LOOKING BACK

Students reflect on unusual school year in pandemic

BY EMILY BRISENO reporter

This school year has impacted everyone differently. Students have had ups and downs while learning during a pandemic. With the option of learning in-person or virtually, students had to decide which way they wanted to learn.

Freshman Elliot Swan is one of the students who used virtual learning to his benefit this year. Swan says as that as a student athlete he had to worry about being benched due to contact tracing or contracting COVID-19.

“About halfway through the first semester, I went virtual for basketball as I did not want to risk getting contact traced and miss two weeks of the basketball season,” Swan said.

Swan noted some of the challenges he faced during his time as a virtual student.

“I had to overcome being unmotivated throughout the time I was virtual. It was very hard for me to stay motivated and locked-in while I was virtual, as it is hard to not be distracted at home, but it was a good challenge that I overcame,” Swan said.

Unlike Swan, senior Connor Phutawon opted to attend school in-person throughout the year.

“I chose to stay in-person because I thought it was the best for my education. I knew that staying in school would keep me focused and determined, and I only wanted what was best for me. I was worried about the ongoing pandemic, but I knew that the school had safety measures in place to keep us safe,” Phutawon said.

Due to CPHS’s COVID-19 protocols, several students were quarantined for two

KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES: SUMMARIZING

August 2020

Students arrived back in the building in late August and were met with various new COVID-19 protocols. One of the biggest changes was lunch moving from the cafeteria to the gym. The year also started on a “yellow” schedule, with students going two days a week and split up by the last name of their parent.

September 2020

CPHS did not have a homecoming dance, but still had the annual game and parade. Senior Grace Price was crowned homecoming queen along with senior Felix Meeks as homecoming king.

October & November 2020

CPHS finally shifted back to a “green” four days a week schedule at the end of October, but after two weeks the decision was made to go to a “red” all online schedule.

weeks because they were near someone with COVID-19 for a significant period of time. Many students, like Phutawon, experienced being quarantined along with having the virus first hand.

“I myself had to overcome an extreme case of COVID-19 in January of this year while we also had finals. It was quite the journey, but despite it all I got through it and I’m still pushing through. I was contact traced right before we went to red in the fall of 2020, quarantined because I tested positive in January, and then pre-cautionary quarantined for both the fall play and spring musical,” Phutawon said.

With the unexpected and sudden quarantines, classroom numbers have fluctuated throughout the year. Swan has noticed this in multiple classes.

“One day there is someone in-person, and the next they are virtual. In one class someone is at school, and the next they are out for two weeks. The whole online perspective is obviously very different as well,” Swan said.

In a normal year, Crown Point High School has typically had school in-person five days a week. Due to the pandemic, virtual Wednesdays were introduced this school year. Sophomore Mariah Anderson believes that having these virtual Wednesdays was helpful to her.

“(Wednesdays are) really beneficial for me, because I can now use that day to make up work rather than keep piling up assignments I never did,” Anderson said.

Anderson explains how her sophomore year mentality differed from her mentality in years prior.

“I feel a lot more mature than I was as a freshman. I take my grades and assignments a lot more seriously,” Anderson said.

As a senior, Phutawon looks back on the unique school year he had and his approach to that.

“My senior year has been impacted in a number of ways. We lost activities, dances, trips, moments that all other senior classes got to have. Even though we long for the moments we’ll never have, we all try to make the best of it and still have fun,” Phutawon said.

Phutawon explains what he wishes he would have known at the beginning of his senior year.

“If I could have done anything differently this year it’s my courses and the classes I decided to take. I should’ve known that while in a pandemic that education would become more difficult, and that I should’ve been easier on myself,” Phutawon said. “Looking back on it, I could’ve lightened up on the classes and just tried to focus on myself and my health during these chaotic times.”

THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

December 2020 & January 2021

After spending the entire month of December and first three school days of January on “red,” CPHS went back to “yellow.” This January the school did not have its traditional turnabout dance hosted by the dance team.

February & March 2021

The girls basketball team made history in February earning the program’s third state title and first since 1986. Also during February, CPHS went back to “green” and has remained at green since. COVID-19 vaccinations opened to teachers in March.

April & May 2021

With all of the population over 16 eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, many students are included in this. The main major end of the year event that was canceled was prom, yet events such as awards ceremonies and inductions still continued.