What is normalcy?

One word that is highlighted more than ever is "normalcy." What does that even look like? Did we ever have it, or are we only now able to refer to a normal day because of our experience with the pandemic? For most, this may have looked like; unmasked, travelling or going out without concern of potentially getting a deadly virus, meeting with friends, gathering with family during the holidays or on weekends, and most of all, not being afraid of what could happen to us or our loved ones if we were to be exposed by someone with Covid.

Normalcy has transcended the simplistic ideas of monotonously going through our daily grind; eat, sleep, work, repeat. It has now come to mean a time when the world was not in a constant state of fear, distress, pain, sorrow, anxiety, and loneliness. That is what we miss most- not being full of feelings that we cannot find resolve for- we cannot make IT (Covid) go away by wishing or thinking there will be some miraculous antidote overnight. It is going to take time, and WE; modern humanity, feel we were not equipped to take this hardship on.

However, nearly two years in, we have found our stride - our "normalcy" and we are all making the best of a really difficult moment in time. Future generations will look back at our lifetime and wonder, how we did it. How we, found normalcy once more. Our history books will say, because we unified in our desire to be a community once again, persevered by practicing alien tactics to most of us; such as masking, and refused to be subdued by the most unexpected situation we could ever have imagined by getting vaccinated and practicing social distancing.

I ask again, what IS "normalcy" is it what we have known or what we are used to? If that is the case, we have paved a new normal that continues to work in saving lives, and one that has changed the course of our lives forever.

How to we move forward in a post-pandemic world?

Despite being secluded from friends and family, working and learning through a computer screen, and going through a world wide shut down- we have thrived as people. We have found ways to connect- be it on Zoom, Discord, or other means of technological communication. With the age of cell phones, we are given a leg up when it comes to not being alone, and that has certainly helped.

Still, we are not who we all were when everything began shutting down in March 2019. We have changed, adapted, and grown. Moving forward, I do believe we will continue to monitor this deadly virus while also staying vigilant in our daily lives to stop the spread. It is easy to get lax when it feels like, we as a world, are on the mend, but we should also be careful and patient when it comes to re-instituting practices from "the before times." We have all already made strides in returning to that "normalcy" we have grown used to. Schools are back in person, people are back in their offices, large gatherings are occurring both inside and outside - things we took for granted, but perhaps have a new appreciation for these things because of the pandemic restrictions.

Tips for people regarding the vaccine / go out safely?

Vigilance is key! Being vaccinated is the best way for all of us to help stop the spread and drive this virus into the ground. However, fears and concerns about the vaccines and boosters continue to halt this process. It is so important to do research and really think about the pros and cons with getting or not getting the vaccine.

Whether vaccinated or not, there are still very important protocols we should continue to abide by.

• Mask up! - over the mouth and nose -->we spread less germs to one another when we are properly covered

• Wash your hands --> a practice we should always maintain

• Be aware of your surroundings and practice social distancing when possible --> be careful to keep gatherings small and safe, the more people, the greater chances of risk

These are the standards. Although many of us are tired of hearing terms like social distancing, pandemic, and new normal - it cannot be denied, this is not going away as quickly as we would like. This is the new normal- hyper awareness of our actions as well as others, a stricter regiment with hygiene and social practices, and a constant reminder that anything can happen - continue to take this pandemic seriously.

How Virtual Learning has changed the way we Learn and Teach

By Sophia Jorge (6th grader)

March 15, 2019 was a day that changed the lives of everyone. It was the last day of in-pearson learning. All teachers had to pack up all their lesson plans, their books and everything they would need to teach at home for about two weeks. After the two weeks, Covid-19 got worse and that is when all schools went virtual for the remainder of the school year. Cases started to go down and teachers were saying that they might open schools again but still have to wear a mask. The year after everyone went hybrid and that meant you had to choose between going into the school or staying virtual.

