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Bonsall High students have mixed feelings about the quarantine

Along with other schools throughout California, Bonsall High School has been shut down since March 16 in accordance with Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What was initially going to be a three-week hiatus with a return date of April 6 has turned into an indefinite break from on-campus schooling.

Though the Bonsall High campus has closed for the time being, and possibly the entire school year, plans for learning have not ceased. Through various emails, it has been communicated to the students and their families that Bonsall will move to online distance learning. Scheduled to start April 6, this mode of schooling will take place on Google Classroom, a program new to most students and teachers. In preparation for this shift in learning, Bonsall High has provided the teachers with the support they need to understand the format.

"Our goal is to have every teacher at a level where they are able to effectively organize and deliver lessons in their Google Classroom," David Jones, superintendent of Bonsall Unified School District, said in an email sent out to Bonsall High families.

Given that the school offers its students the choice of dual enrollment, the school had also been in communication with Palomar College to work out a learning plan for the high school students taking classes to earn college credits. Palomar courses resumed during the week of March 30, many of the classes being taught on the live video communications program Zoom.

While adjustments were able to be made to regular learning, SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement testing have faced greater challenges, concerning many students. Due to the large gathering these activities call for, testing has either been moved online or postponed until the pandemic passes.

This postponement of SAT and ACT testing has caused the University of California system and many other colleges to suspend their requirements of such tests for the 2021 freshman class.

AP tests, on the other hand, are now set to take place online. What are usually two-to-three hour long, two-part tests, will now be 45-minute long free-response exams.

Students at Bonsall High have had mixed feelings about how this quarantine has disrupted their weekly routines and school schedule. While some students said they found the downtime at home to be a nice break from their busy school lives, others found it boring and rather chaotic for their mental health.

Being forced to stay at home has caused people to explore different ways of entertaining themselves. Some ways that students at Bonsall High have been occupying their time is by cooking, exercising, being creative, gaming, reading, learning, developing hobbies, watching TV and going on short walks.

"The quarantine has allowed me to focus more on things I don't always have time for," senior Austin Alanis said. "I've been reading, cooking and spending time with my family more than I normally get to. I've also been able to work on parts of running that I've sometimes neglected, like mindfulness and flexibility. I keep thinking two things: that things will get better and things could be a lot worse."

Students have said that they feel uneasy about what lies ahead, with an abrupt shift to their way of life and the uncertainties of what the next few months hold.

This time has been particularly difficult for the seniors of this year's graduating class of Bonsall High, as they are being deprived of their second and final semester. Not only that, but it is highly likely that all senior activities will be canceled such as prom, grad night and potentially even graduation.

With this unexpected change to senior year, many seniors have found themselves sad to be at home instead of spending these last few months with friends before heading off to college.

"It's been hard to stay busy and be here for each other while we're staying apart," senior Maddison Walsh said. "My heart hurts for students missing out on normal school activities. You never really see things like a graduation ceremony as a luxury. I've been trying to be productive in the ways I can and work with the school from a distance to recognize the students for such exciting things like college acceptances. I've been trying to focus on my future at UCSD instead of dwelling on the unfortunate circumstances."

After four years of high school, Bonsall High seniors said they saw this unprecedented event as a bitter ending to their high school experience with very little closure as they continue distance education.

"I am thankful to be living with enough supplies at home, as others are not so fortunate," senior Lisa Nowosad said. "The first week of quarantine, I kept myself busy by doing a bunch of art projects to distract me from the outside world. I spent this time taking care of myself with exercising and reflecting on myself. Although, I found myself bored once I got everything done. I could play more video games, but I don't want to spend the rest of my quarantined time staring at a computer screen. We are very lucky to have the internet to contact people with. The worst part is that all I see on the media was the virus. It does hurt to know that I won't get to do the senior activities like prom and grad-night."

In trying to keep a positive outlook, seniors look forward to heading off to their respective colleges after just receiving their acceptances. Of course, the hope is that the quarantine is over before the start of universities' fall 2020 semester.

"It's a shame that seniors can't experience that last bit of high school and get closure for the end of our childhood, but we make do with what we have," senior Taylor Gomez-Douglas said. "It's a great time to work on ourselves and evaluate our priorities. While I might be frustrated, there are much bigger concerns and the reality is I'm going to be just fine. Besides, UCLA parties with the freshman class are just going to be 10 times better."

While it may be hard to remain optimistic in these hard times, especially for families of students that may be greatly struggling financially in this economy, hope can be found in how we as a community are all in this together.

 

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