As COVID-19 maintains its grip on Americans’ way of life, local students and their families here are coming to terms with cancelled or rescheduled school functions and the overwhelming sense of disappointment in missing out on end-of-the-school-year memories.
Though school officials have been working hard to secure event date changes and create new interactive virtual opportunities for students in Bear Country, it’s been hard nonetheless for the city’s youngest residents.
North Royalton High School junior Hannah Hambleton gave an interview to the Royalton Recorder on what would have been the first day of her choir’s trip to New York City. It was to be the high school’s inaugural trip to the Big Apple with three choir groups in tow – those in Freshman Choir, Show Choir and Concert Choir. It was cancelled with no rescheduled date announced, Hambleton said. The itinerary included an exciting range of tourist stops, including time at Rockefeller Center for a chance to appear on the Today show and a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall, time at Central Park, Times Square, Grand Central Station, a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, a visit to the National September 11, Memorial and Museum, a performance of Aladdin!, attendance at a workshop taught by Broadway performers and even a chance to perform themselves at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, known as the largest cathedral in the world, among many other memorable activities for the teenagers.
“It’s always been my dream to travel to New York City, so I’m completely crushed,” Hambleton, a member of high School Show Choir, said. “I’m so upset. It’s been really tough, especially since I’m so close with many members of the senior class, who I’ll miss spending time with before they graduate and leave.”
Hannah’s younger brother, Michael, is in eighth grade at the middle school. The annual eighth grade class trip to Washington, D.C., originally scheduled for May 6-8, was rescheduled to July 21-23. Michael still plans on attending, at least for now. Classmate Savannah Pratt also said she and her bunkmates plan on going. Students have until May 1 to confirm their attendance. The school will continue to follow all orders from Gov. Mike DeWine and recommendations from the CDC and other health officials as time progresses, said North Royalton Middle School Principal Jeffrey Cicerchi, who added that so far about 75 percent of students who were planning on going in May plan on attending in July.
Their itinerary includes monuments, memorials and museums including the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps, the WWII, Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials, the MLK, FDR and Jefferson Memorials, a tour of the Capitol, a photo opportunity outside the White House, the Air Force and Iwo Jima Memorials, a trip to the National Archives, a tour of Arlington National Cemetery witnessing a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and time at many museums, Cicerchi said.
“The field trip is a highlight for many of our eighth grade students and for some, it is their favorite memory of middle school, which is why I cannot thank our staff and chaperones enough for wanting to reschedule and not just cancel it,” Cicerchi said through email.
The annual trip is scheduled and organized by Nowak Tours, an educational tour company based in Valley City. Nowak Tours coordinates student trips and adult group tours.
“This spring the vast majority of our tours have been canceled or rescheduled,” said Brian Nowak, whose father, Jerry, founded the company in the 1990s. “Normally our offices are very busy this time of year conducting tours, but due to COVID-19 our focus has been rescheduling trips and issuing refunds to customers. Once new dates were selected (with North Royalton Middle School), Nowak started moving all reservations, this includes transportation, lodging, meals, attractions, etc. We notified the school once this was all confirmed so the school could notify the parents. The school really wanted these students to experience Washington, D.C. From our perspective they felt strongly about giving the students the opportunity. I was personally very impressed with their dedication to making this happen for the kids.”
Over at the high school, Principal Sean Osborne has worked to provide contingency dates for two milestone events – prom and commencement. The school is still holding onto its date of May 23 for prom at Weymouth Country Club, but has also secured June 24 as a back-up. Playhouse Square has canceled all events through May 31, so Commencement is now rescheduled for June 28. Osborne said he never even considered canceling the milestone events and stresses to students not to let this time define them.
“I’m also a North Royalton High School graduate so it really all hits home,” he said. “I know all of the effort and energy our kids put into the things they are a part of, whether it’s their classes, their arts, their sports… nobody has a playbook for this. We’re trying to make the best of this situation. What’s great about education is that people go into it because they care about kids and they build good relationships with kids and that’s what makes it work.”
High school staff and students have gotten creative in how they stay connected with their community during the state’s Stay at Home order, like teacher Matthew Ciha’s coordination of a “virtual” Spirit Week that aimed to “grow the spirit curve.” Drama students also put together a last-minute rough dress rehearsal of the school’s production of “James and the Giant Peach” when word broke that classes would be cancelled. Osborne sat in the audience for the impromptu performance.
“They saw that the opportunity to perform that production was going to evaporate, so they quickly pulled together a rough performance,” Osborne said. “It was a nice way for them to cope with what could have been emotionally devastating spending months learning lines, songs and choreography. Seeing them really helped set my attitude that we were going to make the best of circumstances.”
Still, grief prevails for many North Royalton families.
Christina Hamilton, a North Royalton parent of twin high school seniors Hunter and Thorne Theus, said it’s “double the sadness” for their family as they wrap up the boys’ final year at the city schools.
“It’s the unknown on all events that is becoming stressful because they don’t know what or how to plan for anything,” she said.
Both students miss school, learning in the classroom and of course seeing friends.
“Thorne says their senior year is supposed to be fun and he’s afraid they are missing out on everything that has been building up to this point in their life. He wants to get out, and work, and make money again,” Hamilton said. “Hunter doesn’t like the fact that he’s missing school, missing his friends and missing his opportunity to intern at The Akron Center, as part of his CVCC learning, which is Sports Medicine. He’s no longer certain that he will be going to prom, if it gets rescheduled, because he is trying to make vacation plans that may now overlap with the rescheduled date. Not knowing for certain what is going to take place and when has been stressful to think about. What he misses the most is not having a daily routine, which gave him some structure and he doesn’t feel as energetic not being allowed to do what his daily schedule used to consist of. He can’t wait to get past all of this.”
North Royalton High School Senior Jordan Pagano may miss the rescheduled prom and commencement, said Mom Christi Novak.
“Jordan ships out to boot camp with the Marines on July 6, as far as him leaving earlier, there is a chance for anything, but right now the military is doing everything possible to keep them all healthy during this pandemic,” Novak said. “He is very frustrated that he may miss the rescheduled prom and commencement, that is, of course, if it comes to that. He fully understands the severity of this pandemic and why so many restrictions, but the fact remains that it’s sad for all our seniors and milestones they will miss.”
All the community – and country – can do is watch and wait.
“I started out thinking that you try to provide normalcy,” Osborne said of his day-to-day mindset at home. “But now I simply try to make the most of what’s in front of me, whether it’s playing games with my family, video chatting, even working out in the yard.”
Officials noted that school counselors are available through email and video for students needing extra emotional support. Visit northroyaltonsd.org for more information, including a “Social Distancing Student Support” link on the high school’s tab.
By SARA MACHO HILL
Contributing Writer