Ipswich High School has currently been hybrid since September and hopefully will continue the hybrid model. The school administration picked, “this model because it provides the best opportunity for students and staff to return to school in these unpredictable times”. Hybrid learning takes two groups and splits the school population in half. Splitting the number of people that attend school each day can prevent the number of Covid cases.

We have cohort A which is students with last names from A to L., while cohort b is students with last names from M to Z. Each cohort goes to school for two days in person and two days online. We also have Wednesdays which are check-in days for everyone. Overall, the school wants to ensure safety while still trying to get the students back to school. While in school we need to be socially distant which is 6ft away. We also need to wear a mask at all times besides when eating lunch or when we are outside 6ft apart. Washing our hands and desks has become the new norm in school. The school district knows it’s hard for both students and teachers to do the hybrid system. If we keep persevering and taking good safety precautions hopefully we can move back to normal. 

Being online is a favorite to many students. Personally being online means you can sleep in. A senior, Morgan, had stated that she liked,” being able to learn in the comforts of my own home because I like working in my own space.” Being in your own space while learning is the best for many people. Being able to learn from home may be just what many people need.

Another senior, Olivia, shared that, “being able to do her assignments when she wanted to at home was a plus.” There have been many cons of remote learning though. Morgan said, “not being able to talk to teachers in person has been a bit of a struggle for me.” She thought asking a teacher a question in person makes her understand the material better. It can be hard to reach out to teachers when you are remote. 

However, learning in person can be beneficial for many reasons. One being you can have a more hands-on learning experience while in school. Morgan stated how “being able to ask teachers questions face to face is very beneficial especially if you are behind in that class.” Another thing many people like about going back to school is being able to see friends. Olivia said, “I like being able to see my friends and go to school 2 days out of the week”. Being able to interact with friends at school can bring your mood up. Although, these are all great things about in-person learning there are some cons about it too. I think a big one for a lot of people is waking up early. For me waking up early is hard especially when you need to get ready for school and then drive there. Olivia expressed, “My sleeping schedule differs every day and my homework does as well too.” She feels that she tends to get most of her homework done at home than at school. 

Overall, there are many adjustments to hybrid learning that we’ve gone through this school year. Our students and teachers hope we can go back to school normally. But, for now, the school is taking the best safety precautions they can to ensure good health for everyone. If switching over to remote learning for a while would bring the cases down in our district we would gladly pick that option. However, Olivia told me, “It wouldn’t be ideal to go remote for the rest of the school year, but if we went full remote for a few weeks I would be happy.”  She is hoping Covid doesn’t wreck her senior year like it did her junior year. Making sure everyone is safe and healthy is the school’s number one priority and they hope to make this year great for all the students given the circumstances.