New Prairie High School teachers are giving a warm welcome back to Cougar students. On February 8, NPHS students came back to school for one hundred percent attendance in-person.
For the majority of the school year, NPHS has been doing a hybrid schedule while also giving students the option of virtual learning. On Wednesday, January 27, New Prairie’s school board made the decision they believed would be most beneficial to their students at NPHS to return to school and operate on a normal, in-person school schedule.
There have been many controversial conversations about whether one hundred percent attendance would be beneficial. Some things to consider are whether the risks outweigh the benefits and what steps are being taken in order to keep students and staff safe.
New Prairie High School Freshman Emelia Milner, an athlete who attends extracurricular activities, provided some details on sports safety measures since returning to complete in-person attendance.
“After school from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the track team is sorted out into different categories, such as distance runners, throwers, and multiple other types of sprinting groups. All groups meet at different times, and this makes it easier so big groups are not all running at once, preventing the spread of COVID-19. When doing physical activity, we are not authorised to wear a mask, but if standing doing nothing physically we are required to wear our masks.”
Jennifer Breitzka, a ninth and tenth grade English teacher at New Prairie High School, is very excited for the one hundred percent schedule along with many other teachers.
“I do think the pros outweigh the cons coming back one hundred percent. On one hand, yes, we are all a bit closer together; however, we socially distance, sanitize, and wear masks. We do everything we can to keep ourselves safe without doing irreparable damage to our students' educational experiences,” said Breitzka. “Coming back one hundred percent has allowed us to have more face-to-face time with each student on a regular basis. I have felt the rapport I have with my students growing stronger by the day. I have seen students make strides in two days that would have taken them weeks, or months, to accomplish at fifty-fifty. I think, given the numbers in our community, the pros of one hundred percent outweigh the cons.”
This entire year, school has involved different, new approaches to learning for both students’ and staff’s benefit. There were many unknowns and changes that everyone had to experience. As a student myself, I wanted to know what was something that Mrs. Breitzka was excited to do with her students now they are back full-time.
“I was incredibly excited to introduce my freshmen to their opposite-day pen pal at the beginning of the year. Otherwise, I look forward to the day that I can let all of my students interact freely, without masks or fear,” shared Breitzka.
Full attendance can be a complicated thing for many students to adjust to since they are used to a certain system of learning, but it seems many students are benefiting.
“It gives them the opportunity to work independently with teachers around to help them avoid making mistakes,” said Breitzka.
While this has grown to be a good thing for many students, the teachers schedules are drastically affected, giving them a lot of work to do and not a lot of preparation. Alongside all the teaching, they have to worry about the children’s safety and make sure they take the right sanitary precautions that are included to protect themselves as well.
“We have so many added responsibilities: wiping desks, planning entirely different, "covid-safe" activities from scratch, instead of recycling interactive activities from last year. Giving teachers an e-learning day without students in the building to help those who need interventions and plan their lessons for the week would go a long way,” Breitzka said.
One hundred percent is a process of learning and adapting to the new environments around. For most students and teachers, the first few days are pretty frantic and very busy because most of the teachers did not have enough to teach all of the curriculum twice a week.
“Things feel a bit more hectic, but productive. I don't have nearly as much prep time at one hundred percent, but I have an easier time teaching my students because I have more opportunities to reinforce what I teach,” said Breitzka. “I miss working extra with the students who genuinely need the extra help in the mornings, and I miss having my afternoons to plan out next week's lessons, without missing out on time and memories with my own family.”
Beginning new chapters at NPHS is a difficult process, but working to stay completely in-person will help many individuals keep a stable learning environment and may help with many students' way of thinking.
“I do think we will stay one hundred percent if – and that's a big if – our numbers stay as low as they have been. If numbers in our school start to spike, it is the school's responsibility to keep us safe, and I have faith they will act accordingly,” said Breitzka.