Football, Volleyball & Qurantine Procedure

We may be back to in-person learning, but Covid still messed up the entire football season. This is especially true for our seniors since it's their last year playing. Micheal Harden says, “We couldn't do what we needed to do. We all needed more practice. Some players were playing positions they don’t normally play and freshmen weren't prepared as they needed more practice.” For example, Quarterback AJ Jones never played the quarterback position before. “He had a lot of pressure put on him,” says Micheal Harden. And then COVID hit the team twice and they had to quarantine. Because of this, they missed out on a lot of practices and only played 3 games all season. So for a young team, with a first-time QB, this presented some challenges. The first game they played this season was against Winfield and they lost, the score was 75-14. The second was against the Military Academy and even though they still lost, the score was better, 12-0. The homecoming game was another loss, the score was 36-0. Overall, Coach Rutledge isn’t disappointed in the boys, COVID just got in the way, “Next year will be better.”

“READY, SET, SPIKE!”

Story by: Elianna Simpson

With 5 seconds to serve, the whistle sounds, and the Titans Captain/Player Christianah Shaw, palms the ball over the net to the opposing team. The ball lands deep back row, hits the floor inside the white line before the opponents can get to it, and the Titans score and win the game. Coach Brittany Ray, Assistant Coach Lana Hughey, and other supporters jump to their feet in excitement. The Titans score, beating the opposing team by 2 points.

This year, in-person schooling has been put back into effect and many are taking advantage of that opportunity. With some of those being players and coaches of the volleyball team. From the first game to the last, the smallest and minor things to the biggest and most important. Coach Ray says that being a part of the team, having a win-win attitude, striving towards the best, and making the impossible more than possible, made the season a memorable one. Varsity/Team Captain Christianah Shaw says, ´´Volleyball was a tremendous experience. We led our team the way we were supposed to and made history by being second place in volleyball districts, which is the farthest this volleyball team has ever gone.´´ This season has also been the last for quite a few seniors including Christianah Shaw, Dajah Hamilton, and Elianna Simpson.

Since the school year started, about 3% of students at CPA and GCAA have had to quarantine because they had covid and about 5% of students had to quarantine because they were in close contact with someone who had COVID. If there is a person who has COVID and is unvaccinated they automatically have to quarantine for 14 days. If someone is vaccinated and is exposed to someone with COVID they would have to be quarantined for 3-5 days and take a covid PCR test. If negative they can return back to school without doing the whole 14 days. Nurse Wade-Wilson has been stressed out a lot during this time trying to keep everyone safe, clean, and healthy. She said, “It is very challenging trying to keep up with students but I’m trying my best.” Students and teachers also say that missing school makes it challenging to keep up with their job/school work. Mrs. Brueck missed the first 8 days of school because her husband had COVID then 3 days after his diagnosis she got covid. She did get a lot of work done during quarantine but says, “It was hard especially because it was the first weeks of school. And it was really challenging planning lessons for 90-minute classes, that I couldn’t actually teach. But I must admit, I enjoyed sleeping in,” she says with a chuckle. Since COVID has been going on a lot of students have had to quarantine and are missing out on a lot of school work. One of the students that had COVID was Natalee Fries. She says, “I had access to do my work but I couldn’t because I was too sick.” She adds, “I definitely prefer being at school than at home because I understand the work more in person”.