Student Reflection

It was Friday. I had just woken up excited about the trip in Mr. Westray's class later that day. I got a shower, got dressed, walked to the kitchen, and got an ice-cold glass of water. I walked to the bus stop and went to school as normal. But when D block started, everyone in Mr. Westray's class was getting ready to leave. Mr. Westray taught us origami every Friday to prepare us for this trip. We were going to the elementary school to teach a class of younger kids how to do the origami we learned. We all walked out of the door, then down the hallway, and outside. We walked the short walk to the elementary school nearby. We all walked into the classes we were assigned to and introduced ourselves to the kids. We had lots of colorful paper, so we got in groups and started. Everyone had a fun time, the kids loved being taught by the older kids, and we loved being able to help them instead of math class. 

We used to be able to have thirty kids in a single classroom working side by side without a mask or any social distancing. We could all touch the same papers and share the same pencils without wiping them off. We were allowed to eat and drink in class without a second thought.

Now that we are back in school, we have a lot of restrictions that were not there before, like how the school turned off the water fountains. One of the biggest differences is the importance of masks. If you are eating and don't have a mask on, you must be six feet from the people around you. If you take off your mask when you're not eating, the school will send you home.

There are a lot of differences in how school works now, and sometimes it's hard to imagine school before COVID hit. It would feel weird to go change back to the way things were before. I feel like covid changed everything at least a little bit, some good, some bad.