I interviewed two teachers about how this pandemic and virtual learning changed the way they have been teaching. I spoke to both the art and science teachers who I thought were impacted the most to get their perspective. I think the science teacher, Ms. Babiak, is impacted the most because she did not have access to gym supplies to do fun exercises. I also picked the art teacher, Ms. Drillick because she was not able to have all the art supplies, like paint, markers or colored pencils to do projects and crafts. The art teacher told me that it was difficult not seeing the fifth graders and lower in school although she was seeing the elementary school once a week. She also created videos to show how to draw things and how you color projects or she teached how to sketch. She also had to adapt to teaching online so she had to learn how to use software because she usually did not use computers to do art. When people had the option to do in-person learning or virtual she still did the same assignments just the kids in school had more access to crayons or colored paper. She told me that she tried to have projects that people are interested in doing and she let people decide what they would want to do with their project. Like, if she decided to draw pumpkins then you would be able to do any design you want on them. After I interviewed the science teacher.

Now schools are back in person but you still have to wear a mask and keep social distance. They have now created a vaccine for kids over twelve years old. They are still working on a vaccine for kids younger than twelve but they say that it should be out in about a month. This vaccine will help protect you from getting extremely sick if you get Covid, it protects you from having to go to the hospital and not feel as sick. There is a new variant that is spreading now called the Delta. Doctors have noticed that the Delta variant has increased the number of Covid cases because it is more contagious. Now they are recommending people to get a third booster shot.

Stress: Starting the Marking Period

By: Lyah Cortorreal (5th grade) and Rafael Rodriguez (7th grade)

A Lot of people in the world are stressed in school and that is really normal. When the pandemic started we had to learn online which sucks. When we started school in person people had to get used to school in person. The marking period has not only started, but we have all made it to marking period 2! Still, nervous. become stressed when dealing with schoolwork homework , grades, and balancing extracurricular activities. I am going to share with you ways to deal with your stress.

WAYS TO DESTRESS

One way is taking a deep breath and count to ten you will become more calm. There are more ways to deal with stress by taking care of yourself,or asking your guidance counselor to help you with homework or even your teacher because, if you don’t do anything about your stress you are going to get unhealthy and feel really bad.

Student’s aren’t the only ones that have stress in school,. teachers also have stress, Teachers mostly have stress because of student’s. I feel like student’s have more stress than adult’s especially teenagers. I asked my cousin. Who is a teen?She said she has a lot of stress because, “If she doesn’t get good grades she can’t go to a good college, and she is a sophomore.” I have stress not only because of schoolwork or grades but also because I sometimes have drama with my friends. We try not to have any more drama. When people have drama with a friend or family member, they have to try to talk it out, if they don’t they might have more stress than they already had, and they have to find a way to deal with their stress. I am going to teach you more ways to deal with your stress. One way is to take a breather, or go outside for a walk. You can exercise, you can also think positive and not negative.

Ways to deal with stress

A way to deal with stress is to always think positive in whatever situation you are in, also you can write how you are feeling down you can draw. There are a lot of ways to deal with stress. The best way to deal with stress is to exercise or relax . When you are in school you can’t really deal with stress that much because you have to pay attention in class but there are still ways to deal with your stress in school. One way to deal with your stress in school is getting enough sleep. You will be ready for the next day. You can cause a lot of stress by not sleeping early and you can get severely unhealthy .

What can stress do to your body?

What stress can do to your body is affect your immune system. An immune system protects you from outside invaders such as bacteria,toxic, and chemicals and even more. When the immune system gets affected it is more likely you will have a heart attack, and stroke. Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart issues, obesity and diabetes. Stress can also cause you back chest pain and any kind of pain that is why you have to avoid stress as much as possible. I had a friend who had a lot of stress that she got a heart attack so, careful just try your best to avoid stress it can be very dangerous sometimes.

* * *

Stress is what you feel when you feel upset or depressed. When people feel stressed in school it is not that weird because you can be stressed about anything. It is normal to feel this way. the pandemic started and the pandemic is still going even today so, people had to get more used to getting back to school.

I hope you learned more about how people deal with stress and how you can deal with it.