'We Really Miss The Normalcy': Penn Hills School District Holds Summer Sendoff For All Students
PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- The traffic circle at Penn Hills High School saw more cars and warm embraces than it's seen in months.
"We invited our families to drive by and wave and say hello because we haven't seen most or all of them in nine weeks," said Eric Kostic, Principal of PHHS.
The Penn Hills School District held a summer send-off today for students in at its elementary, middle, and high school Tuesday afternoon.
One vehicle at a time students packed into cars with family and friends for one final goodbye to their teachers before their virtual school bells ring out for summer.
"I think it's really important emotionally for the kids but also for the staff because we really miss the normalcy," said Nancy Hines, Superintendent.
Normalcy is hard to come by these days.
Hines told KDKA even locker cleanout is different.
Staff members have been packing students' belongings up for them, putting them in bags, which are picked up during scheduled time slots.
This is hardly enough time to bid farewell before departing for summer break, or in the case of seniors, forever. So today, they exchanged goodbyes.
"Just to give the kids something. A little send-off to remember us," said teacher Matt Herdman.
Lindsay Moser, a teacher, said, "We're sad that we couldn't finish out the year in the school with our kids but we're happy we could do stuff like this to support them."
With so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, Superintendent Nancy Hines said she's already forming a plan for hybrid learning next year where students will spend half of their time in the building and half learning online.