My School Journal Archives ~ Sagarika Blogs

Category: My School Journal

How Covid has affected my school life

Covid affected my life in many ways. But mostly, Covid has affected my school life, and I want to share my experience during this pandemic.

The 2020 school year was almost over; Just a couple months left. No one could concentrate on work, and everyone was daydreaming about how awesome their summer vacation would be. So when the news suddenly started talking about a virus that had started in China, it didn’t matter to us. But slowly, the news changed their story. Now the virus started to become a big deal. They called it Covid-19. Schools shut down, face masks and hand sanitizers were practically rationed, and our homes seemed to be the only place that was safe. Their was fear everywhere, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people haunted us.

But life still continued, and Webex became the answer to quarantine. The amount of screen time in the daily life of a fifth grader increased – by a lot. But that wasn’t the problem; Sure, there were definitely more than a few glitches in our chromebooks, though that was to be expected. The problem was the mental impact this had on everyone; Most people, myself included, changed – emotionally or behaviorally. I was dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety, but nothing could be done about it. And there were too many questions; When would all this end? When would we be able to go back to school? Would we ever see our friends again?

I slowly became familiar with the routine: Wake up, log onto Webex, struggle to pay attention, experience glitches, and do boring online homework that had nothing to do with what we are learning about. I just could not concentrate. Things might be better if school just got cancelled. But quarantine wouldn’t let us go outside, enjoy the sunlight, be with friends – which summer is all about. Instead, all we had for entertainment was more screens; phones, video games, TV. I started to become lazy by eating more junk food, and having my eyes on a screen all day. I felt isolated from the world, my friends, and even my family. At the time, I thought it was the worst year of my life.

Then I realized that the people around me were going through the same difficulties. I missed out on fifth grade graduation, going on vacation in the summer, and even my first day of middle school. But everyone else did too. Some people might have even missed their first day of high school, or college, and I felt lucky that things were slowly working out for me; even if it wasn’t the way I hoped.

Half of the sixth grade school year was on Zoom – a better platform than Webex. The technical difficulties still continued, but it wasn’t nearly as bad. Things got better, because they set up a hybrid learning schedule; Our class divided into two cohorts, which took turns going to school every other day.

About a month later, they took it even further, and combined all the cohorts so that everyone could go to school everyday. We still had to wear masks, but at least we could hang out with all of our friends.

We got to participate in all the activities that wouldn’t have been as fun on Zoom. My mental health improved, and so did other people’s. Just when I thought things couldn’t possibly get better – they did. Because the Covid-19 vaccine was created. Slowly, all the adults, including my parents, became vaccinated, and I would too once I was 12. The coronavirus would never completely go away, but a lot of people can now be saved from it.

If there is anything that my experience during the pandemic has taught me, it is to have patience. Things will work out, even if it isn’t the way you hoped they would.

Going to School In-person During Covid Part 2

I couldn’t wait to go to school in-person again, because last time was exhilarating! I have to say, waking up and adjusting to the new schedule was definitely the hard part about hybrid learning. And Covid was something that used to make me think that I would never get to experience middle school in-person, but I was wrong; It all worked out eventually.

Early in the morning, I woke by feeling the cool air outside and the sunlight shining through the window. I quickly got out of bed and went downstairs to take a shower and get ready. Breakfast was bagels with cream cheese and onions on top. My favorite!

That Day

I didn’t have the QR code on my phone today, so the lady at the gate checked my temperature and let me go in. We had to wait in line for 15 minutes before they let us in the school, and it was exhausting! When we finally got in, Ms. Johnson was wait outside the door for us, and a rush of warm air met my face when I stepped through the doorway.

Today we were going to write an I Am Poem. It was so fun, because every time we wrote a sentence, someone shared out to the class. Ms. Johnson would throw a beach ball to someone who would read their poem and pass it to a different person. I had the worst throw because I was right next to the opened door letting in a draft, but that was okay. People were trying to throw it to the furthest person, and chaos erupted!

Soon, everyone was laughing and having fun, and that was when we heard the bell ring, indicating it was snack time. The same groups of people divided, and I stood next to Elle. Snack was exactly the same, and nothing interesting really happened during it. Ms. Johnson was allowing us to bring tennis balls to play with at snack, and the mood was fun and cheerful.

Recess and Tutorial

Once again, tutorial was next, and I practiced my left-hand drawing this time. I was getting pretty good at it, and the pencil felt comfortable in my hand.

Suddenly, the bell rang, which meant it was time to go home. On the way out, I thanked Ms. Johnson, and accepted the lunch that was being offered outside the gates. It was chicken teriyaki!

This day was surprisingly better than the first, but it wasn’t perfect because everyone was still adjusting. Distance learning has taught me that you should have patience, because everything will work out, even though it might not be exactly what you wanted, and as soon as you had hoped for.

Going to School In-person During Covid

The night before the big day, I’m not gonna lie, I was kind of dreading the thought of school. Going to school in-person during Covid was one thing I never thought would happen, and I was having mixed feelings. Who would have guessed I was going to have my first day of sixth grade in the middle of March?

Picking an outfit was easy, especially when I asked for help from by best friend, Elle. She was the fashion guru, and always had the best sense of style. Together, we decided on a red sweatshirt with Levi’s, a pair of adidas, and some cute earrings as accessories.

My class was divided into two cohorts based on each person’s last name and their class periods. My cohort (cohort B) going to school in person for period 1, which was a relief because it included my favorite teacher and subject- language arts with Ms. Johnson! But, Elle was the only friend I had in my cohort, and the mixed feelings started up again.

The Big Day

Grogginess and exhaustion were just some the things I was feeling when I woke up that day early in the morning. It was stressful running around the house trying to get ready on time, but I did it in the end. In fact, I was actually the first person to stand in the line in front of the gates to the school. They let us in at exactly 7:55, and we made our way to our classrooms.

Seeing Ms. Johnson for the first time was nothing like I had expected. First of all, she was tallest person I have ever met, and she already knew almost all of our names! The best part? Elle and I were sitting right next (okay maybe 6ft apart) to each other! That day was a blast, with activities like fun icebreakers, to lessons on growing your brain.

At snack break, a group of boys from my class huddled together and starting talking about Fortnite. Joining them was tempting, but I knew that talking about a video game 24/7 was annoying to most people. So instead, I listened close while talking to Elle at the same time.

Next was tutorial, the time students got to work on their homework, retake assessments, or simply chill out. I practiced my left-hand writing, because I wanted to be ambidextrous (I also heard left-handed people are more creative, but let’s go with the other one).

After class ended, it was dismissal time, and we even got free lunch to take with us! The school day ended up being much better than I though it would be, and I was glad I took the hybrid learning. Now I couldn’t wait for next week to go back to school again!