Here's the third of a series of articles that captured what happened in September at the start of the 2020-21 school year. Note: Photos of students, staff and families were taken following appropriate coronavirus measures that were in place at that time.
On Sept. 8, as Holley CSD faculty and staff returned to school buildings to prepare for the 2020-21 school year, Superintendent Brian Bartalo arranged for a special guest to stop by with a gift for each of them. Chet Fery distributed “Kindness Bread,” small loaves of homemade bread, to staff members.
Fery talked to staff about how he coped during the COVID-19 shutdown by baking loaves of bread for 161 consecutive days and placing the loaves in a wagon at the end of his driveway each day with a “free bread” sign posted. Bartalo often passed the wagon on his runs through Fery’s neighborhood and stopped to talk to Fery about the message behind his offering. Fery founded “Bread Time Stories and More,” a presentation on the power of kindness. He gave staff his Checklist for Life:
- Be Kind to You
- Be Kind to Others
- Keep Order
- Be Together
- Find Your Happy Place