The County Chronicle

The online newspaper of Loudoun County High School

May
7

By

Restaurants of downtown Leesburg surmount challenges posed by COVID-19

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Liberty Harrison | Staff Writer

1. An iced coffee, as well as a coffee recipe unique to King Street Coffee known as the “Butter Together” and a jelly donut from their small bakery are pictured on a set in a small outdoor eating area in the space behind the shop. Photo by Liberty Harrison.

Just as our school community and individuals of Loudoun County have been affected by COVID, so have the many restaurants and cafes that inhabit our historic downtown Leesburg. They have had to face a set of unique challenges posed by COVID regulations but many have found new and innovative ways to overcome these challenges.

Fireworks Pizza is a restaurant on the southside of Leesburg known for, as Jennifer Miller, General Manager at the restaurant wrote, “Amazing pizza and craft beer. We also have sandwiches, salads, pasta, homemade desserts, and wine.”

Fireworks has been a part of the Leesburg restaurant scene since 2006. Its mission statement is: “To serve quality food made with the best ingredients, to have a very diverse craft beer selection, and to treat our guests like family!”

Like many of Leesburg’s restaurants, Fireworks is unique in several ways.

“We have been a staple in Leesburg for almost 15 years, operating out of a historic train depot that used to be located right next to the W&OD Trail,” Miller wrote. “Everything we cook gets cooked in our wood fired oven. We don’t have a frier, stove top, or a conventional oven. We have a menu specifically for dogs serving unseasoned meatballs, chicken and homemade dog biscuits. Finally, we have one of the largest and most diverse beer selections in all of downtown Leesburg!”

Although a standout in Leesburg’s casual dining scene, Fireworks is also integrated into the community, collaborating with several other restaurants in Leesburg.

“We work with Tuscarora Mill and South Street Under (we are all part of the Tuskies Restaurant Group) to make our dough and the cake for our tiramisu,” Miller wrote, “We only have a wood fired oven and very limited kitchen space so we rely on their kitchens for the things we can’t do in our own!”

Another food service establishment, one housed in a building that has existed in downtown Leesburg for 40 years and has been operated by the current owner for five years is King Street Coffee.

King Street Coffee is known for its variety of coffees, coffee drinks and also offering bakery pastries, such as croissants, muffins, donuts and empanadas.

Describing  their mission statement, Vanessa Borg, the PR correspondent for KIng Street Coffee, said, “We really just think that we’re part of this historic community of downtown Leesburg. It’s been a hub of coffee and people coming together and conversation for a long time now, decades, so we’re just happy to be continuing that tradition and giving people a place to get really good coffee.”

It seems they have achieved the goals of their mission, considering the niche they have found in the downtown community.

“I think [King Street Coffee] is unique in that there’s a really great community that has formed up around it, the people who work here and who own it and want to keep us running,” Borg said. “It’s really nice to have seen how many people came out to support us through all of this year, so I think that kind of being that hub of community is really special.”

Through Fireworks’ 14 years of operation and King Street Coffee’s 5 year, neither had experienced a challenge comparable to pandemic as COVID swept through the nation last year.

“COVID has posed some unprecedented business challenges,” Miller wrote, “We had to reinvent our business model several times to accommodate our guests and also to be profitable during the different levels of restriction. “

Nonetheless, after trial and error Fireworks was able to come up with several ways to mitigate COVID while still servicing the community.

“We do have different seating arrangements now as tables are required to be 6′ apart,” Miller wrote. “We have had to reduce our seating capacity by 33% and are offering patio seating year-round. We no longer have salt and pepper, crushed red pepper, or sweetener on the tables but instead are offering single use packets. This assists us in keeping tables sanitized. We are also using QR codes and single use menus.”

Fireworks has also increased the frequency of already existing services to more effectively operate under COVID.

“We have always offered carry out but we certainly do a lot more of it now. We also started to offer contactless curbside delivery as well,” Miller wrote.

King Street Coffee also evolved the way it conducted business to best work with attention to COVID safety concerns.

