从2019年12月13日开始，我们的世界发生了天翻地覆的变化。在这个困难的时期，疫情给我们的生活带来了各种各样的困难。这一年，全人类都面临着这一巨大的挑战，但同时也让我们更能够看清自己的内心。如果仅仅只是紧盯着每天疯狂增长的新增病例， 生活好似一片黑暗。但这往往会让我们看不清身边的人和发生的事，忽略掉严酷的暴风雪中美丽绽放的花朵。对我来说，那束绽放的鲜花就是我的Rectory大家庭。Rectory School，我对你只有说不尽的感激。

当学校宣布春季学期将会关闭校园时，学校里仍滞留了大概25名学生，我就是其中一员。那一刻，我感到害怕和迷茫。我脑子里有一百万个问题闪过：我现在要去哪儿？校园里的其他学生都会去哪儿？学校会变成什么样？……那时，我感觉黑暗瞬间笼罩了我，挡住了所有希望的光线。

同学们一个接一个地离校回家了。25个学生很快就变成了8个。新学期以网课的形式开学了，却缺少了往常的活力氛围。在一切都与以往不同的环境里，我的心中也出现了越来越多的疑问和担忧。但是Rectory School竭尽所能的让我们这几个滞留校园的孩子在学校里生活地安心、安全、舒适，保证我们一切如常地生活与学习。以至于，有时候一天过去，我都忘记了还有疫情这回事。

在疫情下，我们在学校里的生活与学习好似逐渐走上正规，但留下来的同学们也一个接一个地离开。不知不觉中，包括我在内只剩4个人留在学校里了。面对空荡荡的校园，我不禁会想：“我们的学校真的要关闭了吗？”

实际上，虽然当时学校里的教职人员比学生还多，但Rectory School并未关闭。学生宿舍仍为我们开放；我们依旧可以去食堂用餐；Ms. O’Neil还为我们计划了许多有趣的活动；我们仍然可以每天都去图书馆远程学习。我们依旧还是往常那个Rectory School。

感谢Rectory，在这个特殊时期，在这个困难的时候，给了我们一个安心的家。

谢谢所有Rectory的老师们。尽管每个人都需要去适应这种新的教学形式，但是我的日常学习生活并没有感觉到特别大的不同，网课方面几乎没有出现任何技术问题。更重要的是，我发现，和老师们在Zoom上和电子邮件里沟通，和平常我们在教室上课、与老师面对面沟通其实一样便利。

每堂课都很精彩，老师们会充分利用线上教学的优势，还经常为我们准备各种活动。脱离了“常规”的校园生活，每天都很不一样；每天我们都会接触到新鲜的事物、给我们鼓励，让我们忘记了外面可怕的疫情。感谢我的老师们，一直竭力为我们提供良好的学习环境。

谢谢所有Rectory的Dorm Parents（宿舍管理老师）。圣诞节后一直到现在，我一直生活在学校宿舍里，已经四个多月了。每天晚上，总会有老师和我说晚安。每天早晨，总会有一张熟悉的面孔唤我起床。每天下午，我都能回到自己温馨舒适的小房间。谢谢你们一直为我们提供一个温暖的家。

也谢谢所有的学校食堂工作人员。即使现在，一切都关闭了，我们的食堂仍然为我们开放。周一到周五，我们从来不需要从外面订购任何食物。我们的食堂员工总是为我们准备丰盛而美味的食物。他们还会从学校外面带新鲜水果、牛奶、酸奶给我们。食堂的工作人员，感谢你们一直为我们提供美味的饭菜。

谢谢Mr. Ames。每天早上，您都会发布我们e-Assembly（线上早会）的视频。每天早上都能在屏幕上看到一张张熟悉的面孔，我感到特别高兴。那一瞬间，我感觉自己就像坐在学校早会大厅里参加正常的早会一样。每天的早会，您都有一些新颖的想法。您总是以不同的场景、在不同的地点、用不同的主题来做开场，开启我们愉快的一天，有时我自己还会出现在屏幕上。感谢Mr. Ames，能继续主持早会，开启我们精彩的每一天。

感谢我们的校长Mr. Williams。您不时会邀请我们到您家里烹饪、聚餐。我们会做汉堡、美式软心饼干，有时您还让我们在您家里做中餐！我们的厨艺可能不够精湛，但是离家这么久，能吃到家乡菜让我感觉就像回家了一样。除了烹饪聚餐，您还邀请我们在您家的院子里玩匹克球。即使我们不是专业的，也无法长时间保持控球，我们还是觉得非常开心。学习一项新运动，看着每个人的球技都在进步，这无疑是一种乐趣。谢谢Mr. Williams，让我们在您家里做客。

谢谢Ms. O'Neil。在春假期间，您为我们计划了一个为期两周的校内特别假期。每天我们都有不同的活动，并且所有的活动都非常精彩。有商场旅行、滑旱冰、中式自助餐、品尝冰淇淋和无数其他的活动。在学校宣布关闭之后，您花费了许多时间来制定新的时间表，几乎所有活动都必须要重新安排。但是您为我们安排的日程中，每一天都不同，每一天都很有趣。即使我们是以线上的方式远程学习，您仍会按照我们的学习日程来规划每周精彩的活动，给我们充足的时间在宿舍锻炼和放松。对于其他不在校园的学生，您为大家计划了Zoom线上活动，即使暂时不能一起在学校里学习和生活，也让我们Rectory社区里的每个成员心靠得越来越近。感谢Ms. O'Neil，在这个特殊时期，还能让我度过美好的每一天。

