Building a bit of hope

WORCESTER — During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bancroft School recently provided a group of students an interdisciplinary lesson from an unlikely source — campus director of operations Peter McKone.

A woodworking and furniture instructor at the private school more than 20 years ago, McKone recently detoured from his administrative duties and made do-it-yourself birdhouse kits for fourth-grade students of Bancroft’s Lower School.

McKone said he took on the task to brighten quarantined students’ spirits during the coronavirus pandemic.

The private school for students in pre-K through grade 12 has been closed since April and is offering virtual learning.

McKone said he went to Home Depot, purchased inexpensive pine and cranked out the kits. He included all the parts, nails and glue in bags, and hand-delivered them to students.

The school administrator said the kits “dovetail” with a science lesson students had on birds last year. There's also an art component because the students have to paint them.

“We like to do interdisciplinary things,” he said, “and it just struck me that that would be an ideal project for kids at home, to get them off their computers for a little while, doing something hands on.”

McKone said he was more than happy to return to instruction during a time when students’ worlds have been turned upside down with the order to stay at home.

“It’s all about the kids here, and just to have kids be able to do something like that, and kind of take them out of their zone, focusing on this coronavirus junk, is kind of neat,” he said. “And then they get outside.”