I am delighted to share the following reflections submitted by my students as part of Global Student Project My Return to School During Covid19. My students look forward to reading their peers’ reflections from other Jesuit schools around the world.  Thank you! 

Returning to School: Abhinav, 15, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

The recent return to school situation has been no different than the rest of the current school year for me, so I’ll mostly be covering how this year overall has felt for me compared to other years at school. This school year has been quite possibly the worst school year I have had in a while. The things that affected me the most are the lack of contact with friends and the partial loss of that feeling of community present in Bellarmine. I haven’t been talking with many of the people I used to speak with on campus due to us not having any classes together or being able to run into each other on the way to our next class. The effects of Wi-Fi and lag have been very apparent and have caused close calls in terms of attendance many times. On the very first day of school this school year, wi-fi at my house went down causing me to miss a class. Since then, the Wi-Fi has went down a few more times, but it didn’t result in any absences. Another major effect of this « return to school » situation is people that I know, both friends and people in the community, are getting sick and being quarantined. This, while not having directly affected my family or me, I feel is important to mention as the health of others is also very important.

I don’t believe that people should return to school for larger gatherings due to the inherent risk involved in those situations. While younger people are comparatively at less risk compared seniors or those working in hospitals, it is still important that we continue to minimize exposure to COVID-19 even if there is a vaccine. For the vaccine to have its intended effect it should be required to take the vaccine for teachers and students. The reason for this is that the vaccine has little to no side effects and taking the vaccine will not only protect them but the people around them as well.  If teachers and students both take the vaccine that reduces the risk that someone who is at risk who might not have received the vaccine yet will get infected by COVID-19.

Returning to School: Aidan, 15, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

Throughout this whole Covid-19 pandemic it has been a very big struggle to go to school, play sports, and interact with friends. As of now, I am continuing to do school online but there are a few struggles with this. First, technology is not always working one hundred percent of the time and it is sometimes difficult to hear the teachers. This is very unfortunate because sometimes they could either mark you absent, or it is hard to understand what they are saying. Along with these struggles it is also difficult to pay attention. As the teachers are teaching it is very easy to get distracted and off topic. This could affect you majorly because it is harder to get work done and is difficult to learn important material.

Outside of school, sports are very difficult to play because of social distancing and physical contact. For most sports they have canceled practices and games due to the virus and therefore making it a struggle to play with teammates and get coaching. In replace of this, I have been practicing by myself and working on things I need to improve on.

Finally, it is very hard to communicate with friends and stay in contact. Although you are able to use video calls and different kind of communication, it is hard to see them in person and hang out especially in big groups. As this was a big part of my life, I am unable to do this as often. The one good part about this pandemic is that I was able to meet people and create friendships with people I never knew.

As the Covid-19 cases start to die down, I feel that we should slowly start to have larger gatherings for events such as assemblies, mass, and sports. As these are a big part of our life and something we will always remember, it is important that we can create these high school memories. Allowing us to be in larger gatherings will gradually bring this world back to normal and hopefully get to the stage where we don’t have to wear masks and worry about getting the virus. One way we can solve this issue and make this happen is if teachers and students are required to take the vaccine. I feel that if everyone is required to take the vaccine, the cases will surely slow down and hopefully we can be able to go back to work, school, and sports. Of course, people who need the vaccine first such as elderly and medical conditioned people need the vaccine first but after them we should be able to all take the vaccine. This is an easy way to stop the spread and continue living our normal lives.

Returning to School: Alex, 16, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

Online school has not been my favorite thing over these past couple years but when it was time to choose whether to go back to in-person schooling I decided not to. The reason I decided not to is because many of my teachers were not going back as well. As well, the staggered lunch periods would not allow me to see any of my friends because they had separate lunch periods. I have had so many technology issues while doing online school. Just a couple days ago my computer would not work for some reason, so I had to do almost a full week of calling into meetings on my phone which was less than ideal.

Although being online was not very good, I have been able to practice with the Bellarmine water polo team almost all of quarantine which was been very good for me over the last year. It was a little hard to adapt to the online schooling in the first couple months but eventually I got some what used to it. Following all the rules that have been put in place by the county and country have been slightly hard to follow. For example, many people including myself have found it hard to try and make plans and hang out with their friends. As well there is the question of whether schools should be allowed to go back with full attendance. I think that until everyone has been vaccinated then it would be okay to have all students and teachers returning to school and I think that all students should be forced to get it in order to return to in-person schooling.

Returning to School: Angelo, 15, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

When I “returned” to my school virtually, I noticed that it felt a little lonely and isolating. Last year, at least I had some friends from my classes that were able to help when I had homework trouble or to make jokes with when a funny experience happened during class.  Even break-out rooms felt lonely even though you are supposed to talk with others. In most of my classes now, I have no friends to talk to which felt isolating.  Although I had the option to go back to class physically, I felt like this lingering loneliness would not change either way because you would have to socially distance and others might not be able to hear the jokes you make with your mask on. I expected that returning to school would be a little challenging, but I did not expect it to feel lonely.

