With the closing of St. Dominic due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many quick decisions and changes have had to be made. At the forefront of these decisions is our fearless leader, President Jim Welby.

As an educator, it’s impossible to prepare for every type of event that may occur throughout the school year, so when Mr. Welby and the administration team caught wind of the beginning of the pandemic, they hopped into action.

“We had been watching the trends that had been occurring across the globe, and we began preparing weeks before the closing of schools. All of us did a lot of research on the best practices from schools affected in other parts of the world, and we met at night, on the weekends, etc, to make sure we were preparing to act quickly,” Welby said.

When the Archdiocese announced the official cancellation of in-person classes, Mr. Welby had many decisions to make about how to proceed with distance learning. His leadership throughout this crazy time has been a steady constant.

“Leadership is just acting in the best interest of those whom you feel responsible for. It’s meeting the needs of others, particularly in times of need,” Welby said.

Another crucial part of leadership is knowing when to listen to others and their opinions. Mr. Welby has listened to local health officials, as well as St. Charles County guidelines, to push back the dates of events like prom and the spring musical. He has also been open to new ideas on how to make this time away from school more fun.

“The virtual spirit week idea was started by the yearbook staff, and I’m glad it’s been able to shed some light during a dark situation. Being able to still do something as a school even when we’re all apart like this is pretty awesome,” senior Grace Hill said.

Even though we miss going to school every day and interacting with each other, good things have come out of this time away. Mainly, our appreciation for the little things in life has grown. We now understand the importance of a daily ten-second conversation in the halls, or of a teacher cracking a joke in the middle of a lesson.

This quarantine has also allowed us to act selflessly, choosing to adhere to social distancing for the good of all, especially for the elderly and those who have pre-existing health conditions. In addition to that, this quarantine has allowed students and teachers alike to become familiar with a lot of different online learning tools.

“Our teachers are working incredibly hard to give a good learning experience to our students. I’m very proud,” Welby said.

The next time you walk through St. Dominic’s front doors, make sure to give an extra fist bump to Mr. Welby and all of administration for their hard work during this unprecedented time. It’s the least we can do.