worries about my emotional well-being. It reminded me of the importance of sharing your feelings. It reminded me that my classmates are more than a box on my screen, that they have feelings just like me. Most importantly, though, it reminded me that we’re all in this together.