HOULTON, Maine — With Mill Pond Elementary School closed for the time being, school buses have been going their normal routes, only now they are used to deliver children’s lunches instead of bringing them to school.
Elementary students Brooke and Austin Quimby of Hodgdon decided to show how much they support school staff during this time.
Each day when the school bus drops off the two students lunches, Brooke, 8, and Austin, 10, are standing there with a homemade sign expressing their thanks to the staff for all they do during this time.
“Brooke is really creative, so she wanted to do the sign and Austin helps her come up with the saying,” Heather Quimby, the students’ mother, said.
Each day, the sign reads something different, made using spare pieces of cardboard and painting materials. One day, the sign read “You make a difference. Thank you Mill Pond.” On another day, it read “You are totally awesome.”
Their mother also said that the drivers dropping off the kids’ meals have taken notice and are thanking them for their support.
“They stop and tell them how much it brightens their day,” she said. “And that it’s the highlight of their trip to see them with their signs.”
Regular classes at Mill Pond Elementary have been closed since March 16, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Teachers and school staff are still sending learning packets to students. School lunches are available for both curb-side pickup at the school, or by school bus delivery.
With the recent announcement by President Donald Trump that social distancing advisories are to remain in place until April 30, it remains to be seen if students will return to the classroom this year.
