Giovanni’s teacher holding out hope

LYNN – Nancy Celona picks up the paper and watches the news with hope every day, on the verge of tears praying to hear that 5-year-old Giovanni Gonzalez has been found alive.The story of the Lynn boy missing since Aug. 16 has really hit home for Celona and the rest of the staff at the now-closed St. Mary’s School in East Boston where Giovanni was a student and Celona worked as a computer teacher and classroom aid.”It was the worst thing (learning that Giovanni had gone missing) – I heard it on TV, I wasn’t even looking at the screen, I just heard ‘Giovanni,'” she said during a phone interview from her East Boston home Thursday. “I still didn’t believe it until I looked and I saw his name on the screen.”Celona taught the kindergarten student for a portion of each week, usually in the computer lab. She remembered Giovanni as energetic and full of life, always smiling and having fun.”He was just a totally energetic kid, it was just constant the whole 45 minutes that we had him in a week ‘Giovanni over here’ or ‘c’mon Giovanni.’ It was just constant,” she said. “He was so excited the day he was finally able to type a ‘G’ on the screen for his first name. He was just such a happy, energetic kid.”A victim of cuts by the Archdiocese, St. Mary’s closed for good in June, leaving Celona and her colleagues without a home base to meet and show support for Giovanni once they heard the news.She is in close contact with other staffers from the school, and everyone hoping to hear good news soon.”The school closed permanently in June, so it is sad. I drove by there the other day and it was all boarded up. We would have liked to have been able to meet there and hold something for him,” she said. “The teachers that know him are networking with one another. I spoke to his classroom teacher (Wednesday) night, and we were still just in disbelief.”As news surrounding the investigation into Giovanni’s disappearance changes daily, Celona and her former colleagues experience a roller coaster of emotions, which at the moment are hopeful.District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Wednesday that investigators are still confident they will find Giovanni alive after testing blood samples from a mop found in Gonzalez’ father’s apartment.Along with hope, Celona also feels anger toward Ernesto Gonzalez, who has been tight-lipped with information about his son’s whereabouts.”There is also an anger seeing the father who won’t say anything. How can you not say anything, I mean can’t they make him say something? Oh, I am on the verge of tears whenever I see his face on TV,” she said. “My mind is going in all different directions, it made me nervous because they found that mop covered in blood. My mother just called me and said she saw on the news that they think he is still alive, so that is a very good thing.”Giovanni split time between his mother Daisy Colon, who lives in East Boston and his father’s home on Brightwood Terrace in Lynn. Celona said she did not know the family very well, but sensed that it was not a happy home life at times for Giovanni.”I just hope that they find him and that he is ok,” she said. This really hits home.”