If you asked any senior at the beginning of their junior year how they thought this year was going to end, surely their guess wouldn’t be that it would end in the midst of a pandemic.

This year has not been easy. Almost everyone has been affected by this pandemic in one way or another. After a lot of thinking of what we missed, it is important to stop and think about the people who spent countless hours working to make the short days we have left at Abington High the best they can be. 

With all that being said, students owe a big thank you to the Abington High School faculty and staff.  They worked extra hard through it all to ensure this weird school year worked.

 This year has been anything but easy and that is something the teachers have had to account for in their lessons. Tutor Sue Peck who is in several different classrooms each day talked about things teachers have had to adapt to this year that students might not have thought about.

Peck said, “Through this year, teachers worked extra hard to stay connected to their students.”

When the school reopened in the hybrid model for 2020-2021, “Teachers had to learn how to navigate canvas and how to online teach. And off that, teaching half in person and half online and using different ways to share information because they couldn’t write on boards,” Peck said. “Teachers also had to step away from the typical testing manner and do a lot of canvas testing and projects.”

Trying to keep students interested without full in-class learning was a challenge. Peck said,”A lot of teachers worked to make more creative lessons.”

As a tutor who has worked with several teachers throughout the day, Peck saw what teachers were putting into their lessons. She said that “Even though this year was far from easy for teachers, they always took that into account for when students needed extra time, even though that might make their job harder later.”

Seeing all those changes our teachers and staff have dealt, some seniors have some things they would like to say to the faculty:

Brendan Remillard said “I would like to thank the teachers and staff for giving us endless amounts of support this year and connecting to us all through these strange times. Through COVID and everything being completely changed this year, we all had to adapt to abrupt and quick changes which has been very detrimental to students. But the staff at AHS has gone above and beyond to make the students feel safe and helped every step along the way. We truly couldn’t have done it without them!

Derek Tirrell wanted to thank teachers and staff for being so flexible this year.   

Gracie O’Connell said, “I want to give a big thank you to Mrs.Casey for always being positive, energetic and supportive everyday, both as a coach and a teacher. She has made this tough year a little bit easier with her constant support and thoughtfulness.”  

Amanda Lopes said “I would like to thank the janitors for keeping the school clean and in order to ensure we are safe. Also the lunch staff for working so hard making enough lunches for a number of students to eat during school.”  

Kaitlyn Thetonia said “I would like to thank the administration for trying to help us seniors make the best out of this year. I know they are trying to keep us all safe this year while still trying to do prom, graduation, etc.”  

Gillian Winters said “I want to thank the History department for all of the interesting courses it provides.  

Lily Jackson said “I want to thank everyone who had a part in making this year’s sports seasons happen and keeping us safe while we play!”  

Leticia Meneghetti said “Everyone in the English department is so kind, open, and always willing to help where they can.”  

Anthony said “I want to thank all paras that helped me through my four years. They have definitely had an impact on me from the start to the end of my high school years.”

Christian Goncalves said, “I want to thank everyone in the math department for working to make this year as fun as possible.”  

It’s no secret that this year was not what students expected. And for seniors, getting to finish our final days in school and getting to all be together is the best gift.  

Correction: The name Christian Goncalves was edited to reflect the correct spelling.