Sunnyside staff hold weekly zoom yoga, bootcamp classes to stay connected

Monday, April 27, 2020
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Staff at a Southeast Fresno school are finding ways to stay connected with each other while off-campus. When Sunnyside High School closed its doors, it wasn't just students who felt the loss.

"It's one of those things that the kids are grieving, but we're also kind of grieving too," said Sunnyside teacher Jeanette Vestal. "Our worlds have been turned upside down."

Staff wanted to find a way to connect.

"When we got the news we weren't coming back to school it was like, 'hey how can we do something to keep us physically active but also in contact with each other?" added Vestal.

So they got creative, starting up a weekly yoga class together.

"We all popped up on the screen and it was this flood of emotion to see all of these people that we hadn't seen," said Vestal.

"Sometimes even that face contact of logging into zoom and going, 'there you are, my friend from across the hallway,' is a sense of unity," said Sunnyside Head Counselor Karina Rodriquez.

They've recently added a boot camp class to the mix as well.

"We have such a great sense of culture and community that sometimes just looking at a staff member and making eye contact, we know we're going to be OK, we're going to get through this," said Rodriquez.

Teachers meet for classes 4 times a week.
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