New Classroom Carpets!

For nearly two years, students and teachers engaged in teaching and learning under COVID-19 mitigation measures. Students sat in rows of desks and chairs utilizing all available classroom space. Classroom carpets, which traditionally serve as the hub of classroom activity and community building, had been removed to support physical distancing efforts. The removal of classroom carpets took away a key element of elementary classroom learning.

Once mitigation efforts were lifted, one of the first steps taken at Vernfield Elementary was to reintroduce classroom carpets in our Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade classrooms. The original classroom carpets that had been in storage for two years were no longer in condition to return to classrooms. This provided an opportunity for new carpets! Rather than returning to the uniform, gray carpets of the past, teachers were able to select from a variety of themed carpets that would bring color and joy to their classrooms! Shortly after, new carpets also arrived to our Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade classrooms.

As new carpets arrived, classroom-by-classroom, students and teachers celebrated the return of what felt and looked like a normal elementary school classroom! Teachers gathered their students on the carpets for Morning Meeting, read aloud, instruction, community-building activities, and more! This wasn't just our much-needed "return to normal" – it was our moment of renewal!