By Maire Crooks, Current News Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone differently, but for freshmen, it took away the typical first-year high school experience. The freshmen were welcomed to the River Hill community through Google meets and drive-by supply pickups, as the majority of the Class of 2024 were not able to step foot into the River Hill building until March 29th.
Sierra Collis explains that this year, she found virtual school “draining.” She “became more isolated and spent less time hanging out with friends,” especially since Sierra feels that she “missed all of the fun school events like homecoming, football games, etc.” Sapna Joy elaborates, adding that freshmen “missed out on a lot of aspects that make high school different from middle [school].”
For some, like Sierra, online learning was very “challenging academically,” and Stephanie Moses believes it has “weakened my work ethic,” while others enjoyed the new flexibility and thrived in the unfamiliar environment. Sapna explains that “Academically, I had done really well because you can always retake things, you get all the powerpoints, and there’s a lot of online resources that you can do.”
Kate Wittholz also thought that “having the four-by-four schedule [four classes taking place over the first semester, four classes filling the second semester] really helped because it tricked [her] brain into thinking [she] was getting less work.” However, “it was a lot harder to focus because I was in my own home with distractions all around me instead of in a designated learning environment,” which “made it really hard to sit down and pay attention.”
Although the freshman class seems to have mixed reviews on the academic rigor of the 2020-2021 school year, they all agree on one thing- the social side of high school was extremely hard to navigate. “I’ve had kind of a hard time getting to know people,” notes Sapna, adding that she has “made a few new friends.”
Maki Abraham says online school has been “tough,” as she “recently moved from another country” and “didn’t have anyone to associate with.” The pandemic and quarantine have made Abraham “become a social butterfly” because it has “made [her] realize that we need people.”
Similarly, Stephanie is “coming to River Hill through the Jumpstart program,” meaning that she doesn’t “know many people who go [to RHHS], unlike those who were districted.” It has been especially difficult with the virtual format, and Stephanie “feel[s] a bit left out knowing everyone already has friends while [she does not] know anyone.”
For others, they feel that they have become “lazy,” as Kate summarizes. “Beforehand I was able to get up and be awake at school the whole day. Now… I have an alarm set for a minute before my classes start… and I take naps during the day as well.”
Many members of the Class of 2024 acknowledge that virtual school starkly contrasted to the vision they had for their first year of high school. “It was just something I needed to get accustomed to,” expresses Maki.
Sapna sums up her freshman year as “disorienting. I was expecting one thing and then tossed something totally different… it was definitely a little crazy in the beginning.”
The freshman class agrees that the virtual school year was not necessarily bad nor good, it was simply “bizarre,” stated Kate and, as Maki mentioned, “interesting.”
Looking ahead to the 2021-2022 school year, Stephanie explains that she is “nervous, yet excited to experience in person high school,” and she thinks she will “still feel like a freshman in a way,” as the in-person opportunities and events have been limited. Everyone agreed they are all looking forward to a “normal” school year and high school experience.