Working Through the Year

With students being split into 3 groups this year, many face the challenges of not being with their friends, or even losing the ability to do activities they were looking forward to most this school year.
Through Hybrid schooling, students have to deal with the hurdles that are masks, arrows in halls, and lots of stricter regulations on socializing, and movement around the school. Despite these challenges, students such as Madi Bartek (‘22), and Justin Stavrianos (‘21) prefer being in person because of the ability to see their friends. Yet in rebuttal to socializing, Stavrianos believes that online schooling is superior saying, “[With hybrid schooling] It’s a really limited experience. For example, Choir can’t sing, band can’t play their instruments, culinary artists can’t cook. This bugs me the most because I know students like myself take great pride in some of the things they do, and this really holds back their potential to reach great heights.” Hands-on classes and activities throughout the school less available not only to those online but especially those in person. Students in the Culinary Arts program are at a disadvantage because they are unable to use the brand new, almost five million dollar kitchen space.
Students like Jake Devinge (‘22) who are fully online, do not find as much trouble socializing with other fully online students. “I usually FaceTime my remote friends and I play video games with some of them when school is over or during lunch.” Even though Devigne loses the ability to talk to his friends during class time, which he states is a downside to online learning, he defends it by saying, “I honestly like online school because I feel more organized doing my work at home and my grades are improving… I’m never off task while online. If my friends talk to me during class I usually focus more on my work.” Even with the distractions that online students face, such as the ability to easily go off task, students are still able to get through all of their work.
Even with all the challenges facing students this school year, Madi Bartek (‘22) have found ways to overcome them. With socializing, Bartek came up with a solution that lots of teenagers enjoy, video games! “The truth is that video games are a great way to keep in contact and create a whole bunch of new memories while restricted to that of your home.” Being able to play video games, such as the competitive shooter Valorant, or a game about deception, such as Among Us, students not only create closer bonds with their friends but new memories when it is harder to create them in person. Although when back in the school’s building, Bartek uses newer regulations to keep her mind moving in the morning.
Nevertheless, students this year are going through the wringer as they adapt to the new ways of learning through COVID-19. There are ways to keep up with your friends (especially if you are all online), from group chats to playing games, all you need to do, is think.