This is part of a package that shares the opinions of the student body on how the last two years have affected them. This article talks about members of the student body who found positives in what was a difficult time for many. To read about the students who were negatively impacted click here and to review statistics from the student body about COVID-19 schooling, click here.
Last year was different than any other. With each different stage of the pandemic, COVID affected everything and caused mass shutdowns. For most students, the biggest change was the cancellation of school, quickly followed by a switch to virtual learning. Although some students struggled with distance learning, freshman Skylar Denyes appreciated the freedom of it.
“I got better grades virtually because I could spend more time on each assignment and use my resources,” Denyes said.
Sophomore Michael Hoard also agrees.
“[Virtual Learning] helped me learn organizational skills,” Hoard said.
When students eventually went back to school last year, the usual six, one hour-long periods turned into three two-hour blocks with a short break in the middle.
“I liked how it was less stressful only having to focus on three classes,” Denyes said.
Junior Nevaeh Downs admits she felt similar to Denyes.
“It made the workload more manageable, because even though there was more [of it] at times there was less overall to worry about,” Downs said.
Although there was an option to be fully virtual, hybrid students had at least three days of completing online assignments and went to school only two days a week: either Monday/Tuesday (red cohort) or Thursday/Friday (white cohort). Wednesdays were used to decontaminate the school.
“I [felt] safer knowing the school was getting a deep clean every Wednesday,” Denyes said.
Even though virtual classes gave students an opportunity to be more independent, they are all grateful for the valuable lessons it taught them.
“[It] made me a lot more grateful for what I am able to experience with my team and treasure the small moments. I think we all changed our outlook,” Downs said. “I treat every practice and meet as my last one. I come in with a positive attitude and try to lift everyone up. Everyone is going through something.”
Coming out of the pandemic, students were grateful for the opportunity to be back at school again. Many people realized their social needs were being met by going to school, and having that taken away from them was startling.
“My school-related anxiety has gone down immensely since the shutdown, and I now look forward to seeing my friends at school every day,” Denyes said.
Most students are just happy to be getting out of their houses and having school events such as homecoming and football games back.
“I’m glad to be doing things again,” Junior Tori Witke said.
Denyes also appreciates what the staff did for all the students, knowing this was also a hard time for them.
“I want to say thank you to the staff. This shutdown was very hard on the students, but also difficult for the staff. They had to adapt their teaching methods, and safety regulations to keep everyone in the classroom safe,” Deynes said. “The pandemic showed [what] good people teachers are, and how much they care about their students.”
