Virtual learning for quarantined students continues

Help+please%21%0AStudent+teacher+Joseph+Tanguay+assists+both+students+in+the+classroom+and+quarantined+in+Kathryn+Chestneys+eighth+period+math+class.+Chestney+and+Tanguay+worked+together+to+assure+they+could+help+both+groups+of+students+as+much+as+they+needed.+

Cassidy Klock

Help please! Student teacher Joseph Tanguay assists both students in the classroom and quarantined in Kathryn Chestney’s eighth period math class. Chestney and Tanguay worked together to assure they could help both groups of students as much as they needed.

Cassidy Klock, Associate Editor

With COVID-19 continuing to send students back to the roots of virtual learning, teachers and staff are continuing to work on finding ways to give students the best possible learning, even from the student’s bedroom. 

Since last school year, the school board has decided to change a few of the protocols that the students had followed. 

On Sept. 7, the governor’s mandate went into effect, requiring all school employees and students to mask up. An exemption form was offered to parents of students who fell into the exemption categories. This form states that a student falls into an approved exemption category and cannot be masked. Parents were then required to follow up with a doctor’s letter confirming the unmasked status,” Assistant Principal Keri Harrington said. 

Contact tracing has become less of an issue due to the new mask mandate.

“Contact tracing is no longer required since the mask mandate went into effect. However, when a student is unmasked, we rely on teachers’ seating charts to show who would have been in close contact, along with reports from extra-curricular advisers/coaches and parents,” Harrington said.

Quarantine procedures differ due to each case. 

Quarantine is typically 10 days from 48 hours before the positive student’s symptoms began. If a quarantined student has no symptoms, she/he may choose to get tested after day five. If there is a negative result, then the student may return on day eight. The only other exception would be a doctor’s letter,” Harrington said. 

Vaccinated students and staff also have a slightly different procedure than unvaccinated individuals.

“Students and staff who are vaccinated and have been exposed to a positive case do not need to quarantine but must be masked for 14 days following exposure,” Harrington said. 

Some teachers have expressed their feelings towards having to teach quarantined students, while still maintaining order in the classroom. 

The worst part is my attention is divided, and I feel like I can’t give 100% to any of my students. Some days I feel like I even forget about my virtual students if we are busy in the room. We are creatures of habit and we need routines. If there’s anything being virtual has taught me, it’s that we need those routines to feel a sense of normality and structure,” English teacher Jennifer Lowe said.  

As the year is progressing, some students who have been quarantined, have returned to the world of in person learning. 

“I really missed being in school. I missed the social interaction with students and teachers. I felt like I missed out on a whole week of instruction because it was so hard for me to focus at my house. It truly helps me learn when I’m in an actual classroom and have teachers and materials right at my fingertips. Of course I miss being able to sleep in, working in the comfort of my own home and and not having to worry about walking through the halls and being late, but none of that compares to actually being with my friends and getting to participate in the things that make high school fun,” junior Leah DeGennaro said.