Central Speaks

by DREW JOHNSEN staff writer

High school can be tough. Between school, sports, clubs, social life, family responsibilities, work, and other obligations, it’s a stressful life, and sometimes there are little things that can get under our skin or brighten our day. Central Speaks is a forum for students to share their thoughts about the ups and downs of the “Central” Life. Here’s what students like you had to say.

The school runs smoothly, but the Covid-19 procedures are a bit daunting. Having a one way hallway setup will cause more interaction and spread with everyone pushing to go the same way. Or when a kid has to walk more just to go all the way around because they went the “wrong way”. I feel the mask order is overbearing too. I understand and support wearing them when in the halls or walking somewhere; but, harm is going to come when kids are forced to wear a mask SITTING in class. Not to mention most rooms already have kids sitting 6ft apart. This will cause potentially much more harmful side effects like carbon dioxide poisoning, dizziness, headaches, increased heart rate due to the lack of a stable oxygen supply, and even mild narcosis. Hearing all that I would rather get a virus with a 99% survival rate. Just coming back to the solution, the hallway arrows should be removed, and face masks shouldn’t be required when sitting in your classroom. You may say this “compromises safety,” but what I see is being compliant, not “safe.” Any student (or staff member) who feels nerve wrecked about the Covid-19 topic, or fears getting the virus, they should have simply gone to a homeschooling program or a homeschooling job. Thus, the large majority of students and I’m assuming staff members who don’t agree with the regulations, can take a FRESH breath of relief. - Logan Beilski ‘22

In response to Logan Beilski: We are required to follow all state and local guidelines for our school day. Wearing masks as recommended by the CDC is one of the requirements. They are safe. Keeping desks apart and as much one way traffic in hallways as possible are also requirements. The one way helps the flow to maintain movement for all to not gather and avoids direct face to face contact. Not perfect but our goal is to reduce risk for all as much as possible. We want to stay in school and stay together as a community.

In response to Carson Fryer: This has been tough for all of us to move on and adapt to all the new processes. We are all learning as we go. The staff is very excited to be back with students each day in person. They are working hard to create engaging lessons and keep academics high. If you have more ideas or suggestions for teachers as to how to better support you with your learning, let us know!! We are always open for feedback.

The school feels more like a prison than an actual school. Keep in mind, this is an open thought. We’re herded around like sheep, told what to do and when to do it. The teaching style feels dry and scripted. This isn’t 1892. This is 2020. The start time is ridiculous, and in the current situation, COVID, the board says that they’ll go back to remote after the *first few* cases. It should be the first case because in this pandemic, only one life can risk a thousand more. We get information knocked into our heads for seven hours a day, five days a week. Then we’re sent home, and then graded on it a few days later where we pretty much forget 95% of what we learn and have to rely on guessing. I would rather take school online because we’re in a PANDEMIC, not your normal day filled with sunshine and rainbows, with fluffy unicorns. We just need change. We need to change so we don’t feel like those sheep herded around on a daily basis. We need change so we don’t feel extremely bored and mentally exhausted the moment we arrive at school, and the moment we get home. The mask policy is taken to the next mile and a half. We need a little time to have our noses uncovered so we can breathe fresh air and not have to inhale our warm air under this sweaty mask. If we go online, we should be more occupied, and not treated like peasants in a webcam. If we go online, we need to be treated like we matter. But in physical school, we shouldn’t have a double standard for bullies and students, because what do you want the kid to do, curl up in the fetal position and cry while he’s getting kicked so he won’t be suspended? Because I wouldn’t want to go to a school with that double standard. We should have stayed online, because this pandemic is still very active and serious. Instead of waiting for five cases in the school to happen, wait for ONE. One case is all it takes for things to go south very, very quickly. Things need to be enforced better around here, especially the rules. But to close this one off with one final line, here it goes: Open. Thoughts. - Carson Fryer ‘24

I would like to know why our computers are disabled while we are at home. Why can’t we use them other than for learning or studying? I understand why they are disabled at school. It would be an interruption to the learning environment. But at home, there wouldn’t be much learning to be interrupted. I know that people study and work while at home, but it would be nice if the majority of “fun” or “recreational” sites only worked at home. - Christopher Fetty ‘23

I like Central so far. One thing though, is that I wish they would enforce the correct way to wear a mask. I see a lot of people wearing masks below their nose all the time and it seems like the staff doesn’t really care or do anything that often. - Addy Cook ‘24

In response to Addy Cook: Masks! They are a work in progress. We are committed as a staff to enforce the policy. We are actively redirecting both students and staff that are not properly wearing masks. If we have regular names come up, we have one-onone meetings to see how to problem solve it. If you have concerns about mask wearing, please talk to your wing principal. In response to Christopher Fetty: If you are having technology issues, please stop by Tech Central for adjustments. We do have policies limiting access to non-academic sites. The computers are funded with the purpose of supporting school work and not providing entertainment for students. We follow the national guidelines for blocked sites. Central Speaks

Back As busy the administrators at Central are, they always have an open ear to listen to what is on the student body’s mind. Here’s what Principal Houghton had to say in response to our Central Speaks forum.