OP-EDS

All school staff should get vaccinated

Throughout the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools across the United States have been eagerly awaiting a vaccine to support the prospect of safely reopening. Granville Sophie Ehrman Schools staff is going to have the opportunity to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months.

In a survey taken in the beginning of the school year, between 80-90% of school staff stated that they’d be interested in getting the vaccine. For the sake of the student body, all school staff should get vaccinated. The majority of the student body will not have the opportunity to be vaccinated for an uncertain amount of time even if they really wanted to.

According to the Ohio Department of Health website, “the speed at which Ohio will move through the phases depends on the number of vaccines available.”

Given that the timeline is wholly unknown, all school staff should get vaccinated to help ensure the safety of our schools. Skeptics will say it is a personal choice. People are not mandated to get the flu shot, so why should they have to get the coronavirus vaccine?

Many people are also skeptical for various other reasons such as not knowing what’s in the vaccine or concern about the quick timeline of development and production. All of these concerns have already been debunked.

Covid-19 is clearly not like the flu at all. Generally, the U.S. death toll from the flu is somewhere between 34,000 and 43,000 annually, according to the CDC. Covid-19 has killed over 429,000 Americans in less than a year. They are not similar.

As for not knowing what’s in it, people normally do not know exactly what’s in the vaccines they are receiving. If someone really wanted to know, it’s public information which is just a quick Google search away. The rapid development timeline is not concerning since the speed can be attributed to the fact that this vaccine has been a worldwide effort for the past year in its entirety. The whole point was to get a vaccine developed quickly and efficiently. The fact that people are now recoiling from this highly anticipated medial miracle is astounding.

If the staff cared for the student body as much as they say they do, they would get vaccinated. There is absolutely no sound reason not to get vaccinated. The vaccines have been thoroughly tested, approved and proven to be effective. Every other argument is threaded with blatant lies and ignorant oversights. Any opposition completely ignores science. No wild conspiracy theory should get in the way of maintaining the health and well-being of everyone inside Granville Schools.

It is going to take everyone to end this pandemic. Especially now, it is important to check news sources for extreme bias to combat the consumption and spread of false information. It’s time to trust science. It’s time to have empathy.

It is okay to feel lazy during pandemic

Kennedy Ogden During this pandemic, people feel like they have an obligation to be productive and take up new hobbies, but that is not the case. People should not feel guilty for doing less during a

pandemic.

There has been a new wave of posts on social media about the various hobbies people have picked but during the pandemic like cooking, sewing, home projects and more. This new wave of productivity creates a vicious cycle for those who are feeling a lack of motivation during this time.

In the population of people experiencing mental health struggles, they may feel it is hard to start something new. Some may argue that this is the most time people will have to themselves so people should take advantage of it. The common issue with this statement is that not all people are in the same headspace or financial situation

For this reason, people may not have enough resources to have a new outlet. The pandemic has created a multitude of issues from financial struggles to a variety of mental health struggles. It is hard for some people to immerse themselves in new hobbies because of the toll the pandemic has created for people from all walks of life. It is important for people with mental heath issues to take priority of themselves.

Another reason why being “lazy” in this pandemic is acceptable is that this time period has probably been the most stressful. Seeing the constant increase in deaths and trying to be safe is stressful. Adapting to a new way of life can be daunting, especially one that no one has experienced before. All of the new factors of the pandemic allow for a stressful atmosphere.

One thing that could majorly decrease the stress of being “lazy” during a pandemic is keeping our opinions to ourselves. There is no way of knowing what people are going through in this pandemic, so the best solution is to not bring it up. Keeping the judgment out of the pandemic can make the transition easier by bringing people together. People need to feel safe in their social space because the world around them may not feel that way.

Another way to reduce the guilt of feeling “lazy” during the pandemic is to talk to others in a non-judgemental way. This means hearing and acknowledging the feelings that others are trying to talk about.

Having sympathy and being mindful of others' situations should be as important as the golden rule, especially in 2021. Making accommodations for people this year is important to keeping life enjoyable. Keeping the social atmosphere open and safe is important in a time of isolation.

Granville begins Covid-19 vaccinations

Health care workers, teachers and people aged 80 and up got vaccine first

BY SOPHIE EHRMAN Granville has begun the complicated process of Covid-19 vaccine distribution throughout the community. After many months of wondering, residents and employees are finally being vaccinated. The first available phase, phase 1-B, included lower hierarchy healthcare workers, educators and people over the age of 80.

Many staff members began the vaccination process on Feb. 12. Granville teachers, administrators and staff were vaccinated with thousands of other Licking County educators at the Reese Center at The Ohio State University at Newark.

They received a second vaccine on Mar. 12.

Principal Matt Durst stated that there was a preliminary interest survey taken earlier this school year in which 80-90% of staff stated that they’d be interested in getting vaccinated.

Senior living facilities within the Granville community began the process of vaccination back in mid January. 23 residents of Middleton Senior Living were vaccinated as of Jan. 13, according to senior Dilnoza Khuseynova, who works as a server at Middleton. Khuseynova received the vaccination shortly after that. As of now, a large majority of residents have been fully vaccinated. As a result of this, limited in-room family visits are now allowed within the facility, according to Khuseynova.

Phase 1-C went into effect as of Mar. 4. According to the Ohio Department of Health, this phase includes those who occupy positions in childcare services, funeral services, and law enforcement and correction services. It also includes those with additional medical conditions that may increase their risk of severe illness due to Covid-19.

