You could say it takes a village to pull off outdoor learning on our 25-acre Dyker Heights campus. It takes the whole Poly community to make it successful—administrators, 教师, 工作人员, 学生, 父母, 和校友.

校友 answered when 保利预科 put out the call for “alumni 教师 assistants” to help with the logistics of making in-person outdoor learning a success on the Dyker Heights campus this September. 尼克·埃德尔，15岁, 贾斯汀·费雷利94年, 卡拉·查尔斯16岁, Kaylin Warner, 15岁, 安德鲁·安德拉德，16岁 加强了. 此外，还有另外两位校友， Corinne Bongiorni, 09年 和 马修·菲格罗亚，08年, are working in the classroom tents helping to keep the 学生 on task, assisting the teachers who are teaching virtually from home.

The 教师 assistants are working with both Middle 和 上学校 学生. 到目前为止, they have helped to make the morning arrival process of screening 学生 go smoothly, 准备外卖午餐, distributed lunches among the almost 70 tents either on the Oval, 网球场, 或后卫, tagged the portable camp chairs that 学生 use each day, assisted with dismissal to buses or cars, supported teachers in the tents, 监控的厕所, 分发物资.

After spending the last two decades working in hospitality, Justin Ferrelli was looking for a career change. “I began to think about education as a possible career field, began researching teaching assistant programs,费雷利说. “That’s when the 教师 assistant program opportunity presented itself. It’s a great opportunity to get exposure to day-to-day classroom experience, while doing so in an environment I’m already comfortable 和 familiar with.”

“It feels different with everything being outside, but the soul of the school is still there regardless.”

Nick Edel was waiting to hear about physical therapy school applications when he received the notice about 教师 assistant positions 和 knew Poly would be a good fit. “I also wanted to come back 和 see how all the teachers 和 学生 I know are doing,” 埃德尔表示. “It feels great to be back at Poly since it’s a lot of people I know from helping out with the football team last year 和 my continual work at Poly summer.他接着说, “很明显, it feels different with everything being outside, but the soul of the school is still there regardless.”

“这是大流行的结果,费雷利说, “many aspects of the Poly experience, 哪些曾经是事后的想法, 现在需要明确的规划. This includes things like lunch in Commons Hall, P.E. on the backfields, purchasing school supplies.  作为计划的一部分, 在第一周, I 和 other alumni 教师 assistants have been involved in activities ranging from the bagging 和 distribution of lunch to the compiling of school supplies in bags that were ultimately given to 学生.  Other key items on our daily agenda have been helping with Movement classes in the tents, 便利学生退学, 确保社交距离.”

埃德尔表示, “We have also tagged most of the chairs that the 上学校 学生 are using when going around from class to class on the backfields.”

“I don’t know how I would have felt about class outside,” 埃德尔表示. “I’m used to being on the backfields so would have probably been fine with it, but who knows how I would have felt when it gets really hot or cold. It definitely would have taken time getting used to.”

Other alumni are stepping in as teachers in the tents. “Instead of teaching from a lesson plan left for me, I’m assisting the ‘classroom’ as they connect with their teacher on Zoom,Corinne Bongiorni解释道, who has also worked as a substitute teacher at Poly during normal times. “到目前为止 I’ve subbed math, English, history classes.”

“Initially I thought weather was going to be the biggest challenge,邦乔尼说, “但, 到目前为止, the biggest challenge is underestimating exactly how huge 25 acres is. Tents are spread out over the entire backfield, on the Oval, on all the 网球场. It’s a lot different than just walking down a few hallways to get to your next class.

“The 学生 have adapted really well,邦乔尼说. “Everyone has probably experienced a minor setback like not being able to remember your password, or putting your chair down in the wrong classroom, but since this is new for everyone, 它看起来没有那么有压力. I used to love having class in the Quad in the springtime so I think I would have enjoyed more outdoor learning.”

“It feels wonderful to be back at Poly,费雷利说. Although the classrooms have changed, 他说,  “the dedication of the 教师 和 the commitment to 学生 have not.”