By Deziree Garrick
After ten long months, East High is officially reopening for students! Students are set to return February 25th for the first time since March 13th. Students have been given the choice to return to in-person learning or to remain remote. Although some students will be back inside of the building, what students used to know as normal is a thing of the past. Social distancing, modified bell times, masks, and a mixture of in-person and virtual learning is what we will come to find as normal in the near future. To dig deeper into the logistics of reopening East, Principal Blocker answered some important questions regarding reopening. Most students are wondering what reopening is going to look like, and Mrs. Blocker walked us through some of the details., “256 upper school students have chosen to come back hybrid. They will come into the build Thursday and Friday, and classes will follow the simultaneous model. Social distancing and masks will be required,” explained Mrs. Blocker. The simultaneous model simply means that both remote and hybrid students will start classes at the same time, and follow the same schedule. Teachers will teach both in-person and online at the same time. This model provides the least amount of disruption to the relationships that have been made between students and teachers over the past semester. Mrs. Blocker also notes that students should not expect handouts and physical activities while in-person, as we have previously used. And in addition to not having manipulatives, students will be required to bring their Chromebooks back and forth to school every day. So with that being said, there are the initial hopes for the reopening process. “The perfect scenario is that scholars will return to the building and feel a sense of comfort and staff would feel successful with meeting both hybrid and remote students’ needs., I hope all will respect the safety procedures that are in place to protect us all,” said Mrs. Blocker. As we move into this hybrid model students and teachers should keep in mind “that we must all be kind and understand that no one will be returning to what used to be, we will all need to be flexible and understanding with one another. Teachers have never taught both groups at the same time and will have new things to learn as will scholars,” says Principal Blocker.” Students who choose not to return in-person should know and understand that the teachers and staff greatly respects their decision and supports it. “We will miss them and will continue to find ways to make everyone feel included in the East family whether at home or in school,” ensured Principal Blocker. Also Mrs. Blocker “hopes that kids that do come back aren’t disappointed when they realize it's not what it was in the past and that we all just have to do the best we can to get this phase of school over with successfully.,” and She also adds that “teachers have done tremendous work to try and make remote learning as meaningful as possible, and their efforts should be recognized because it was not an easy task!” As the student representative on the Upper school Governance Council, I have had the opportunity to voice the concerns and suggestions of my peers. Being a part of the Governance Council has allowed me to better understand all of the time and effort that goes into reopening as a school amidst a global pandemic, and it has also allowed for me to better understand what it means to truly represent my constituency (my peers). Reopening East will not be easy, and with reopening will come many changes and unfamiliarity, but if there’s any school that can do it successfully, it's East High for sure!
1 Comment
Lynn Girven
2/1/2021 04:51:40 pm
You are so correct. What a very strange time that we are living in today! I am looking forward to seeing students, although there cannot be the same social interaction that we have enjoyed before!
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