Greg Michalski, Upper School Faculty

Ode To The Graduates Of 2020

by faculty member Greg Michalski
Before retiring at the end of June 2020, after 27 years of teaching at Crescent, Upper School science teacher Greg Michalski wrote this poem, revealing a talent for rhyme as well as physics.


Just mere months ago, all would agree
The Green life of Crescent, was fine as could be.

When out of the blue, and quite quickly at that,
A virus barged in, like the Cat in the Hat.

An invisible nuisance that travelled about,
It closed doors at Crescent, within and without.

Suddenly hallways were empty and barren,
A silence so eerie, it gave one a scarin’.

The goalposts of rugby had started to rust,
And the robot, dear 610, was gathering dust.

No music, no baseball, no tennis, no track,
The students and teachers were taken aback.

High-fives in the hallways, now a thing of the past,
The flag at the lunch hall was flying half-mast.

The world went all kooky for more than a week,
When the paper for toilets was looking quite bleak.

Panicky people bought stocks that might thrive,
In Purelle, and Netflix and N-95s.

Sent off to our homes, to self-isolate,
Like bears in the winter that must hibernate.

Our parents, God love ‘em, they’ve always been prime,
But 24/7 for weeks at a time??

Please don’t you encroach on my 2-metre zone,
Keep scrubbin’ your hands, right down to the bone.

A new world emerged, to alter the schoolin’,
Our system of learnin’ would need a retoolin’.

Gone were the chairs in the Grad lounging room,
And in came a thing with a name known as ZOOM.

Screens filled with faces that learned from afar,
This gallery view at the start seemed bizarre.

Was I picking my nose, with the video on?
Or belching I fear, with the mute now withdrawn?

Tech rage would simmer, with connections that dropped,
Or fatigue with the screen when the brain finally stopped.

Somehow we had to make all of this work,
While learning new things, and not go beserk.

Like when we’re allowed to enter a chat,
Or draw on the screen, like an artistic brat.

One had the worry of becoming neurotic,
Almost as bad, as the poor Joe Exotic.

But nice aspects came in this newfound tableau,
Golf shirt on top, and boxers down low!

Up in the morning at 8:59,
For 9 o’clock class, which suited us fine.

No barbers around, the hair could grow long,
A belt and shirt tuck-in, just now seemed so wrong.

Summatives whittled right down to just two,
And AP exams from the bedroom, WOO HOO!!

Jackbox with buddies, in the wee of the night,
Avoiding the homework, with distracted delight.

And each day your faces showed up on our screen,
A sight for sore eyes in this ZOOM kinda scene.

And really quite quickly, you did synchronize,
With Virtual Learning, and all it implies.

You leaned on each other to get yourselves through,
This approach you must use, in your future years too.

With a link to a virus, you never did seek,
This made the 0-20s, just extra unique.

And while all this flexing, adapting and changing,
Seemed quite filled with challenge and much rearranging,

It taught you the value of being prepared,
For a world where the rules are not always declared.

For change is a constant, but change can be good,
Reinventing ourselves, as most of us should.

The COVID ordeal, and what was involved,
Has helped to instill some new strength and resolve.

And while you were home, safe and self-isolating,
The world was a changin’, evolving, mutating.

Folks took to the streets, with some hope in the air,
For justice and healing, and wrongs to repair.

A change is in store, for the better we pray,
In how we treat others, in the right sort of way.

You’re perched on the edge of a changing new time,
Now go make your marks, with your mountains to climb.

With all of your talents, your brains and big hearts,
Our faith is placed in you, to go do your parts.

Whatever you tackle, wherever you tread
Keep others in mind, while you reach far ahead.

And listen to others, they have their say too,
Life, don’t forget, is not all about you.

So thank you again, for your efforts aplenty,
Over your years, as you came and you wenty.

And sometime next fall, when we’re all post-Corona,
You’ll still walk the stage, to snag your diploma.

And over the days and the months in between,
Jansen and Pain will create a vaccine.

The doors here at Crescent will always be open,
To come back and visit, that’s what we’re all hopin’.

For the Grads of 0-20, in all of your glory,
Here’s to future success, as a post-COVID story.

Good luck with the next stage, wherever you’re at,
Just keep those immune systems healthy and fat!


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