As the 2020-21 school year has begun in person, students and teachers have adjusted to the new changes of this school year. Teachers had to figure out how to make things effective with the new CDC guidelines and had to rearrange their classrooms by spreading out desks to create a safer environment.
As for the staff, they have to take students’ temperature each morning before entering the school campus as well as dispense hand sanitizer before students enter, and before and after each class, and disinfecting the desks after each period.
Students, on the other hand, only have to go to in-person school twice a week (Cohort 1, Mondays and Thursdays. Cohort 2, Tuesdays and Fridays) with a half-day each Wednesday, over Zoom and Google Classroom.
On the Iron Quill Instagram, we conducted an anonymous poll to see how students were feeling with the hybrid class schedule almost three weeks into the school year. Do they like hybrid schedules or not?
The answers were evenly split with 50% saying “yes” and 50% of the students saying “no”. One student who is not enjoying it, mentioned that “It is hard to transition between assignments at home and at school.” Other students mentioned how it is hard to concentrate on the days in school. Many students described the hybrid schedule is “frustrating.” Many, however, expressed optimism that the schedule would become easier as they adapted to it.
Those who said they enjoyed the hybrid schedule said that “It’s not that bad.” However, one response captured the sentiment of many, saying, “I just wish we could go back to normal.”
The hybrid schedule is the plan that the Amphitheater School Board adopted for the district and our school and will, likely, be in place for the remainder of the semester. As of today, two confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported at IRHS. Though the presence of these cases haven’t had a massive impact on the student body as a whole, they are a good reminder that it’s important to wear a mask, hand sanitize, maintain social distance and be cautious!