This month an opportunity opened for students to go in person to school at the NDB campus where there were 65 students interested out of the maximum possible number of 72. The first trial run for the in-school-learning given the name of Tiger Pods was successful. The first session which began on February 1 and went through February 12 had about 46 students. In the current second trial, there are five pods of no more than 12 students per classroom in their different classes on Zoom for learning. A portion of the NDB community is coming together through being on campus. Students are able to be with other students and teachers and administrators on campus but have to follow COVID-19 guidelines and school learning instructions like wearing a mask and being socially distanced.

Interim Academic Dean and Athletics Director, Mr. Levine, shared details about the Tiger Pods which are now what the in-school learning pods are being called. He mentioned how the Tiger Pods are open to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

“The reason or the way that the pods got started was because we didn’t return back to school in January,” added Levine on why the pods started. “We had a plan to come back to school and our hybrid models starting with freshmen and seniors and then sophomores and juniors but because the county wouldn’t let us reopen because we were in the purple tier… We wanted to provide an opportunity for the students that needed to come onto campus first an opportunity to come onto campus,” shared Levine.

Mr. Levine reflected on how “it’s been great for the girls to get away from their house.”

“They’re partnered up with some friends who sit across from them and at lunch, it’s awesome because everybody can sit out outside, you know they can eat, they can chat… they get some free time to do that which is fun,” continued Levine.

He also touched on some challenges they have faced.

“One of the main challenges was connectivity: being on Zoom, using the school’s WiFi, all of that,” said Levine. “Because Zoom takes up so much bandwidth it was difficult that first week, but I think we got a handle on it but again we only have about 60 students on campus. So, it’s a good trial run.”

Despite these challenges, it was still a success. In addition to Mr. Levine, students doing the Tiger Pods also shared their perspectives and information about it.

Lizzy Weishaar, an NDB senior, just started taking part in the Tiger Pods on Tuesday, February 16 for the on-campus learning.

“To be able to join it was pretty simple,” explains Weishaar. “All I had to do was have my parents fill out some forms … but then you just submit a lunch request and get your COVID testing done and then after that you just show up on campus. They have us show up at different times so that you don’t have too many people going in the building at the same time.”

“It was kind of hard being in the classroom because sometimes there would be a few tech issues like being with other people on campus but overall it wasn’t that bad,” Weishaar reflected on challenges. “I honestly thought it was just fun to be back and be able to see some classmates.”

Weishaar also mentioned the mix of grade levels in the classrooms in each pod.
“In my pod in particular, there was actually a decent handful of seniors and then juniors. And then there were a couple sophomores there as well. But it was good because then there were people that I recognized or new, because they were in the same grade or in a close grade level to me,” said Weishaar.

Amanda Barrish, a freshman who has been doing the Tiger Pods, also shared some information. She described the classroom setup and lunch details.

“In each classroom, there are about 15 desks all spaced fairly evenly apart. The pod leader usually sits in the front of the room in the teacher’s desk,” said NDB freshman Amanda Barrish.

“Lunch everyday is either a sandwich, a wrap, or a salad. I think there’s been a total of two exceptions in 3 weeks. Most people just eat the lunch provided, but some people bring snacks to have in addition to the lunch,” Barrish shared on lunch options. “I think personally everything is going pretty well. It’s really nice to be out of my house and be able to separate home and school again.”

Through these recent learning pods, known personally to NDB as Tiger Pods, some students and administrators have been able to do work and learn at school. Even freshmen got an introduction to what school is like on campus and were able to meet others in person. Even though it is not the official school/learning on campus this was a change they all got to experience together. They were able to come together for the first time in a while to create a physical sense of community which is an important aspect of NDB.