“The inside of our shop is a really small to really close space, so we quickly started realizing that we weren’t going to be able to safely keep the inside open and distance people,” Borg said. “There just isn’t enough space to distance. So we closed the entire shop entirely inside and we’ve just switched to a walk-up window.”

Some of the mitigation procedures themselves have posed challenges to Fireworks, particularly because of their added costs, which can be detrimental to smaller businesses when already dealing with COVID.

“Since so much more of our food is being packaged to-go now rather than for dine-in we have had to purchase a lot more packaging,” Miller wrote. “We are not using our regular menus right now but rather printing single use menus everyday causing our usage of paper and ink to increase dramatically. Normally, this time of year we would not be using the patio but due to COVID we are. In order to keep it warm enough we have been using a lot of propane to heat it.”

King Street Coffee as well has faced several challenges created by their mitigation procedures.

“In summer people can still come by, but this winter and on rainy days like today, it’s been a little bit more difficult for people to feel super comfortable coming up to the window, but overall I think that, you know switching to walk up only has been really great in terms of keeping people feeling safe and keeping all of our staff safe as well as healthy,” Borg said.

King Street Coffee has also had to deal with added costs from their new methods.

“We have to print new outdoor menus fairly often as we kind of experimented with trying to figure out how to run that,” said Borg. “For a while we were doing deliveries of cold brew and iced coffee in half gallons.” Borg explained that they had to invest in new materials to support the service, and added that the service might be brought back for the summer months. Borg continued, describing the financial challenges they’ve faced, “But just different stuff like that where we were trying to get creative trying to find ways to bring coffee to people’s homes instead.”

At times difficulties arose on exactly what mitigation procedures should be taken as the government guidelines and restrictions evolved, however appreciation for the government’s effort seems to be the consensus.

“I think that it’s been a little bit confusing sometimes in terms of getting conflicting information from different levels of government, but overall I think they’re doing a really great job giving us guidelines that help keep everyone safe and contribute to public health,” Borg said.

COVID has also affected many of the individuals working within these companies in a significant way.

“COVID has been the biggest challenge I have faced in my 20 year restaurant career,” Miller wrote. “We had to completely change the way we handled business, staffing, food preparation, purchasing and more while still maintaining our high standards. We had to learn what hospitality looked like in a mask, figure out how to keep morale up with our staff, keep everyone safe, and always be ready for more change. It was stressful but also taught me so much about the dedication of my amazing staff and my own strengths and weaknesses.”

During these hard times many residents of Leesburg have looked for ways to support small businesses, and Fireworks and KIng Street Coffee both agreed on the best way to do it.

“Come eat our food!” Miller wrote. “We are offering inside socially distanced dining as well as patio seating with heaters. We can prepare anything to go as well and are offering no contact curbside delivery.”

King Street Coffee held the same sentiment.

“I think just like coming out and enjoying what we’re offering, you know, if you like coffee then come by and grab a coffee and you’ll probably love it because our roaster is great and the people who make it love making it, so you know that there’s a lot of love that has gone into the product,” Borg said, continuing “If you have a dog come by and bring them! We love seeing all the dogs, puppuccinos and dog treats are always free!”

Both companies also agreed on the gratitude they feel towards the support they have already received.

“Our loyal guests supported us and cheered us on through it all and we couldn’t be more grateful,” Miller wrote.

 

May
5

By

PEER supports students when Distance Learning brings ‘so much stress’

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Chloe Beal | Guest Writer

PEER writes positive messages to put on every desk in the school for Kindness Day in November before the pandemic. PEER is a student group whose main goal is making the school a positive and inclusive community for everyone.

March 11, 2020 was the last “normal” day of school for students in Loudoun County. Over the past year, COVID-19 has affected the everyday lives of students, causing many to feel stressed and overwhelmed. The student mentoring group PEER has worked to find ways to overcome challenges caused by Distance Learning to help support students.

As its name suggests, PEER (Positive Experiences in Educational Relationships) is a student group whose main goal, stated on their website, is making the school a positive and inclusive community for everyone. They strive to help students with any issues they are facing, and to be there if anyone needs someone to talk to.