感谢Rectory School，为我们提供温暖的港湾。谢谢你在这场风暴中，还能让我们的生活充满阳光。谢谢你给我们带来希望和温暖。谢谢你在大家保持物理距离的同时，让我们的心却靠得更加紧密。谢谢我美丽的学校。

谢谢大家，能如此坚强、勇敢地共对抗对这场灾难。也感谢每一位在前线对抗疫情的英雄，承担着风险来守护我们的安全。仅是言语无法表达我的感激之情，谢谢你们！

 Carson

Ever since Dec 13, 2019, our world has been reshaped. During this difficult time, many problems arise in front of us. This year is when humanity is challenged, it is the time that reveals who we are on the inside. It might seem like a dark age to those who stare at the numbers of reported COVID-19 cases raising sky high every day on the news. However, we often fail to look around us, to focus on the beautiful blossom in the harsh blizzard. For me, that bouquet of tender flowers is my big Rectory Family. Rectory, I can’t thank you enough.

When the school announced that it was going to be closed for the Spring term, there were still about 25 students on campus. And among them, was me, frightened, and confused. There were a million questions in my mind, where would I go now? Where would all these students on campus go? What will school be like? … At that time, I felt like there was a swarm of darkness swirling around me, breaking each thread of light that I still had.

One by one, my fellow students were leaving campus and heading home. 25 students soon became about 8. The school day soon returned in the form of distance learning, but the usual lively ambiance did not. Now, with everything different, more and more questions arose in my mind. However, Rectory did its best to make the remaining student's life on campus as comfortable as possible, and as normal as possible. Therefore, sometimes a day would pass, and I could barely think of what’s going on in the world right now.

Just as the days seemed to be getting back to “normal”, more students left one by one. And before I knew it, there were only 4 of us left on campus. Facing the empty campus, I asked myself: “Will our school actually be closed?”

Despite the fact that there were more faculty on campus than students, Rectory did not close. Dorms were still open for us, the dining hall was still open for us, there were still fun activities planned by Ms.O’Neil, we could still go to the library for every day’s distance learning. We were still Rectory.

Thank you, Rectory, for giving us a home.

Thank you, to all the Rectory teachers. Although everyone had to adjust to this new way of studying, I haven’t really felt any significant change in my daily academics. There are rarely any technical issues. And more importantly, I find it just as easy to connect to my teachers on zoom and email as it was to go to their classroom and knock on their door.

Every class is excellent, teachers utilize the advantages of online classrooms well, and often prepare different activities for us. There’s no “routine”, every day is different; every day, there’s something fresh motivating us to forget about all the horrible things happening around us. Thank you, teachers, for always providing us a great environment for studying. 

Thank you, all the Rectory dorm parents. After Christmas, all the way until now, I have been sleeping in my dorm for 4 months now. But every night, there’s always a dorm parent on to say good night. And every morning, there’s always a familiar face to wake me up. Every afternoon, I can always go back to my cozy little room. Thank you, for always providing a home for us.

Thank you, all the dining hall staff. Even now, when everything is closed, our dining hall is still open. During the weekdays, we never need to order anything from outside. There is always warm and delicious food made by our dining hall staff awaiting us in the dining hall. We even have fruit, milk, and yogurt that chiefs brought us from the outside. Thank you, dining hall staff, for always providing us with a delicious meal.

Thank you, Mr. Ames. Every morning, you would post a video for our e-Assembly. I am really happy to see a familiar face on the screen every morning. For a second, I feel just like sitting in the Tang and being in a normal morning assembly. You always have new ideas for the assembly. You always introduce the day with a different scene, a different place, and a different theme. It is really a pleasant way to start the day, and sometimes even seeing myself on the screen. Thank you, Mr. Ames, for continuing the morning assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Williams. Sometimes, you would invite us to your house to have a nice cookout. We cook burgers, s’mores, and sometimes you even let us cook Chinese food! The food might not be great, but being away from home for so long, a dinner with food from home makes me feel just like home. Aside from cookouts, you also invited us to play pickleball in your yard. Even though we are not professional players, nor are we able to keep the ball off the ground for a long time, we had lots of fun. Playing a new sport and watching everyone getting better is certainly a joy. Thank you, Mr. Williams, for having us at the Britain house.

Thank you, Ms. O’Neil. During the Spring break, you planned a two-week special vacation on campus for us. Every day, we had different activities and all those activities were super fun. There were mall trips, roller skating, Chinese buffet, ice cream, and countless other activities. After the school announced its closing, you had to work so hard to make up a schedule, almost all the activities had to be changed. But with your amazing planning, every day was different, and every day was a lot of fun. Even when distance learning started, you continued to plan weekly activities that fit perfectly with our academic schedule. Giving us plenty of time for exercise and relaxation in the dorm. For other students who were not on campus, you planned zoom activities that brought our community closer and closer. Thank you, Ms.O’Neil, for making every day so wonderful.

Thank you, Rectory, for giving us a home and shelter. Thank you, for making our days bright and sunny in this storm. Thank you, for giving us hope and warmth. Thank you, for erasing the distance between us. Thank you, Rectory.

Thank you, everyone, for staying strong and fighting this disaster together. Thank you, every hero on the front line, for fending us from the fiend with your lives. Thank you, thank you.

Carson