Masks and New Schedules

This year students are back and closer than ever. There’s no more social distancing, however, masks remain on for now.

The halls were bustling with students moving about this week. Students were chatting and laughing with each other as they moved between classes.

Some students were back in the building for the first time since March of 2020. Last year some students were hybrid meaning they were on campus for two days a week and they learned at home the other days. Some other students were fully remote meaning that they never came to the school and they learned online every day through one of two online schooling programs, VHS or VTVLC. Ethan Parker, a junior, said that it’s “kinda weird being back” after being fully remote last year and Corbin Richardson, a junior who did hybrid learning last year, said it’s “nice not to be online”.

Last year Zev Wysocki was a fully remote student. “I liked being able to snowboard or mountain bike anytime,” Zev said. Even though he found some advantages to remote learning like waking up at 8 instead of 6 every morning, Zev said he would probably not choose to go back to remote learning if it was an option. “I like the physical interaction with other people.”

Many people did not like the way school was last year. However, there are a few things that students hope stay the same. Charles Rice, a sophomore, said that he “liked having every class every day last year.”

Students aren’t the only ones who are happy to be back. Mr. Ryan Becker, an eighth-grade Physical Science teacher, said that it is nice to be back more than four days a week like last year. “This year feels more normal in the sense of students being able to hang out with each other.” He adds that the first few days have gone well overall. He said it was good to see the halls busy and that “people seem to be more energetic.”

As students rolled into the third week of school, some things changed. Starting Wednesday, September 15, there are 90-minute classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Most students said that they would prefer to have seven periods per day, however, there some who do like the longer classes.

Sam Leggett, a junior, said that the new schedule “provides a good balance between having longer classes and shorter classes...I think that it is more beneficial to my learning,” he said, adding that there “are more opportunities during access block.”

There are many students who would prefer to have seven periods a day. Jacob Carey, a junior, is one of those students. “If you have a study hall you have a ton of free time,” said Jacob. He felt that longer classes were not useful for him and he said that with the seven-period schedule “no one is sitting around for an hour and a half.” However, he notes that this time could be good for others. “The large amount of time is good for students who are struggling because they can get help,” Jacob said.

90-minute schedules and masks. Two things most students don’t like, but it looks like they are here to stay.