Young people are often more insightful than adults give them credit for being, and rarely has this been as true as in this month’s batch of Dear Covid letters.

Over the course of the last few weeks, Grade Six students at Niverville Middle School have been processing their feelings about the pandemic in a unique way. A trio of middle school teachers—Lynn Albig, Tammy Peters, and Kelley Heintz—have encouraged their students to express themselves through letters.

The recipient of these letters? Covid itself.

In the letters, it came as no surprise to the teachers that their students missed their social groups, their seasonal traditions and activities, and in many cases even school itself. On the flip side of all the disappointment of lost opportunities, many students wrote that they appreciated the extra time with their families—and the chance to slow down a bit.

The Citizen will be publishing many of these Dear Covid letters throughout the month of June. (We started last week.) It’s time to add some new voices to the public record—the voices of our young people.

Abby Voth

Dear Covid-19,

I’m just gonna be straightforward with you. You will never be my friend. I have missed out on so many amazing things that were supposed to happen and it’s all because of you! I could have finished an amazing school year if it wasn’t for you. I could’ve been hanging out with my friends, playing sports, and having a great time at school. But instead you came and waltzed right into this world! That was a bold move if I do say so myself. If you are still here by the start of the next school year, I won’t even know what to say to you! This is the only letter you’re getting from me until you are gone and I send you a thank you letter! I hope I’m making myself clear.

Well as you can probably tell I am not happy with you. In fact I’m mad at you! I don’t even know if you understand how much fun I was having playing sports! It was my first year of playing volleyball for a club team! It was awesome. I loved my team and we were getting better and better as we kept practicing. I was also on a winter soccer team and we were about to start spring soccer when you came along. We had such a great team and I was so excited to start our next season. I was very sad when you became so popular in this world. I don’t even think you want to hear about the other things you’ve ruined. For example the fair. I look forward to the fair every year, I get to spend time with my friends, go on rides, play games and eat so much food. It’s so much fun. Let’s just say that I have missed out on to many fun things.

Well now that I’ve explained the misery you’ve put me through, I’ll tell you the one thing that I’ve really enjoyed. Family time. I have been able to spend so much more time with my family and build better relationships with my siblings. Now that I’m not in school or playing sports (or really doing anything), me and my sisters have been playing games, painting, and making really good memories together.

Well to be honest, I will probably not think of some things the same again. When I go to school I will no longer complain about waking up early and going to school in the morning. I will be so excited to see my class and learn together. I will now appreciate seeing friends, family, and playing sports, a lot more.

Well this is goodbye Covid-19. I hope this letter has made you realize things and I hope I won’t be seeing too much of you anymore. Goodbye.

Max Dowse

Dear Covid-19,

At first when you closed our schools I wasn’t very sure of what school was going to look like. Then my teacher started posting work online and I took my time going through it. Now a few months later I have been loving home school because I can do my work whenever I want and wherever I want on a daily basis. I usually do my work in the mornings in my pj’s so I have the rest of the day free. Since you have been here I have more free time than I usually do. With that time I get to spend more quality time with my family and golfing. Thank you for that.

You have also given me more time to think about my new passion of mountain biking that I might have not have come across without you. I have been thinking about starting a bike business, building and fixing bikes. With a lot of my spare time I have been researching and learning about mountain biking parts. I am trying to decide if I should build my own bike, or buy a new or used bike. There are so many options available, carbon vs aluminum frames, full suspension vs hardtail, etc. Bikes are awesome, Covid-19 is not!

Covid-19 you have wrecked my perfect spring break. We were going to go to the U.S.A to pick up our new RV, go to Wisconsin Dells and watch the Toronto Raptors play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum arena. Instead you made us stuck inside our home. There is no way that staying at home is even close to as fun as that would have been Covid-19. (Not cool at all)

I realize if you stay too long, home school will become a full year and I am probably going to want to go back to school and see my school friends and teacher. I would miss lots of my favorite sports like hockey and basketball. I’m looking forward to going somewhere other than my house and seeing more friends and family. I hope that you will leave soon so I can live a normal life again.

