'WE MISS YOU'

Cheers and laughter echoed down Dana Avenue outside St. Jude the Apostle School in Wynantskill. A line of teachers waved signs and called out to the passing cars filled with their students who came to visit the school's first “reverse parade.” 

On Wednesday, April 22, faculty and staff from St. Jude the Apostle lined the street with signs, noisemakers, costumes and music, allowing families and students to drive by and yell their hellos to their beloved teachers. 

“I’ve had emails from parents saying my daughter can’t wait to go back,” said Kristine Hoofay, assistant principal and faith formation director at St. Jude. “You can’t go back yet, but you can shout out a window and we can shout back to you.”

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, teachers have adapted to online classrooms and remote learning while schools remain closed. To bridge the online gap, teachers across the Capital District have organized vehicle parades through student neighborhoods as a way to connect with their students.

“This is virtually impossible for private schools to organize and carry out due to their students coming from multiple districts and whose homes stretch across tens of miles,” the school wrote in a press release for the event. Since the teachers were unable to come to the students, the reverse parade offered students “an opportunity for them to come to us.”

Kara Enides, fifth-grade teacher at St. Jude, said that while online teaching is helpful “it’s just not the same as being together.”

“We have to make the connection. It's just been so hard and we miss them and I know that they're struggling. It's emotional. It's such a good little school.”

During the parade, a row of cars lined the avenue outside St. Jude. Students taped posters covered with rainbows and colorful art to their cars, others held signs reading “We miss you” out car windows as they drove by. 

One student spotted his teacher in the lineup. He stretched out the car’s sunroof and cupped his hands together, “I miss you!” he yelled. His teacher jumped and waved right back, “I miss you, too!” she cried.

“It’s emotional,” Enides added. “I didn't think it would be but when you're stuck at home and you can't socialize it's hard. But this is exactly what we needed.”