“Everyone thinks of PEER as it’s to help people, but I feel like another one of their big goals is just to strive to make others happy and just be a happy group,” senior Belle Colon said.

Colon is one of 18 specially trained student members of PEER. Peers are taught important skills and lessons by school professions before they can become PEER mentors.

“You really need to care about what you’re doing,” senior PEER member Alexa Novak said. “You can’t just be there just to say you’re doing something. You have to really care and really want to help people and not just help people, but be friends with people. You have to be very compassionate and show loyalty towards the person. If you’re talking to someone and it’s something personal, which is what we deal with a lot, you can’t be going around spreading that.”

In the past, PEER gave students the option to sign up for one-on-one meetings with a PEER mentor if they were struggling with anything related to academic stress, relationship issues, family dynamics, mental health, bullying, or just needed someone to talk to. This school year there has been even more students who have had issues related to those topics, and distance learning has made it harder for them to get help.

“The peers can help them think through some problems that they’re having, unfortunately, this year, they’re not letting us meet one on one, because of the COVID restrictions,” 6th year PEER faculty advisor, Dorene Kuebler said, “but now that we’re in school, we may be able to do that a little bit more.”

Lunch on the lawn is another feature PEER was well known for. Before the pandemic hit, every last A day of the week students could go outside during their lunch period and get some fresh air and hang out with their friends. Now, PEER is holding Open Lunch Google Meets every Thursday during C lunch, which are open for any student to join. During the Google Meets they listen and dance to music, play games, and talk about their day to give students a quick brain break from school work.

“Right now, especially being virtual, it’s so isolating, and it’s so easy to feel invisible and to feel that you’re not heard, and it’s such a frustrating thing,” Loudoun County High School’s Social Worker, Keri Hendershot-Waymire said. “So I would offer to reach out to trusted people”

One thing Hendershot-Waymire has learned from her 14 years as being a Loudoun County Public School social worker is how much students go through. “You are all under so much stress and there’s not always a place to let that stress out,” Hendershot-Waymire said. She emphasized, there will always be people like PEER at the school ready to help, but students must reach out or else others won’t know.

“It’s really good to get the messaging out there that there’s people here to help,” Hendershot-Waymire said. “Even in this virtual setting that we’re in, reminding people that they’re not alone and if they need help, it’s okay to ask for help. It’s not a weakness to ask for help, everybody needs help. We’re not meant to live in isolation and this forced isolation has thrown everything into craziness. We do really want to be there to help, but we can’t help unless we know.”

“When school first started with COVID and everything online, I was very stubborn and I wouldn’t let anyone help me with my work, so I wasn’t doing too well,” Colon said. Colon recommends students reach out for support from a trusted adult or groups like PEER if they are struggling with schoolwork and learning online.

It’s also good for students to come up with different strategies that will support their needs and will help them efficiently learn through the pandemic. “Whatever you do, try your best to come up with a good routine and good schedule to make sure that you do your work and don’t procrastinate because if you procrastinate, you just keep getting into a shell of just not doing work and in the long run, that is not a good habitat,” Colon said.

When students find ways that help them to stay calm or to destress it can also be very beneficial. “To help stay calm and destress I like to get outside as much as possible and be around my family so that I never surround myself with too much overwhelming work,” Novak said. “Even if that means just stepping outside to get a breath of fresh air for a quick minute or walking into my sister’s room to say hi halfway through the day.”

Despite challenges caused by distance learning, students have worked hard and tried their best to complete all their assignments. “They [students] are doing their best and that is what matters,” Novak said. “This has been a hard year for everyone and we all have had to make sacrifices and find new ways of doing things. Keep going, you are doing great.”

PEER welcomes 2-day hybrid students back to school in March. Students have been distance learning since March 2020 and PEER has worked to find ways to overcome challenges to help support students. Photo courtesy of Dorene Kuebler.

May
5

By

School store thrives despite challenges

Category: News

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

For years, our school store has supplied students with merchandise and official school memorabilia. While this might seem like a simple task, the store, formerly known as the Raider Trader and recently rebranded the Captain’s Corner, has been working diligently to not only reinvent Captains merchandise but also transition the store to distance learning.

