Caroline Stevens, senior at Nueva High School
The Catalyst (TC): What is your school doing for the fall semester: On-campus, hybrid, online, etc.?
Caroline Stevens (CS): We’ve been doing online Zoom calls five days a week. And every month is our normal schedule just on Zoom, but in November, they’re going to test out some kind of hybrid thing where it will be like one day a week. Students can choose to opt in or out to do a half-day on campus. Like one day a week for three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, and then after that they’re gonna have us stay home just in case people travel, but I think the plan is to test it out.
TC: What do you wish your school would do for the fall semester: On-campus, hybrid, online, or…?
CS: Honestly, as much as I really want to be back at school and I really wish I was back at school, I think it’s probably smart to stay home for a bit longer, especially because some people in my class actually are traveling. And I know many of the teachers don’t want to go back to school at all, and they feel like they’re being forced to by the school. So I do think, at least for the fall semester, that it’s probably best to stay home. But I do like that they’re coming up with a plan and testing out how we could possibly implement hybrid learning.
TC: NDB is continuing online distance learning until December. What do you think about that?
CS: Well, you know, it’s really hard on the students, especially people like me who need in person learning to really soak up the material. And obviously the social piece, I do think it’s probably a good idea to keep it remote right now especially. I know for San Mateo it’s getting safer but, I think it’s probably a good idea especially because the county’s not allowing most schools to come back to school. I think in the high school age, especially for private schools, people are coming in from all different places it’s not like everyone’s local so I think it’s probably a good idea to stay at home right now.
TC: How are you doing with school right now: academically, socially, or personally?
CS: It’s been really tough. I guess for me personally, I’m starting to get used to it. And the last semester was really hard for me just on all fronts. To get used to kind of being separate from everyone else and doing school remotely. But now I’m falling into a routine whether that’s like a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know, it’s kind of sad that this is the new norm, but it’s getting better. I would say as a senior college applications are really hard. And going through the college process of trying to view schools when we can’t visit has been really tough. Academically it’s getting better as teachers are figuring out like how to do it better. I would say the social piece is always hard. I think we’re all struggling because you want to see people but also you don’t want to put yourself or anyone else at risk. You know, I think we’re really lucky. In 1918, they didn’t have social media like Discord, Snapchat, or FaceTime, and that’s been a really big help. Personally, I’ve been on that mental health grind. It’s been tough, but I think it’s just important to take care of yourself now. I started gardening. I’ve been doing stuff like that so it’s definitely a learning curve.