Hello Readers!
As you may have heard, the state has announced that all Massachusetts schools are to be learning full-time in person by May 17th. You might also know that the last day of school is around June 17th. That means that we are only spending about a month fully in the school building.
Now, I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone would like to see us going back to a normal world with a normal, fully in-school schedule, but is it worth it spending only the last month of school in person? Let’s find out what some of Fairhaven High’s students feel about this!
Student Liza Pinette stated, “I personally do not think it is a good idea to send us all back full time the last month of the school year. I see no benefit to students doing it [full time in-school] for only one month. I would rather wait until next year to go back to regular school.”
Her reasoning for this was that, “It will be chaotic, and, most importantly, stressful for students. Bigger classes may be nerve-racking to some students because COVID is still a problem, and many students aren’t yet vaccinated.”
She also mentioned that due to scheduling coordination problems between the two cohorts, some classes may end up with a different teacher for one or more of their classes. They also may have to relocate to another classroom, lunch period, as well as have more students in the classroom at a closer distance than has been approved by the state and the CDC.
Sophomore Shealynn Dorschied also added, “I want to go fully back but it feels pointless and rushed, and I am nervous to see how our workload changes, but I am excited to see school friends I haven’t seen in over a year.”
The students I was able to contact felt the same way as people do want to go fully back in person, but don’t necessarily see the purpose of going in for such a short amount of time.
Although she feels it may prove to be a challenge for students to adjust to a normal schedule and heavier workloads, Olivia Poulin made a point stating that freshmen like herself feel excited about getting a taste of a normal high school experience for the first time since starting at FHS.
From the perspective of an upperclassman, senior Alyssa Cabral explained how this sudden change to in person school has been purely an “inconvenience.”
“Just like other students, we already have our jobs and other personal things worked around our school schedule. I was able to be very flexible with my job since school got out earlier due to COVID, and even with being back for a few weeks is going to be inconvenient. But like everything during this time, we have to be willing to move things around.”
Ms. Cabral also mentioned that the school is trying to hard to plan senior activities in May and June.
“And I appreciate that they are trying to make it somewhat normal and allow us to have some fun before leaving high school,” she said.
Whether or not being back in full time will affect these senior activities is unknown as most things are still up in the air.
What are your thoughts on going fully back to school this late in the year? Is it worth it? Does this mean that things are starting to look a bit brighter from here on out? I guess we’ll have to see what the future holds.
Until next time!
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