By Krishna Pandya ’21 and Lexie Kauffman ‘22
Conestoga Valley has been back to school for almost four months now, and education is different this year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Ellie Livingston ‘21 is excited to be at school. She embraces the opportunity to interact with her friends and teachers in person. However, Covid-19 related worries still plague her mind.
“There’s a lot of things going on in my life that I can’t get sick for,” she explained.
Coming to school brings worries of catching the virus or getting quarantined through contact tracing. However, the alternative does not appeal to many people. Livingston believes that online school will affect her academic performance.
Many other students feel the same. Annika Bredeman ’22 commented on the lack of motivation that accompanies remote learning.
“I don’t learn well online, especially when I am at home. It’s more self-motivated and it is easy to get distracted,” Bredeman reflected.
Tyler Slingluff ’23 shares a similar sentiment, “I learn a lot better in person. It helps me be focused.”
However, despite the dislike of online learning, many students feel the fear of the virus lurking in the hallways.
“It kind of feels unsafe in essence with everything going on with the pandemic and it’s a little bit crowded all the time,” David Reddig ’21 commented. “I think we could do a lot better job than what we have right now; there is pretty much nothing going on in that regards.
Reddig holds more concern for his teachers than himself.
“I think that there’s a lack of accommodations for teachers who get sick,” Reddig added. Conestoga Valley High School had seen many cases of Covid-19 in the building, both in members of the student body and the staff.
Lancaster County is experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases as the holidays approach. Conestoga Valley High School moved to remote learning several times, and many factors are involved in a safe reopening.
Whether in-person or virtual, social distance, wear a mask, and follow CDC guidelines to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to help keep the community safe.
“Whether in-person or virtual, social distance, wear a mask, and follow CDC guidelines to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to help keep the community safe.”
These are great reminders for all of us including students and staff. In addition, we could add washing hands and staying home when sick!
Dr. Smith
I for one, am scared of the virus and feel uncomfortable when someone around me isn’t wearing a mask. However, I feel safe at school, as we must follow COVID protocols, which makes it a very unlikely place to spread.