HOISINGTON — Spring fever is hitting Hoisington Middle School teachers, and they know just what to do about it. Wednesday morning, the teachers gathered after a weekly leadership meeting with Principal Pat Reinhardt and assembled more than 130 May baskets they will deliver to students both in the city and along the rural bus routes Friday morning.
“We’ve got to somehow see our kids and have them see us too,” Reinhardt said.
USD 431 students left school for spring break in March, and while they were off, Governor Laura Kelly announced her executive order closing all public schools for the rest of the school year. Since then, teachers have assembled learning aids and assignments for students to continue their lessons at home, and have been touching base with phone calls and over the internet.
While it’s hard on students to be away from class and their friends, it’s hard for the teachers as well, said Cindy Wilborn, the school’s wellness teacher.
“We need to see them as much as they need to see us,” she said.
Each of the baskets will include a card with some history about May Day and May baskets.
Friday morning, bus drivers will be accompanied by teachers who will distribute the baskets to out-of-town students. In town, the city has been divided into thirds with teams of teachers stopping at each student’s house.
“Pat’s going to put a call out just so parents have a heads up to be watching for us,” Wilborn said. “Because we still have to respect social distance, the handoff might be us setting it on the porch and waving at them.”
Reinhardt and the teachers are hopeful students will be able to return to the classroom in the fall. They’ve been planning new ways students making the transition into middle school in the fall will become acquainted with the school. Usually, fifth graders tour the school at the end of the year. That wasn’t possible this year. Instead, new students and incoming sixth graders will be invited to visit the school near the start of August.
“They can meet the teachers and they can actually go through their schedule,” Reinhardt said. “They’ll have an opportunity to deck out their lockers before school starts, something new to them.”
If well received, some of these new opportunities may become part of the new normal, she added.
May Day 101
According to History.com: During the 19th and 20th centuries, May Basket Day was celebrated across the country, where baskets were created with flowers, candies and other treats and hung on the doors of friends, neighbors and loved ones on May 1.
Today, May Day is an official holiday in 66 countries and unofficially celebrated in many more, but ironically it is rarely recognized in the country where it began, the United States of America.
If you’re inspired today to make a May basket for a friend, we found a free basket template at the website for Artists Helping Children (https://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/2012/04/how-to-make-a-may-basket/ ). Decorate the basket any way you choose, and then cut it out, paste it together and fill it with treats and some flowers from the garden.
