It is with a heavy heart that we share that a beloved member of our East Union Staff, Mr. Shane Slobada, passed away yesterday morning after a four year battle with cancer. Mr. Slobada always had a smile on his face and brought such humor and fun to his classroom and the halls of East Union over the past 20 years. He will be greatly missed. His name may also sound familiar as his wife, Mrs. Barb Slobada, is our East Union Title I Reading Teacher.
The above picture is of Mr. Slobada teaching DL@DL from home last school year. He would think of everything he could do to teach and entertain Deer Lakes students online, including bringing in a wooden giraffe to make kids smile and making sure his Deer Lakes blanket was behind him on the wall.
"He put thought into every detail and loved being a teacher," Mrs. Slobada said.
In order to allow the staff of his colleagues and friends to grieve and attend his funeral services the following will occur:
- Students and staff will return on Monday, January 3, 2022 as planned for a full day of instruction.
- During the day on January 3rd, East Union students will be given materials and instructions for a Flexible Instructional Day (FID Day) that will occur on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
- This FID Day will contain asynchronous activities (meaning a teacher will not be live on the screen with your child) but will still allow the day to count towards the year’s required days of instruction.
This FID Day arrangement will occur ONLY for East Union Students in grades 3-4-5. All students at Deer Lakes High School, Middle School, and Curtisville Primary will attend school on January 4 as usual. Therefore buses will be moving throughout the district to pick up students from the other three buildings- but East Union students should remain at home.
We will have additional support staff available next week to meet with students or staff members who would like to speak with someone personally.
We appreciate your understanding and flexibility at this very sad time.