Ohio residents sixteen and up may begin receiving the vaccine starting on Mar. 29. This has given way to a new sense of hope within the high school community.

“I plan on getting the vaccine as soon as it’s available,” senior Megan Mazik stated. She made it clear that she sees this as an opportunity to contribute to widespread change and take one step closer to achieving normality once again.

It’s safe to say much of the student body feels the same way, carrying a renewed sense of hope with them as they look toward the future.

Biology teacher Jennifer Newall celebrated getting the first of two vaccines on Feb. 12 "I’m jumping up and down thinking about those little lipid encapsulated mRNA molecules doing their thing!" she said. Photo courtesy of Newall.

Spring events move forward

Traditonal events are being planned for this spring

BY MADDIE BARKER One of the devastating effects of Covid-19 is the loss of sense of community, as exemplified by the cancellation of events. In years past, Granville high school has had a rich tradition of hosting fun events like plays and musicals, concerts, clubs and of course, prom and graduation.

Unfortunately, due to public safety concerns, the high school has had to place safety measures on most extracurricular activities, which can make it more difficult for students to participate in these events, or even cause fears about the cancellation of important dates like graduation and prom.

“I am currently sitting down with the senior prom president and there will be new information throughout the next two and a half months,” Principal Matt Durst said.

Durst also is already planning for a different graduation.

“We are working toward a traditional graduation, while also staying safe,” Durst said. He added that senior events this year will be “very unique and exceptional, with lots of new ideas to come.”

Jim Reding, the AP Environmental Science teacher, and the adviser of the Envirothon Club had to cancel last year’s event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and completely rework the competition this year.

“We will, of course, have to follow the regulations on gathering, wear our masks, and have limited guest speakers,” Reding said.

However, he is still optimistic about this year’s events.

“Before Covid, our school did great in the Envirothon competitions and it has opened a lot of doors, but everything is different his year. We will be doing mostly Zoom meetings.”

However, Envirothon isn’t the only club to have been affected by the pandemic; Drama and Choir got hit especially hard.

“The drama department is doing a completely online production over Zoom,” said sophomore Lilly Rees, a member of the drama department. "This definitely makes it more difficult to perform due to internet and connectivity issues. A good thing, though, is that we don’t have contact with anyone.”

Despite all difficulties, Durst still wants students to get as “normal” a year as he can give us. He and the Granville staff members have all been hard at work trying to make life a little bit easier for everyone attending Granville High School.

Counselors check in on online students

School counselors are trying their best to ensure that remote learners are getting everything they need this year

BY ALYSHA WALLACE Aremote student logs onto Schoology for their class day only to realize that they have a message from their school counselor. The student begins to grow worried that they might have forgotten something, maybe a homework assignment or even a meeting. The student opens the message only to find that their counselor was just checking in on them.

They heave a sigh of relief and send a reply to their counselor about how they are a bit stressed about their school work and it seems harder when they are online. Their counselor sends back a response and lets the student know that they can message them anytime they have any questions and need help with managing their workload, scheduling and anything about colleges.

This is the reality of what counselors have to do in order to reach out to their remote students. Even though it is different, our school counselors are still trying their best to make sure that their students are getting the help and resources that they need.

“Counselors are usually more on the 'front lines' because we are physically in the building and able to respond immediately," school counselor Elizabeth Adams said. "The situation this year with online students means that we are a bit less of the first responders.”

School counselors have to come up with different ways to reach out to their students and although it’s not an ideal situation, our counselors are making it work to the best of their ability.

“Pre-Covid, when I wanted to touch base with a student, I could just call down from study hall, I now have to Schoology message them which they may or may not respond to.” school counselor Brandi Cosgrove said.

Along with touching base with their students and communicating with them through Schoology, counselors have found a way to have meetings with their online students through Zoom.

“The follow up looks a little different, of course, but thankfully with Zoom I am still able to meet with a student online," Adams said. "I do feel bad though, because I know that remote learners are already on Zoom for so many hours every single day, that I know it's a lot to ask to have yet another meeting over Zoom. It's a lot of camera time and I know it's important to take a break!”

School counselors do so much for students and by having both remote learners and in-school students, their workload looks slightly different.

“It definitely has created even more emails and Schoology messages to keep up with,” Adams said. “Just like everyone else, I feel tied to my computer now more than ever before. At the beginning of the year, it was tedious to look through all of the class rosters and make sure that no class was too full of in-person learners based on social distancing requirements.”

Not only are counselors trying to make sure that everyone is doing well in school and checking up on their students, they also are trying to get things ready for next year with scheduling.

School counselor Brandi Cosgrove checks in on students at the beginning of the school day. BluePrints staff photo.

“I didn’t really know what exact classes I wanted to take next year that would allow me to further my education in what I wanted to got to college for, but I met up with Mrs. Cosgrove and she really helped me with finding out what my course of action will be for my next year’s classes,” said sophomore Sydney Werner.

Most years the school counselors will go to the government classes and teach a College 101 curriculum to give the juniors a better understanding of how to apply to colleges and universities. This year, due to Covid, they are unable to do that especially for their remote learners, so they put all of the curriculum in a folder in Schoology to allow students to have direct access to it.

“We have made all materials for College 101 available through Schoology, we have been conducting individual meetings with students through zoom, and we have created an electronic transcript request form for our seniors that are remote but are still applying to college,” said school counselor Cody Masters. “Like everyone in this pandemic, we are trying our best.”