BLASDELL, N.Y. — When the pandemic first hit, Blasdell Elementary 5th grade teacher Katelyn Piraino said she took it really hard.
"I missed my kids so much," she told 2 On Your Side.
It didn't take long for her, her co-teacher, and their students to adjust to virtual learning, and then the hybrid model this fall.
"We've always used Google Classroom, we've always used Google Docs, Google Slides. We've always taught the children how to email," Piraino said. "In fifth grade, we talk about accountability, and if you forget your homework at school and you can't do it, you need to email me."
Technology is a major focus in this classroom. Social media is actually the theme.
"We have a writing wall over there and it's got the Snapchat Ghost," she said. "We have the Instagram reading group and the Twitter reading group."
"I've never really had a teacher that has a theme before, so, it's pretty interesting to have all these special things around the room," said student Madison Baker.
"There's emojis too, in some places, because our teachers like emojis," Mya Hellerer added.
Piraino uses her Twitter account to showcase the good things happening at school, despite the changes and challenges of 2020. She's shared safe learning set-ups, ways to make wearing masks more fun and a recent can and bottle drive.
"Our classroom Twitter page is a scrapbook," she explained. "It is a way for them to look back on their year."
It's also a way for her to connect and collaborate with other educators around the country and the world.
"We bounce ideas off each other," she said. The best teachers teach others, they teach other teachers."
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