The North Carolina Mason

Page 6 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2020 our masonic charities at Work School's in at the Masonic Home for Children. Literally – at the home, and not at school. Virtual classes began Aug. 17. e work seems to be going well – despite the learning curve of learning to learn online. Math is the greatest challenge, teachers say, because it's not as easy to learn such complex lessons outside of an in-person class. MHCO has several tutors working to provide skill development and help the children tackle whatever classes are hardest for them. e work is paying off, it seems. And some kids have really taken to the virtual learning world. In early September, one young resident of MHCO was awarded student of the week for JF Webb High School. One 13-year- old student is earning straight A's for the first time in his life. Education Coordinator Linda Frederickson has provided great educa- tional opportunities for the summer and has worked with program staff to establish a supportive plan for this school year. She was the key person in managing the program when schools shut down due to the coronavirus. She even personally delivered schoolwork to kids at cottages and their homes. MHCO kids learning how to learn online Tutor Janet Taylor, above right, spends the day helping MHCO kids complete their studies in mini-classes on campus. Tutors say it's harder to learn online than in person with teachers and kids together in a classroom, but it's fun to be together. Photos cour tesy of MHCO Kids who grew up at MHCO will tell you about their first kiss under one of those trees, the time they read a book that changed their life on a lazy summer afternoon in the shade, the perfect hidey hole they provided during countless games of hide-and- seek. Once, long ago, they were even a source of income for the kids who grabbed up falling acorns and sold them to neighbors for pennies. Most of the tree have grown where they were planted, but some have even been moved over the years to allow for MHCO expansion – without losing any of the beloved oaks. e trees are the longest-lived witnesses of the work done at MHCO, the kids who have arrived in a time of trouble, made it through the dark and emerged strong and ready to tackle life. To lose even one tree is to lose part of the home's history. It is no small loss, no small matter. To remember one is to honor the good work Masons have done here, the help children have found and what seeds we can plant now for the future. TREE, from page 4

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