By: Katherine Goloboy (Correspondent)

As the novel Coronavirus has spread to virtually every corner of the United States, most states have moved to remote learning until the end of the school year.

As a result of the school closures, teachers have had to continue teaching their curriculum remotely. Governor Baker of Massachusetts officially closed all schools through May 4, on Sunday, March 15 in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Since going online teachers have had to change the way they are teaching their students. “My curriculum partner and now co-teacher, Mrs. Theberge, and I have been making a ton of recorded lessons on the Loom app so that students can “see” and hear us to provide comprehensible input,” said SHS Spanish teacher, Ms. Silipo.

Although teachers have been able to find new ways to continue connecting with their students it is not the same as teaching students in the classroom. “There is no substitute for the classroom and for a real-life, flesh-and-bone teacher,” said Silipo.

“I can’t do fun activities in class; it’s much more lecture-oriented,” added Ms. Malcolm, social studies and Humanities teacher.

Throughout the school closure, SHS teachers have missed seeing their students in person every day immensely. “I miss them [her students]. I miss my seniors especially, knowing that I may never see some of them face to face again,” said Malcolm.

The lives of the students at SHS have also changed drastically. Students now have the responsibility to complete all their schoolwork by the end of the week and create a daily schedule that works for them. “I usually wake up around noon, start my work, and work anywhere from one to even five hours depending on how much work I still have left to do that week,” said freshman, Sally Brouhard.

While trying to continue learning remotely many students have faced challenges when trying to ignore distractions at home. “It’s hard to focus at home with everyone home,” said junior Alli Carr.

Students have also expressed that they have had difficulty when using technology all day to complete their schoolwork. “I have had a lot of challenges with the technology and making sure I see all my assignments,” said Carr.

“It has been challenging when documents are not downloading correctly or when I don’t have access to the document,” added Brouhard.

Teachers who have young children at home that require a lot of their attention throughout the day have had difficulty trying to balance being a parent and teacher.  “I also truly hate sticking my own children in front of screens so that I can find the time for school work. We are all getting up early, staying up late, and trying to grab any minute in between to be attentive parents and also attentive teachers,” said Silipo.

During these unprecedented times, we must realize that transitioning students to a completely virtual education is going to come with a lot of challenges. “I feel strongly that everyone– students and teachers/clinicians/counselors/ staff and building administrators— are doing their best!” said Silipo.