Grab-and-go lunches

With classes moving online due to the Coronavirus pandemic, schools are doing what they can to keep students healthy with graband-go lunches plus providing digital device assistance.

Holly Springs Superintendent of Education Irene Turnage said the district is providing Chromebooks and instructional materials.

"There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the school district that I know of at this time," she said.

She added that the school district "is doing pretty well."

"We are just trying to figure it (distance learning) out because this is new," Turnage said.

"We are giving out Chromebooks, but we are not giving any WiFi. We are giving helpful hints to help with internet."

Schools are open at each campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, she said. The district office is open Monday through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"We want parents to pick up Chromebooks because we can give all assignments electronically if the parents have internet," she said. "If the parent does not have internet, we will still print a packet for them. Again, we are not giving or paying for internet for anyone."

Turnage provided helpful hints on internet (see the end of this article).

The Holly Springs School District is providing free school carry-out lunches at a number of locations from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday until further notice. Recipients up to 18 years of age from any school can pick up a grab-andgo lunch at five locations in Holly Springs, according to Fred Prowell.

The center of the feeding program is the Jesse Jackson Community Center (Old Intermediate School) which is a partnership between the city and the school district, Turnage said.

Students and citizens up to 18 who live in any other areas other than the ones listed can pick up lunches from the center.

Other locations are Spring Garden Apartments, Church Court Apartments, the Holly Springs Housing Authority Apartments on West Valley Street and on South Chesterman, and at the apartment complex across from Holy Family School on West Street, he said.

Columbus Nabors, with the City of Holly Springs, shared his optimism at how the United States and Holly Springs can get through this pandemic together.

"I have been blessed," he said.

He served in Seoul, South Korea, during the 1980s.

"The city was on lockdown in 1982," he said, due to a quarantine that was imposed within their compound.

He said Koreans were quarantined behind chain-link fences and his unit was also in quarantine with them in their own military quarters.

"We knew we were not allowed to go to certain places in town," he said. "We had to stay in our section of the compound."

Five Helpful Internet Hints for Parents

• The hotspot from most phones can be used for internet access. Please check the impact it will have on your data package.

• Parents should call the phone or internet carrier in their areas and see if carriers will give them temporary internet access or internet access at a lowered price to allow students to complete their work.

• Family members may have internet packages that can be used with permission. Please check the impact it will have on the data package.

• Parents and students can use their personal laptops to access assigned school programs if the laptop has internet access.

• Some community businesses may have free hotspots that allow the public to access their internet at no cost.

Note: These are only helpful hints. Please check for any requirements, permissions, or guidelines that must be followed.