Life As A QuaranTEEN - Thoughts on Semester Two

🏠😷🦠 Life As A QuaranTEEN 🦠😷🏠
​ The UnifiEd Student Voice Team Blog Surrounding COVID-19

Samuel:
This semester has been intense, and as a student, it has been incredibly stressful. I have been online...

the whole semester due to safety concerns, so all of my opinions are limited to an HCS-at-home student’s perspective. With COVID-19, I have been more isolated, which has been difficult, but this has been a year of self-improvement for me. With one semester behind me, all I can think of is what the next semester will hold for me. In my opinion, being online has given me more freedom than I’ve ever had before, and I am looking forward to another semester of that freedom. 

However, I cannot say only positive things about my online experience. I have seen my teachers putting more attention into in-person students and putting online students to the side. Along with this, I have seen students in-person go into quarantine due to illness and the stress they are under. I hope that every student in Hamilton County stays safe and makes the best decision for them. This year has been challenging for us, no matter the situation, but I feel the County allowing in-person classes has made it slightly more complicated. 

​In closing, I will continue to be online for the rest of this year, and I highly suggest it to all students as we see the Fall-Winter spike in COVID-19 cases. I hope that the County keeps a close watch on the COVID-19 count as we enter the winter season and makes the best decision for staff, parents, and students’ health.

Saheli:
As the semester ends, COVID-19 concerns start to arise again. Cases are rising in Hamilton County and the rest of the country. Hamilton County is currently in Phase 3, but as cases arise, we will be transitioning into phases 2 and 1.  Online school is fine for some but a struggle for others. I don’t mind online school as long as we keep the cases from rising. As a student taking four college courses next semester, I am a little hesitant about switching to virtual school. Virtual school is definitely not for me, as being productive at home can be difficult. 

This past semester I have been learning in-person, and I’ve noticed a few things. Teachers and students are always in quarantine. I’ve had two of my teachers in quarantine and one teacher that teaches from home. The past week, most of my school has been missing, and we’ve had two reported COVID cases.  My predictions for semester 2 are that cases will continue to rise as people come back from Christmas break, and Hamilton County will be put in phase 1, which would put everyone in virtual school. I think this will continue for at least a month, and we won’t be in phases 2 or 3 until late February or even March. 

I understand HCDE is doing its best to keep up with the conditions, but I really think that transitioning to phase 2 or 1 would be the best choice as cases are rising and in-person attendance decreases.