As we near the halfway mark of the first quarter, students and teachers are adapting to the approach and offer advice on how to make the most of this time.

• Take Breaks 

The five minute passing period remains the same. Principal Jeremy Mitchell suggests that students take a break before starting the next class or start working on homework. 

“Get up, do some exercise, do some jumping jacks, kind of get moving, get things going. Then, obviously, before and after [school] whatever things you like to do, find some time [to] do that,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully it’s not sitting in front of a screen again playing video games. Go outside, run a mile, clean around the house, do whatever you like to do.”

• Use a Planner 

English teacher Shanon Cremeens advises all students to use a planner to remain organized and remember what things they need to accomplish that day. 

“This may be something that challenges them that they’ve never been challenged to do, but they’re going to have to write things down,” Cremeens said. “A lot of times students think that they can remember everything in their mind. [But now] there’s too many digital links, there are too many meetings and they’re different platforms. So there’s just going to have to be a lot of student responsibility.” 

• Time Management 

One thing Mitchell believes will help students be successful in completing assignments during virtual learning is time management and self-discipline skills. 

“How can I utilize my time so that I can take care of myself, take care of my studies, take care of my responsibilities and take care of anything else I need to take care of? It’s just organiz[ing] my time properly,” Mitchell said.

• Be flexible

In this shortened length of time to teach students, teachers are condensing their curriculum to prioritize teachings what’s most important for students.

“We, as teachers, have to figure out what skills are actually important. It’s not that all skills are not important,” Cremeens said. “But a lot of times what teachers have are what’s called recursive skills in every unit so they repeat skills each unit. A lot of what we’ve tried to do is streamline to really focus on what skills are needed to be successful, and to move on. It’s really important just to be flexible, because that’s kind of what the world is right now as we learn more and more about this virus.”

• Wear a mask in public 

Mitchell says that the number one thing that students can do to ensure that we go back to school in October is wearing a mask. (School Re-Evaluation Coming Oct. 1 )

“I’m not a scientist and I’m not going to debate people whether that’s right or wrong. All I know is that–from the science that has been explained–if you keep [masks] on, social distance and you don’t go hang out with 150 people in an enclosed area, then there’s going to be less likelihood of the spread [of COVID]. That would be my suggestion,” Mitchell said.