Based on the amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases, strict regulations should be applied when it comes to events such as family gatherings or sports game. These strict regulations should be that masks (double masked would be even better) should be required, all parties must distance themselves, and a negative COVID-19 test from one week prior.  This can prevent others from being infected by COVID-19 or any disease as well. Not only that, but everyone should be required to take the vaccine to ensure a Coronavirus-free world.  COVID-19 has affected everyone in numerous ways, and we want to ensure a safe world for the future generation.

Returning to School: Aryan, 16, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

I reacted to the quarantine restrictions with mixed emotions. The day that Bellarmine decided to go remote instruction was also the day that the robotics team (including myself) were supposed to go on our first travel competition of the season. On the day of, I had packed my bags, contacted my teachers, and arranged to catch up on work over the week. Right before we boarded the bus, we were all told to spend 20 minutes to get food and use the restroom. After eating with friends, we came back to the lab to find some of the members unpacking the truck. The trip was cancelled due to COVID. All the hours of work we spent pouring over minute details of our robot and almost unnoticeable optimizations were gone to waste. When we got home, we got the news that we had the week off, and that all in-person school was canceled for the foreseeable future.

As great as having days off from school is, at the back of my mind I felt saddened that I probably would not be able to go back onto campus for the rest of the year. As of now, having spent an entire year in quarantine, I know that the week off from school was not worth it.

Learning online is hard. There is not really any way to get around it. Taking away almost every social aspect of school and just having classes can be very disheartening, making school very unenjoyable for most people. That is why any notion of going back to school is overly exciting. Even though there is an extremely limited capacity, actual social interaction is hampered by health guidelines, and most activities still take place at home, the daily routine that involves actual movement is very attractive. That is why I believe that despite the restrictions, it is very worth it to go to school in person.

Even beyond socializing, learning is severely restricted in remote instruction. Technology issues, distractions, and the bad effects of a sedentary school day are more than enough to make me crave in-person school. There are, however, some benefits to being at home. I consider myself to be quite lazy, so I don’t mind spending entire weeks without leaving the house. I like to play video games, play piano, and other hobbies that can all be done from home. But these positives certainly do not outweigh the harms. As comfy as home can be, learning, at least for me, is best done somewhere else. It’s hard to get into the “zone” when you are 2 feet from the bed you just woke from, but even after a long night, waking up, getting ready, and going to school physically is usually enough to energize you for the day.

As much as I dislike at home instruction, I know that we cannot rush reopening of the country. We have seen several examples in other states and our own that reopening too early will only prolong the duration of the pandemic. I am not familiar with the science, but I do know that I would rather be safe than sorry. For this reason, I would rather not have large gatherings at school, including community and sports events. The fact that COVID-19 is new to the world is mostly what scares me.

Looking past its deadliness, the virus could have unknown long-term effects that come back to bite us later. I apply this same logic to mandatory vaccines, although to a lesser degree. I do believe in the science behind the vaccine, and I in no way think that the vaccine is bad, but part of me can’t help but worry about the lack of long-term testing. So, when it comes to mandatory vaccines for teachers, I would not be able to force teachers to take the vaccine. However, I would also rather not allow people on campus if they have not vaccinated, because there is an extremely high likelihood that the vaccine has no bad side effects. For this reason, I would propose a simple compromise. If a teacher does not wish to take the vaccine at this time, they could teach the class from home, while the students are at school. If a teacher does take the vaccine, they would be welcome to teach on campus if they would like to.

Returning to School: Ben, 16, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

As of now I am returning to school for sports and not academics. I am only returning for sports because I do not mind the learning environment at home, and I want to go back when we can do more kids in each class because there are only about three to five students on campus for each of my classes. Because of this, I feel like it is not worth going back. Also, not even all of my teachers are back on campus, so I would be doing a lot of online classes from school, when I would rather do them at home. When Bellarmine announced we were going back to campus for school, I was hoping that we could get at least half the class back for each class so the environment would be more realistic. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, so I chose to remain online.

Despite this, going back to campus for football has been great. It had helped me a lot because I can finally take my mind of school and have another activity to focus on and put time into. Also, not being able to interact with people during school for almost a year was definitely not easy, so it has been good to have that interaction through football. I believe that we should be able to return with larger gatherings for activities like mass, assemblies, and sporting events. I don’t think there is a risk of a large spreading as long as everyone is wearing a mask and distanced.

For example, I think there should be masses open to as many people we could fit wherever the mass is being held while they are distanced. Another example is if there was a sporting event like a football game, I think there is no problem spacing fans out in the stands and requiring them to wear masks. Even though the amount of people would be limited, it would be better than nothing. Secondly, I do not believe that all teachers and students should be required to be vaccinated. I think that it should be encouraged, but not required because at the end of the day it is the person’s choice, and if for some reason they are not comfortable taking the vaccine, then we should respect their decision and allow them to do that. Also, if you are someone who supports getting vaccinated, what difference does it make if one person doesn’t get vaccinated because they aren’t comfortable when you already have the vaccine.

