By Christiane Cullens, English Teacher: Amabie are a part of Japanese folklore called upon in times of plague or great illness to seek their aid in helping the suffering. To draw one is to pay homage to them and ask for their help. During the pandemic, Instagram and other social media platforms saw a global upsurge of Amabie artwork. Here is mine. 
Artwork by Liam Hollis, 9th Grade: It's a pretty abstract art piece on one side showing what needs to happen and the two sides of this pandemic, and then the other shows faceless people in a city, giving examples of all those who will be forgotten or faceless after this is over.
While this drawing might look sloppy or rushed, it is meant to look so. The lines zig and zag to express the chaos in the world, and how everything right now is very far from straight forward. The people do not have faces to represent all those who will die faceless, nameless, and forgotten, lost at the bottom of a rushed grave.
And while the lack of color may be depressing, it is meant to be so, for while the world right now is bleak, there is still specks of color, there is still hope;
''Though the night of her soul was a deep starless darkness, she stirred the ashes within and found glowing embers she could fan into flame'' - John Mark Green
To whom it may concern:
It is with great respect that I submit this letter to you for distribution. Due to the fact that hospital websites do not have email addresses and my search for contact information via switchboards was fruitless I am sending this with a request that you make copies and post them where nursing staff can visualize them such as in break rooms and on informational bulletin boards.
It was a pleasure to find a personal way to reach out to our comrades who are working in hospitals and hope that our appreciation is a tiny bit of silver lining in each of their days.
The video below is another tribute to our heroes from school nurses in Maine.
Thank-you from the depths of our hearts
From Our Hearts to Yours, Maine School Nurses Thank Nurses on the Frontline
Maine school nurses unite to thank their fellow nurses working the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic. These nurses are heroes of today and their bravery...
Information on the pandemic from a student's perspective.
My piece of the archive is just a few different days spread out throughout the quarantine that show what my day to day life was like.
Home, and around the island, things I've been doing to stay busy and positive.
An Essay: Self-Reliance in the Era of Covid-19
By Keith Eaton
(Click the link below to read)
Antisocial Distancing
Domesticated cats are the toddlers of the animal world.
They’re always someplace they shouldn’t be,
Messing with things better left alone,
Eating stuff that isn’t food and inevitably and
Noisily reproducing it half-digested on the rug.
When not throwing tantrums or fighting one another,
They hold all-night, bratty, brawly playdates and
Contentedly sleep them off once I wake for work.
They are nothing more than furry terrible twos on four legs.
But now it would seem I’m straining their l’enfance oblige
As #IStayHomeFor #Covid19 #remoteteaching,
A nocturnal guest who has outstripped his diurnal welcome
As they each, most histrionically arrayedー
One loafed with pouty disdain on the ottoman,
The other in full unfurl on the new sofaー
Sulk at my unwarranted and abrading presence.
ー Casey Rush, English Teacher
My Quarantine So Far by Claire Moore, May 29, 2020
Shelagh McLoughlinJune 2, 2020
example photo, not taken by myself
A week and a half later “remote learning” for high schoolers began (Wednesday March 25, 2020).Then the reopening date for school continued to be postponed. Eventually, between that point and now, it was decided that the school year would be completed remotely, and then it was followed up by the decision to finish the school year early, on June 5, 2020.
For me, at the beginning of quarantine and the school closure it felt like a continuous snow day or a vacation. I could do anything, as long as I stayed at home and practiced social distancing, no problem! Then I realized all the cons, I couldn’t see my friends in person everyday, I couldn’t entertain myself by going out, my volleyball season was canceled, I was bored, I hated online school, and obviously the news on most platforms sucked.
My picture is a of a Side Street Cafe take-out bag and it is showing how our town's businesses have kept open in a safe way during this pandemic. ~Tessa Sanborn
A quiet spring at The Chart Room where Damien Wilcomb's Dad works.
