As the news was released on Friday, March 13 that no students would be returning to school that Monday, the Winnacunnet student body entered a world of confusion. What did this mean for their education? Over the past two weeks, students have been adjusting to online learning and finding new ways to spend their time.
One student, senior Declan Ghirardi, has taken this time at home and dedicated it to some of his favorite hobbies that he wouldn’t usually have the time for with a regular school schedule. As trimester three is his easiest trimester of the year, he only has to spend around two hours a day dedicated to his schoolwork, and he is able to enjoy much more free time than usual.
“The only good thing about staying home so much is that I can make sure that I can get good work done on my hobbies each day, like playing guitar and learning Japanese,” Ghirardi said. “With a regular school day it’s tough to fit a good chunk of time for each hobby every day.”
On the other hand, senior Isabelle Desrosiers thinks that the switch to online learning has added more to her workload, making this time even harder to adjust to. As one of the members on this year's Italy trip, Desrosiers has been doing her schoolwork from home since the beginning of March, but she believes it has become significantly harder since Governor Chris Sununu ordered the closing of all N.H. schools.
“Since I have been out of school, I feel like I have been struggling a lot more in my classes,” Desrosiers said. “I feel like I’m not really learning when I do all of my work on the computer.”
Kyle Curtis, a freshman, has been enjoying the switch to online learning, saying it is easier and more fun than his schoolwork earlier in the year. One thing that he has been focusing on while away from school is trying to find ways to still spend time with his friends, while respecting the rules of social distancing.
“I have been on FaceTime with my friends and have learned to make work fun in a group FaceTime,” Curtis said. “I have gone on a few bike rides with my friends, but we still kept our distance and didn’t go into anyone's house.”
While this switch has been difficult for many, people are finding their own ways to adapt. Now that online learning has been extended to May 4, students will continue to find ways to occupy their new free time as they adapt to this new method of schooling.