Published April 29, 2021
By ANDREW WANG
After a turbulent year of distance learning, Carmel High School dusted the hallways, rearranged the desks in classrooms and decked itself out with new social distancing signs to welcome back a hefty 74% of its student body, students who had a plethora of reasons to return to school, ranging from catching up with classwork to seeing friends face to face.
“I think, in general, everyone was nervous in the beginning,” senior Jackson Dwelle says. “But we’ve gotten used to it really quick, and people are glad to be back for the most part.”
Some students who returned April 19 did so in hopes that there would be a higher quality of learning and that content delivery would be more streamlined. It seems that, by and large, returning students feel that they have reaped these benefits.
“There’s a much higher quality of learning, in my opinion, compared to online,” junior Dante Fiala says. “The teachers have been able to pay more attention, and they’re answering questions — treating it like every other normal year, which is nice.”
In a similar vein, students in many AP courses are now reviewing material in preparation for AP tests in May. For students like senior Benicio Cristofalo, getting back in class for these last few weeks of review is worth it if it gives him the best shot at scoring well on his AP tests.
“Everything is how I thought it would be, so I’m pretty happy,” Cristofalo says. “I’m not so much worried about anything except doing well on the AP tests. For me, math is way easier to learn in person than online, and I’m taking two math classes, AP Stats and AP Calc.”
A common sentiment among students who returned for academic reasons is appreciation for the science department’s labs, something that largely had to be put on pause in online classrooms. Many science classes rely heavily on in-class labs to give students a hands-on learning experience in a normal year.
“A big change has been AP Chem with Mr. Maas-Baldwin. He’s really stepped it up with labs and stuff,” Fiala says. “He started the first day with a lab, and he’s planning to do way more. It just lets you understand the concepts way better.”
Of course, not all in-person students saw content delivery as the main motivator to come back to CHS. Sophomore Brady Kasper viewed in-person school as a way to better relate to classes and get more out of them.
“When I was on distance learning, I learned well since we’re at a great school, but I felt like I wasn’t able to connect to the classes and the teachers as much as I am now,” Kasper says. “I felt myself losing interest in my classes, but I have more of a connection to the learning now.”
Seeing friends and classmates was the other major reason students cited as motivation to return to campus. These students wished to retire from their Zoom classes and be with their peers.
“I’ve been doing fine in online school — still learning most of the stuff — I mainly just came back for the social aspect,” senior Lauren Pritchard says. “I wanted a switch in my routine, and I wanted to see my friends before I graduated. We all talked about it beforehand and decided that we’d come back together.”
Since many students anticipated that peers would return for the social aspect, that served as further motivation for those planning to come back in the hopes of socializing with others.
“I came back to socialize and spend less time on screens on Zoom in general,” freshman Harrison Guedj says. “I think my friends are all here for socialization, really.”
Even as a freshman, Guedj had no problem finding his classrooms and his way around the school. That being said, the experience of his ninth-grade peers, who had never before spent a school day on campus, finding their way around school has been mixed.
“I got used to being at the middle school, and it’s crazy to come back and be on such a different campus,” freshman Daisyre Paz says. “It’s very unorganized, but I like it.”
Certain students felt that coming back to school this April would be smoother than entering next school year, which combined with the other factors made the in-person option more attractive.
“I thought it would be an easier transition than going back full time next year,” junior Giana Buraglio says. “Teachers have been understanding that we’re coming back this year, so it hasn’t felt like they’re totally throwing you into the deep end.”
In-person students are now rounding out the second week of their seven total weeks on campus and are excited for future interactions in and out of the classroom.