For the rest of the time that you are here I have nothing nice to say about you.

Good riddance!

Lucas Holowka

Dear COVID-19,

I am writing to you because I want to remind you of the things you are causing.

First of all, I am one of thousands of kids in this country who do not get to see their friends, family, and hilarious teachers at school anymore because of you. Lots of my friends from school I can’t see at home, at all. I mean, thanks to technology, we can still sort of talk, but face to face conversations don’t get glitchy, now do they! Also, I can’t get up early, looking forward to a busy day of school, can I? I can’t walk to school with my friend(s), having a good conversation until we get there and the bell rings to come inside.

Speaking of that, who else (from NMS) has that kind of a field to play, other than our farmers, who give us our food? On that thought everyone is stocking up on food, so it is hard to find the stuff we need! Aside from groceries, I miss walking through the hallways of NMS, going to different classes while our teacher has prep. Just walking through the school feels awesome inside, for me at least. Now before I move on, there is one more thing I need to tell you, Coronavirus, I miss going to the library and having the sight of hundreds, and maybe, just maybe thousands of books in front of me. ‘Cause that, at least I think, is the eighth wonder of the world.

Now, there is something else I ought to tell you. There were a few things that were going to happen this year that did not happen because…

Of… YOU! CORONAVIRUS! It was you who cancelled my piano lessons and the concerts that came with it! It was you who did not let me play with my friends for several months in a row! It was you who stopped all of my friends from coming to my house for my birthday! It was you who cancelled school, stopping everyone from doing work at school! It was you who stopped me from going to church, where I learn about our creator who died for our sins! It was you who stopped me from going to Youth Group which is so much fun! It was you who delayed all of my family road trips and our plans! There is one more thing, though. I wished that you, COVID-19, died this year. You did not though. Not yet, at least.

You have taught me a few things, though, Covid. You taught me to appreciate the things I have and the things I can do. For an example, you have killed many people around the world. They did not have very much time left to live. This has taught me to use the time I have wisely, and to make the best of it. So when I go back to school, I will use the time I am given wisely to get my work done. If I am going to make the best of my time in the future, I am going to learn even more than I have in the past years. When I go back to school, I will try to be the best friend and leader that I can be. I will be those, because friendship is very important to me and I know that leadership is a strong building block of life. Now, there is one more thing. When I go back to school, I am going to try to always be ready and one step ahead ‘cause that is important, very important.

Harper Walker

Dear COVID-19,

Dear Covid, I remember when life was normal when we could hang out in big groups, go to school, travel, etc, and now I can’t do anything because of you. You’ve really changed my school life. I miss being at school where all my friends are and where I can talk to my teacher face to face. But now I talk to everyone from a distance or through text. When my parents got an Email saying that school would be closed for 2 weeks, I didn’t know what to do or what to say, I just thought I was going to have the time of my life because I could do online school and I thought that it would be super fun. School is now through a screen and it feels super different.

COVID-19 you ruined my summer. I was supposed to go on my first plane ride to Edmonton and go to the mall, eat at new places, go to the waterpark and the amusement park. That is now cancelled and the fair is cancelled too. I was really looking forward to that because every year it is so much fun, you eat lots of mini donuts and cotton candy and ride in the Zipper. Also it was a great weekend to hang out with friends but now I can’t do any of that. I am really upset because Soccer got cancelled and that is something that I love to do during spring break, guess what… that is cancelled just like everything else.

But, COVID-19 I want to thank you for helping me get closer with my family. We have been going on lots of road trips together and adventures. I guess that part is pretty good. COVID-19 I just want to let you know you’re not that bad, you still let us learn which is good, most stores are still open so that helps people get their groceries, you have made me realize there is so much to do outside like going for walks, playing basketball and football and now I really have been outside a lot more.