Returning to School: Brandon, 15, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA 

The Coronavirus has been one of the most impactful events to occur during our lifetime, and for many of my friends and family, along with myself, it has produced many new challenges. Regarding my experience of “returning” to school, it was certainly better than I expected at the end of last year, but recently it has been significantly worse, and quite possibly the worst experience of school I have ever had. I feel this way because the first 3 quarters of school last year were the best months of my life, and what made school so enjoyable before was being able to play hockey 4 out of 5 schooldays of the week, and just the interactions with my friends during class, between class, lunch, or during afterschool workouts. The absence of these interactions has made it feel that all the work we get just continues to pile up, without having anything to break up the work. No hockey before or after school makes it feel like I wake up, do school, work out by myself, shoot pucks by myself, do homework, and sleep.

On top of the stressful week, the weekend does not feel the same as it did last year, as if I try to relax on Saturday, my entire Sunday is spent doing work. I still talk to my friends online, and we all share similar thoughts of significantly more stress, anxiety, and lack of motivation. One of the many ways to combat the spread of the Coronavirus is to avoid having mass gatherings. As a result, things such as in person school and sports have been canceled. With the vaccine out, it seems that things are getting better – this poses the question of whether we should go back to doing these activities again. As of now, I do not think that we should.

Even if there are some vaccinated, I think that we should not take any more chances and wait for everyone to get vaccinated. Once that happens, I believe that we should go back to doing our normal activities again. I believe that this will be the significant benefit of the vaccine, so I also believe that once the vaccine is available for everyone, everyone needs to get the vaccine. While people have the choice of getting a flu shot, Coronavirus has proved itself to be much more severe than the common flu, and as such, the appropriate response would be for everyone to be required to take it. Ultimately, I believe it is too much of a risk to go back to our normal activities without everyone getting vaccinated, which is why when it becomes available for everyone, they must all be required to take it.

Returning to School: Brayden, 16, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

As we approach one year of being in lockdown, I wanted to reflect upon how my situation has been. My life during Covid 19 has been very different from my life 1 year ago. I remember going to my friends’ houses and hanging out, having soccer games every weekend, and going to campus and being able to hang out with my friends at school. Ever since splitting in middle school, my friends and I have been trying to stay connected through high school.

Although, with Covid, we could only talk over the phone. However, in May we celebrated my friend’s birthday over Zoom, as we got to chat for a while and play games over the phone. It was nice to see everyone, but it felt so strange not being able to be there with my friends. As Covid became more intense, my mom locked up on rules, as I could not really leave the house without some form of Covid protection.

Finally, over the summer we got the idea to get an outdoor projector. We then began hosting socially distanced movie nights in our backyard. It felt so wonderful getting to chill with friends again, being able to play Super Smash Bros together or just watching a movie. After summer, we began to go over to each other’s houses as restrictions eased. I could finally get back to what I viewed as normalcy. Now, I still have to be Covid safe, but I am able to see my friends, and whether it is playing poker with some of my friends from Bell or playing Super Smash Bros with my friends from middle school, I finally feel like I am no longer alone during this trying time.

For soccer during the pandemic, I had a very difficult time during this pandemic. As the pandemic began, I had made the choice to change clubs, as the club I was with would not move me up to the top team due to the excess number of players. I had decided on trying out for other clubs, but as no teams could hold tryouts due to Covid, I had to find a way to show coaches what I could do. This was hard for me, as I am not the most technical soccer player, as my strengths came from my defensive skills and my ability to read the field. I eventually got a chance to play with a new club, but I had to prove myself in order to make the team I wanted to.

Although, I could not show my greatest asset because of Covid restrictions. I couldn’t play contact, couldn’t defend, and couldn’t scrimmage. I had to train with the lower team for about two months, until the coach put me with the team I wished to be at. Now, as restrictions have eased and the state and county finally allowed us to play games again, I am super excited and cannot wait to get back on the field again.

I want us to return to school and have mass gatherings, however I do not believe it is safest to do at this time. While I miss having mass or watching a sporting event on campus, I feel that if we try to rush it, we will get another spike again. I just am nervous that if we attempt to get back into things not prepared, then we may have to spend longer in quarantine. It is like when you pull a muscle, if you try to hurry up your recovery, then you have increased risk of injury. The idea of masses during the pandemic have been a struggle, but I am hoping that we can all find a way to connect with God in our own unique way. I know that there is a church by my house which has received over two million dollars in fines because they have been holding masses with more than the maximum capacity. While I feel that we need to spend time with God, why are we urged to defy the law set in place for our safety because we miss gathering at church? I believe that we need to find ways to read scripture and pray on our own time, as a way to connect to God in a more personal way.

Another issue is with the mandatory vaccination of teachers and students. Personally, I believe that teachers should need to be vaccinated if they wish to return to campuses maskless. I think that if they decide that they do not want to be vaccinated than they just need to have COVID safety measures in their classrooms. I do believe that after the elderly and first responders that vaccines should be accessible to teachers, as they hold important roles in society. I think that although teachers should be given access to the vaccine, students should have to wait longer for vaccination as they are one of the groups with the lowest risk to COVID. Although I want students to receive the vaccine so I can return to normal sports activities, I do not believe it is not the most practical thing for our society. I think that we must be willing to leave ourselves at risk in order to help those who are at more risk than us.