Top marks for Halifax primary school teacher’s efforts during lockdown

Dan Crook, who turns 30 on Friday, teaches at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and has organised several fun games and activities for his class to enjoy, as well as giving them regular schoolwork to do.

Mr Crook, who has had to postpone his wedding, which was due to take place on Easter Sunday, said: “We use Zoom every morning and afternoon. We do prayers and I give them a run through of any work they need to do.

“We use a digital app and we put tutorials on there.

“We set them all up with an account when it all started.

“I can see the whole class when they’re all on, there’s 29 in my class.

“As well as all the school stuff we’ve been trying to do interesting activities like a Great British Bake-Off and I went round with the chair of governors to their houses.

“We’ve visited as many of them as we can to see them and catch up with their parents since the measures got slightly relaxed.

“We’ve done a video where it looks like they were throwing each other a paper plane, the idea being they were spreading positive messages and reading it on the plane.

“We recreated famous photos, like the Winston Churchill V for Victory, and a film still from La La Land.

“They’ve done some stop-motion videos recreating famous moments in history, with lego or toys.

“They’ve done gym challenges, quizzes, redesigning the Google logo, reading a book in a funny place like washing machines or hanging upside down on bunk beds.

“We did a scavenger hunt so I’d send them off for a pint of milk and the first one back got a point.

“In school, they get house points so any time we do things like that, I give them a prize, so at Easter I dropped some Easter eggs off on their doorsteps.”

Mr Crook, who lives in Sowerby Bridge, said providing his pupils with things to do has helped him as well as them to get through lockdown.

“I’ve known these kids for seven years now, they were in reception class when I first started working at the school,” he said.

“I taught them in Year Three and now I’ve taught them again in Year Six, so their parents are almost more like friends.

“They’ve shared how they’ve been dealing with the situation, some of them have been struggling and they’ve said just having the kids occupied and entertained is a load off their mind.

“I just felt a responsibility for the kids, and it’s a bit of normality for me, getting up in a morning.

“It keeps me going. It’s what I’m used to.

“I love seeing the kids at school and when you’ve seen the same kids and same parents for seven years, to not have that contact, it would be difficult.

“They’ve got enough worries at the moment, so for the sake of me nipping on the iPad for 10 minutes and giving them a bit of work, if that gives them something to get on with, it helps them and helps me I suppose.”

One of the Year Six parents, speaking on behalf of all Year Six parents, said: “He is just an amazing teacher and credit to St Joseph’s School.

“He is so personal with the children and goes over and above to help all the kids, and also us parents.

“At the same time as being so professional, he is also so much fun and down to earth and the children absolutely love him.”

WATCH: Year Six pupils at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School spread positive message