Today Punxsatawney Phil woke up, crawled out of his snug home, and saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter.

This small-town tradition has become famous, and was the inspiration for the classic 1993 movie, Groundhog Day. In the movie, Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a self-centered meterologist who finds himself in Punxsatawney to cover the human (groundhog?) interest story of Punxsatawney Phil’s yearly emergence, and thinks the story is far beneath him. Connors wants to leave town as soon as possible, but a snowstorm keeps him in Punxsatawney. Not only that, but some supernatural phenomenon keeps him repeating Groundhog Day. Connors does what he can to stop the cycle, eventually going to extremes of attempted self-destruction. He finally accepts his situation and chooses to use it for self-development. After acting selflessly in a number of situations, he wakes to a new day.

Groundhog Day has become synonymous with the concept of a repetitive life, waking up each day to the same circumstances and, no matter what a person might try, not being able to escape those circumstances. The year 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have felt like a COVID-induced version of Groundhog Day. Living everyday with the restrictions of our current lifestyle–wearing masks, social distancing, Zoom calls, ordering food in, etc.–has most of us wondering when things will change. Many people have pondered what lessons this situation has to teach us, what transformation each person needs, and what transformation is required of society as a whole.

This Groundhog Day of a year requires perseverance. We at Temple Grandin School hold perseverance as a core value. As stated on our website,

…we recognize that change is hard, and growth comes slowly. We persist in our support of students and families, and measure our results over months or years, not days or weeks. We challenge students to chart their own progress, step-by-step, and encourage them to value each accomplishment on their educational journey.

Our perseverance applies to our belief in each student and in our student body as a whole. During these COVID times, it applies to our commitment to continue in-person learning as long as possible, as long as we can keep our community safe and healthy. We maintain our desks six feet or more apart. We go outside as often as weather allows. We take mask breaks every half hour, or more often if necessary. When circumstances require, we engage in remote learning, flexing our school day to ensure that our students can attend for as long as possible and have the breaks they need to stay regulated. Perseverance calls us to keep actively apprised of public health updates, which may necessitate weekly or even daily changes to our routines. Amid complicated and challenging circumstances, we persevere, and support our students in doing the same.

When will we wake up, Groundhog Day style, to a new reality? Time will tell. Until then, we will keep calm and persevere on!