'Nobody is alone'
A happy caravan that pulled at the heartstrings traversed every neighborhood where Moraine Elementary School students live.
Some 40 teachers, administrators and staff from the school decorated their cars, trucks and SUVs on Thursday to let the 400 students in kindergarten through fifth grade know that they are loved and missed as they study at home for the remainder of the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Students and parents waiting along the road in Prospect, Portersville, West Liberty, Slippery Rock, and Muddy Creek and Franklin townships were just as excited to see their teachers drive past in the caravan.
The raucous event started at the school on Main Street in Prospect, where faculty and staff lined up behind cruisers driven by Prospect and state police, plus trucks from the Prospect/Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, which led the caravan with flashing lights and blaring sirens.
Messages on the vehicles included “Moraine Strong,” “Be happy,” “Just keep singing,” “You rock!,” “Stay safe,” and “We miss you.”
Amanda Zavidny, a fifth-grade teacher, had her SUV decked out in a Snoopy theme, with clever signs including “Local forecast: There's a 100 percent chance that I miss you” and “There are 100 reasons why I miss you.”
“We want to see our students and we want them to know they are missed and we're still here for them,” said Kristie Shulsky, Moraine Elementary principal. “It's been hard not seeing them for eight weeks.”
<h3>Connecting with families</h3>The school's families were notified of the caravan through email and text message so they could prepare signs to share their sentiments with teachers, secretaries, custodians and cafeteria staff.Trooper Michael Dugan of Troop D, Mercer barracks, has two daughters who attend Moraine Elementary. Dugan participated in the caravan in full uniform, lights flashing and siren blistering the air.“My daughters are excited to see me in the parade,” he said. “Anything that makes them happy makes me happy.”Students and their parents lined the various streets and roads along the route, which took two hours to traverse. Children jumped for joy and screamed their teachers' names as they passed.The parade of beaming educators and staff crawled past their tiny fans, making sure to point, smile and wave heartily at their students.Ashlynn McCloskey, a third-grader at Moraine Elementary, waited with her family and neighbors on Unionville Road for the caravan to pass.“I made signs to tell them how much I miss them,” Ashlynn said.Asked how she feels about finishing the end of the school year at home, she replied “I'm not very happy about that.”She explained that her best friend moved away in March, and she didn't get to say goodbye because she didn't know on her last day of school that she would not be returning.“We call each other the two divas,” Ashlynn said.She said studying at home is boring.“For my mom, she says 'stressful,' ” Ashlynn said.Shannon and Amelia Koehler, who are in third grade and kindergarten, respectively, anxiously awaited the caravan on Unionville Road near the Big Butler Fairgrounds.“I think it's really going to be exciting,” Shannon said. “It's going to be fun.”The sisters printed signs they made on the computer that told their teachers “I miss you.”Shannon said studying at home with her mother, Katie Koehler, is no joke, as Koehler is a former Butler Area High School teacher.“It's fun and at the same time, difficult,” Shannon said.Her sister agreed.“Sometimes it's fun, and sometimes it's hard,” Amelia said.Their mother was thrilled with the idea of the teachers going past and waving to their students.“It's a wonderful idea,” Koehler said. “It gives the kids a chance to see their teachers in person rather than just on the computer, because they do miss them.”She and her husband, who is a nurse anesthetist at Butler Memorial Hospital, are doing their best to ensure the girls continue learning during the pandemic.“We never thought we could homeschool, but this has shown us we are capable of more than we thought,” Koehler said.Remington Bissonnette, a Moraine second-grader, stood on the sidewalk in Prospect with her mother and two younger siblings.“I got to see firefighters and police and the teachers,” Remington said. “I would say 'thank you' if I could.”Her mother, Becca Bissonnette, agreed.“It's really nice,” she said of the caravan. “It shows the kids their teachers are still looking out for them, even though they're not in the classroom.”Bissonnette said the caravan also was a reminder that everyone is in it together regarding the pandemic.“Nobody is alone,” she said.
<h3>Retiring teachers</h3>Two special drivers in the caravan were retiring Moraine teachers Connie Sarver and Barbara Putorti.Sarver said the final year of her 27-year stint with the Slippery Rock School District really threw her a curve.“This is not how I wanted to end my career,” she said. “It's bittersweet.”She was happy to participate in the parade as one of her final acts of love toward her students.“Anytime we can get out there and connect with the students and let them know we think about them and we care about them is great,” Sarver said.Putorti has served the district for 32 years. She also is disappointed at the cancellation of classes at school.“It's a bummer,” she said. “I don't get to say goodbye to the kids.”She said her retirement party was postponed because of the pandemic.“I loved getting up every morning and coming to work,” Putorti said. “That, I will miss.”She also was excited to participate in the happy caravan.“My kids were texting me to see if I was going to be in the parade,” she said.Almost as a sign from above, the dark clouds only began spitting rain as the decorated vehicles passed their final group of students.
