Safe At Home in Washington: So We Will Remember....University of Iowa and WCSD Closings

Just so we NEVER FORGET.....

On April 2, 2020 a post began circulating on FaceBook and it captured perfectly what I have been wanting to put together. I have been gathering pictures, links and PDFs all week and so now I will use this post with the many of the statements as a guide (and I will add my own as well) and add what I have collected so we will have a written account of our experience.

University of Iowa to Move to Online Classes

Beginning on March 10, many universities across the United States began to move to online classes after Spring Break. The first one we learned of was Ohio State University. We could only assume The University of Iowa would follow suit.

The University of Iowa made the official announcement on March 11, 2020

Read the letter that was sent via email to all students.

Read the letter sent to parents.

Lindsay and Allison left campus on Friday, March 13 after Lindsay got off work at 4:30. Allison said many students were taking home much of their stuff (TVs, futons) as many students speculated they would not be returning to face to face class. Allison said there were many tears as she said good bye to her friends she had made this year. Many of her friends live in the Chicago area so it is uncertain when they will see each other again. Lindsay's roommate Courtney had gone home on Tuesday, March 10 as she and her family were preparing to go on a Spring Break Cruise. This cruise was later cancelled by the cruise line. Hannah, her other roommate also went home on Friday, March 13.

Originally, Lindsay was supposed to go on a mission trip to Chicago with Park View Student Ministries during Spring Break. This trip was unfortunately but understandably cancelled on March 10. She was going to be the Junior High girls leader. She was then going to go visit Jessie at The University of Missouri. This trip was also cancelled as Jessie also moved to online learning.

More Announcements from The University of Iowa

Read the letter sent to students and parents.

When Allison received the email she tried to log in to select a time but could not log in due to so many students trying to access the server. She made contact with her friends to see when they were moving out. "The guys" went to get their stuff on Friday but Allison had to work. She made
arrangements with Tori to go between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. Eden and Taylor
were also moving out.

The sign across Hwy 218 near
Iowa City.

An empty campus!
No people around The Iowa
Memorial Uniton,

Allison and Tori's room.

Their dorm room in Currier.

Allison's desk. Notice the
white contact paper on top and
the drawers....more to come!

Their sink and mirror.

Closet...Allison on the left
and Tori on the right.

A curtain to hide their stuff.

Their 2nd futon of the year!
The one Tori brought was moved
to Parkview and we brought the one
from our house.

Allison and Tori's 2nd semester schedule

Remember the white contact paper on the desk?Well, it left a sticky film when we removed it!
We used Clorax wipes, then paper towels with
Dawn dishsoap which seemed to do the trick!
LOTS of scrubbing!

LOTS of work! Luckily they had Clorax wipes and
paper towels because you
cannot buy them!
All sold out!

First was taking apart the futon to
move to Lindsay's apartment so
we didn't have to move it to Washington.

Tori, her dad, and Ray.
Dad, Mom, Lindsay & Allison
Maddie Schulte (Lindsay's friend) all
there to help clean out the room.

Loading clothes to the suitcase.

One of many trips to the car.
Thanks Lindsay and Maddie!

Dad and Ray taking the futon
to the car.

Allison getting the 9 cube ready
to take to the car.

L to R
Erin, Tori, Allison, Taylor
Eden, Bonita

Social Distancing with Dad photobombing!

Currier S137

Currier Residence Hall
Fun times cut short!

Social Distancing!

A GREAT roommate!

Lots of memories cut short!

One of their favorite places to study!

A very quiet Dorm!

All cleaned out but the
Hawkeye spirit is still present!

The view from their dorm.

An empty closet!

Some final pics!

Allison and Tori

Family Pic

One final room hug!

Allison put her key in this
envelope and left it in her
mailbox to checkout.

Dad and Ray with a last hug!

See you soon!

Two cars to unpack!

Spraying everything with Lysol
once it was unloaded.

School Cancelled

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recommended the closing of Iowa Schools. Washington Community Schools were supposed to go to school on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 and then be on Spring Break starting on March 18. WHS was supposed to
have Final Exams to end 3rd term on March 16 and March 17. Lincoln Elementary was supposed
to have VIP Day on Tuesday, March 17 9VIP Day was cancelled on Friday, March 13. )

Click Here for the letter that was on the WCSD District Website.

Click Here to go to the WCSD website for this post.

It was also decided that we do not have to make up the 4 weeks of school that we have missed.

Click Here for the PDF of the article on KCRG.com

Click Here for the story on kcrg.com

Washington Community Schools are offering lunches for ANYONE 1-18 to receive a free lunch prepared by the district. Because Allison is still 18 years old we go and pick up a lunch for her. The schools provide 2 lunches on Mondays and 3 lunches on Wednesday. There are 11 locations throughout Washington for pickup and the district will deliver to anyone living in rural Washington that cannot get to one of the sites.

On Thursday, April 2, 2020, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. She announced that schools will now be closed until April 30. Many states have cancelled school for the entire school year. This means WHS Prom will not take place as scheduled on April 18.