Outside house, forsythia bush, two weeks ago, simple idea to represent the time that the quarantine has given us to go and spend more time appreciating simple things of nature and re-imaging them into photos or our archive. ~Samuel Ingram
At my home workout gear. I have been doing a lot of exercise lately and running. I have been also getting into other hobbies such as art which is what the flower painting is. ~Sarah Cook
Flower Painting by Sarah Cook
My siblings and I can always be found outside playing. ~Jennifer Carr
Happiness with Siblings. ~Jennifer Carr
This an example of what i"m doing for the most part. In this photo I'm playing a game on my phone. ~Aaron Durgin
Bouldering at monument cove, using the park to stay happy and healthy. ~Lily James
~Lily James
~Lily James
Photos of a usually extremely busy place on the island, Jordan Pond, from earlier years, and photos I took this May and June. Note: I had to bike to Jordan Pond and sneak around a bit in order to take these. I think that in my photos it is easier to find them beautiful for the lack of random people crowding. ~Sophia Anderson
~Sophia Anderson
~Sophia Anderson
~Sophia Anderson
~Sophia Anderson
Picture of my father and I in Hannaford with masks on. ~Asha Steiner
I am at my camp in the pictures and I am doing online class in the sun ~Abby Tibbetts
I included a picture of the swing my siblings and I have spent a lot of time on in our backyard. ~Kaya Gray
This was a picture from a hike I went on May 10th near Echo Lake. ~Bing Shields
During quarantine, I have been climbing a lot. These photos were at Great Head. ~Cole Watson
~ Cole Watson
My personal sailboat (SV Breaking Wind) that I just finished rebuilding over the pandemic and my family's powerboat (MV Honeybadger) along with my bike ride up a mountain near my house. ~Patrick Hall
~ Patrick Hall
~ Patrick Hall
~Patrick Hall
~Patrick Hall
Over the last few weeks, some of my friends (who are too numerous to list) and I built MDIHS in Minecraft because we had a lot of free time due to being stuck at home because of the pandemic. I've just submitted some shots from outside, but all the rooms are built. ~ Sylvester Mays
~ Sylvester Mays
~ Sylvester Mays
~Sylvester Mays
~ Sylvester Mays
Pictures of all of the animals I've caught during the quarantine at my house and at Acacia pond. ~ Bela Ossanna
~ Bela Ossanna
~ Bela Ossanna
An omlet and what is put on it. ~ Kadin Reed
This is a photo of my remote learning "classroom". In the beginning, it was difficult to juggle facilitating online learning for students in a crowded home (Town Hill, Bar Harbor) of 5 humans and 2 dogs! My husband came to rescue by adapting a shed in our driveway... adding electricity (lights, heat and charging) and internet. It was gloomy for a while! Sitting in a wooden box was lonely, cold and depressing. Being away from the live action of school has been so challenging! We found some old windows in a junk pile to add to the shed. Having a window to the outside, especially while the signs of spring arrived, has helped a bit. I am still missing the SUN students and staff... but I am making friends with with woodland critters and birds. This photo will always remind me of how lucky I have been during this pandemic. I have a safe place to be. I have a job I love. I can use technology to connect with others. It may not be ideal, but there are many in our state, country and world who are facing much worse. ~ Kelley Sanborn, Special Education Teacher
A craft my Mom and I started to make to sell sometime in the future.
I had written down some of the activities I've been doing to avoid boredom in the quarantine. I feel like it can be hard to find inspiration to feel motivated to do things we may want to do I quarantine, and I feel like seeing the collage and reading the caption might help someone and make them excited to do something they haven't in a while or to try something new.
Shelf made in May 2020.
My piece is a power tower in my basement built by me. It is helping me stay fit for the summer.
Sarah Weaver
May 19, 2020
during COVID
Dear planet,
As a world population, we are sorry. We are sorry for all the damage that has been done to you, we are sorry for the negativity and loss of control towards what we do to you. We are sorry for the rising temperatures in the Artic that are causing the polar bears to shrink in population. We are sorry for the thousands of animals that have gone extinct. We are sorry for all the humans that poison this planet with there words. But most importantly we are sorry that we have lost track of time, so many people in this world are so focused on there future or there past to recognize the unmatched beauty of this planet. If more people focused on the present, people would realize the trouble this planet is in. thankfully since corona, people have had a chance to realize what we take for granted every day. We become more thankful for the air in our lungs, for the friends and family that are there for you, for the sun rays that spread warmth throughout our bodies, and the memories that we are able to make with each other, and how our lives have been put on hold readjusting our view of life.
