Capturing the individual and collective experiences of students and staff was the idea behind the club created by Smithtown High School East art teacher Dianne Shanian. “From the last day of in-class school on March 13, the students and staff have been coping with staying at home and doing our best with online instruction, and other limitations the Covid-19 virus has imposed,” she said.

“Since every person has been affected on some level by this sudden change in our lives, I wanted to offer a platform where students and staff could express or capture their feelings and thoughts in the form of words, photos, paintings, drawings or videos,” she said. “The collective visual result is emotionally powerful. The realization that these entries came from students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and from staff members, speaks to the overarching impact this experience has had on people of all ages, genders, cultures and backgrounds within our school district.”

CAPTURE slide presentation serves as a record for our district of this unique time in history, and we hope all viewers find something within it that resonates in them.