Rolling into spring break, there was little worry about school cancellations because of COVID-19. As the pandemic grew, Trinity Prep had to take quick action in establishing a learning environment at home for students. Moving into remote learning, the similarity to a real school day helps with a smooth transition into such an unexpected change.
Despite minor changes such as cutting out study halls and having weekly advisory meetings, the schedule for students remained fairly similar. Students have all of their classes as well as a scheduled break and lunch. Google Meet allows students to learn new information through lectures with their teachers each day and check in with college counselors and any faculty members they need to.
Students have been forced to change their everyday routines due to the health emergency across the country. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced students to stay home, it has also given them extra time to relax and do other things. Many Trinity students have made use of their downtime to work out more, spend quality time with family members and learn new things while in quarantine.
While students are enjoying the extra time, “It’s bittersweet because I can’t spend it with my friends,” Senior Cat Curran said.
Many students have had different experiences adjusting to remote learning as it is challenging for some and a smooth transition for others.
“The changeover to remote learning has been pretty easy for me, but I know some others that have had a few problems here and there,” freshman Thomas Kienle said.
According to Kienle, some people are having trouble connecting to Google Meets and teachers will cut in and out during class times. While this doesn’t happen too often, it can be a minor setback when it does.
As for communication, students can’t just walk into a teacher’s room during school hours or study hall with questions. As direct communication with teachers becomes more difficult, curriculums have to be adapted.
“I feel like teachers are being more lenient than before, but at times if I have questions after class it’s harder for me to get those answers,” Kienle said.
With such increased use of technology for every single student, there are bound to be a few connection problems, and the Help Desk at school is available for the students if they run into trouble.
“I think the most challenging adjustment for me is the technology,” Curran said. “My WiFi and computer don’t always work great and prohibit me from participating in class some days.”
Remote learning, while certainly beneficial in some ways, is most frustrating for seniors, who are missing out on so many events in the final semester of the school year. Film Fest, Prom, Grad Bash, Dog Day and possibly even Graduation are all events seniors have been waiting for that they will sadly not experience.
“Prom is meant to be a cool senior memory and for me it’s a real bummer that we can’t have it this year,” senior Easton Place said.
According to Place, many of his friends are upset about the cancellations of some of the most talked about senior memories, but they try to keep their heads up during this time of change.
