Update December 14: The school has officially announced plans for remote learning between January 4 and January 8, 2021. The last day of school before break will be Friday, December 20, returning to campus on Monday, January 11.
It’s that time of the month again! Last month’s update came a little late, on November 22, and I said I would update around December 11. Well today is December 11.
Let’s start with some good news. Since the latest update on November 25, no more students have tested positive for coronavirus. All my friends who were in quarantine have made it back successfully and without infection.
Inclement Weather. It’s December, which means every day is cold. The latest snowfall was on Saturday, December 5, and about 7 inches were recorded near the school. There is snow in the forecast for Wednesday, December 16 into Thursday, December 17. No announcement has been made for those days.
The First Shutdown. As mentioned last month, our first shutdown was between November 23 and December 4. The week went mostly smooth with a few technology-related issues, with some students losing internet connection or being marked as tardy or absent on accident. We successfully returned to school safely on December 7.
The Second Shutdown. The school has not provided an update for post-Christmas plans, which could involve going remote between January 4 and January 8, 2021. Today was decision day for the administration, with communication of a possible shutdown likely coming early next week.
Dress Code. It is Friday, December 11, two months and ten days after the October 1 date for a dress code update. No updates have been made. We are cold.
Food Service. In September, I reported that all students wanting to purchase a school lunch must do so by Wednesday the week before. The popularity of this service has been declining over the months.
Physical Distancing. Nobody cares anymore. Having nearly 850 high school boys on campus every day means that nobody is keeping their distance, and staff actively do not follow the one-way traffic patterns. This leads to the traffic pattern being useless if the staff don’t care.
Library. This is the biggest update this month. In September, “the library is closed before and after school”. Beginning on December 7, the library is open after school between 2:30 and 3:15 pm Monday — Thursday for ten students. This is a small number and barely utilizes the large space available in the library. This is most likely in the same space used for students’ free periods throughout the day. Over three-quarters of the library space has been off-limits since September.
That’s it for 2020. The next update is slated for Friday, January 15, 2021, with the end of the second quarter in the academic year. At that point, we will be halfway done with the school year.
