In mid-May, Saint Leo the Great Catholic School, 2427 Marietta Ave., Lancaster, honored its health room aide, Suzanne Powell.

For over seven years, Powell has been applying adhesive bandages, doling out ice packets, and removing splinters, but this year she has seen significant additions to her already busy day. These tasks include taking temperatures of 100 children in the line of cars arriving at the school, using an electrostatic fogger to clean rooms when cohorts change, and maintaining inventory of hand sanitizer and masks. She has also notified the staff when changes were made to CDC and Department of Health requirements, and she has performed contact tracing from time to time. Powell also spent approximately 80 hours helping the principal, Christine McLean, draft a reopening plan last summer in order to safely open the school doors during the pandemic. Powell is often the last staff member to leave the building at the end of the day.

During the week of May 10, two classrooms per day celebrated Powell's dedication to the school community's safety. The school encouraged students and other school community members to offer prayers, notes, flowers, and even Powell's favorite beverage, unsweetened iced tea. The celebration culminated on May 14, at 11:30 a.m., when Powell was to be escorted through lines of mask-wearing, socially distanced children to the outdoor classroom, where she was to receive a blessing from the pastor.