School dropped the ball on some student events

School dropped the ball on some student events

The administration and staff  had to keep in mind the safety of everyone on campus when returning to school this past fall. The difficulties of scheduling, social distancing, everchanging guidelines and more recently, more intense precautions for in-person learning have burdened them. 

School districts across the country and even the world have dealt with the same things and it seems that North Central has dropped the ball on a few events and policies when compared to other school districts. 

For example, lunch this year is one of the most strange parts of being at school. On the first day of in-person learning, students were alphabetically assigned a lunch seat. The seats are “socially distanced” desks set up in long rows across the lunchroom. 

 

Because students were unable to choose who they were able to eat with, most of them sit in silence, making for a very awkward cafeteria. 

Other schools around the area were able to take a different approach. Lawrence North students were able to choose a small group of friends that they wanted to sit with on their first day back and then those seats were recorded for contact tracing purposes. They still get to socialize with each other, while staying distanced and safe. 

This simple change could make coming to school more enjoyable while giving students a small sense of normalcy.

The list of things that NC students have missed out on continues to grow. Prom, grad dance, Junior Spectacular, the senior bonfire, student sections, spirit week, tailgates, pep rallies and theatre and show choir performances are not happening. 

Some of these events could not have happened with social distancing and safety conditions put in place at the time they were supposed to occur. However, administration has not been very creative in finding alternative plans for other events. 

For example, prom was canceled this year, months before it was to happen. The option of having an outdoor prom when it gets warmer or even postponing it for next year has been overlooked. Other schools like Pike, Lawrence North and Cathedral have been able to plan a prom for their students, with COVID regulations and safety precautions, so why can’t we? After almost a year of missing out on any type of school events, I thought I could look forward to prom or a late  Junior Spectacular performance. 

Even with vaccine rollout and clearance for us to go to school four days a week, admin still has not put in the effort to make our high school experience enjoyable. Students are putting in work day and night to complete assignments and keep up with their schoolwork, yet are not getting anything in return. 

There are a few good reasons as to why some things could not happen, but other schools are still finding new and creative ways to reward their students’ hard work. They are having live theater performances, allowing student sections at sporting events and are working out ways to give their students prom.

Without any special events, life has become an unmemorable blur of the same boring school routine. Postponing large events like prom or spec could mean the world to some and require less planning than actually having them. Instead of blanket cancellations of all events, students would like to see more effort and creativity put into the handling of them.

Getting to look forward to any event that was merely postponed to next year would make school that much more bearable, and I, along with a large number of my peers would appreciate some creativity from the admins and staff to accomplish that.