In a normal year, the school store would be open and available to visit in person, with students running the day-to-day operations. However, due to COVID regulations and school closures, the store was shut down for the first half of the school year.

“The second half of the year has been quite exciting,” said Captain’s Corner supervisor Lacey Brooks. “Third-quarter we were approved to begin operating in person and just last week we now have all Captain’s Corner inventory available for purchase online.”

Distance learning has not been the only challenge that the Captain’s Corner has dealt with this year; the changing of the mascot also meant that the store needed to completely rebrand and start from scratch.

“Due to our exciting new mascot, we had to work with our vendors to get all new inventory into the school store,” Brooks said. “Our Marketing and Advanced Marketing students worked with current vendors like Reston Shirt, MV Sport, Shenk Enterprises and Gear For Sports to create new designs,” she said. About seventy percent of the inventory sold in the store was hand-selected by students.

In addition to a new look, the store has also begun to offer both Under Armour and Champion branded merchandise.

“Staff and hybrid students can come see us Tuesday through Friday, from 8:50 – 9:15 am for in-store purchases in room 101,” said Brooks. Staff, parents, hybrid and distance learning students can go to https://www.lcps.org/domain/2848 to purchase Captains gear.

Any Hybrid students interested in the store should also keep an eye out for pop-up stores during lunch.

Teachers Christopher Wolfgang, Crystal Wolfgang and Lacey Brooks meet in the school store to try on merchandise.

May
5

By

Digital Struggles: Virtual learning challenges students and teachers

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Daniel Delargy | Guest Writer

English teacher Shawn Simms teaches to both her in person and online third block class. Photo by Valerie Egger.

COVID has changed the landscape of education that LCPS provides to its students. Ever since March 13, 2020, school has primarily been online, only opening in March 2021 using hybrid models.

This has provided a challenge for students and educators. During an informal poll, we asked students to rate their online learning experience 1-10. The average of the poll was 4.6.

Many teachers agree that distance learning is not ideal. English teacher Shawn Simms has a similar view to the student body. “Overall, I’d rate it two or three, because really being with the kids is my dream job,” Simms said. Like many, Simms became a teacher because she enjoys the face-to-face interaction with students. “ I really miss reading the room and helping students hands on.”

Students also expressed frustration with the current state of their education.

A distance learning student who voted online school a 4 said, “Don’t ignore us. Ever since hybrid started I feel like the teachers kind of forget we are there,” referring to the fact that teachers now teach students in person at the same time as they teach their remote learnings, a model known as the concurrent teaching model.

An online student who ranked online learning as a 6 said, “I don’t think that there is anything you can change to make it better, but it just doesn’t work for me. I haven’t been able to focus, and I don’t think I have actually learned anything all year.”

Lucia Kennedy, hybrid student, attends class two days a week in person, attending through the computer on the other half of the week. Like many students, she prefers in-person learning.

“I honestly find it so much easier to feel motivated and pay attention when I am actually there in class looking at my teacher and feeling included in the conversation,” she said.

A student who voted hybrid a 7 said, “I was surprised that so few people decided to come back in hybrid; I enjoy seeing and being able to interact with my teachers and the other students.”

Many are expressing a growing concern on what the lack of in person instruction will mean for students. “Kids of all ages that are struggling learners or linguistically challenged or have special needs, those kids are separating so the kids that have are going to be fine will rise up but there will be a gap to the kids who struggle,” Simms said.

This paired with the fact that 28% of U.S students are in person, according to Eduactionnext.org and evidence to suggest that number is larger in other countries. Some teachers and parents are concerned about the education that students are receiving during this COVID era.

“American kids are not in a place of being job competitive, international job competitive,” Simms said. “As we become a more global culture, local society, and multi linguistics we need to prepare you guys for the world’s market, not just the American market.”

Part of this struggle to pay attention and interaction during online classes is due to the lack of cameras being on during classes, says Simms. “I find a very strong correlation between kids who keep their screens on and their engagement and their submission of work,” Simms said. “One day we’re going to look back on this and think, and say it was a big mistake to let kids choose whether to put their screens on or not.”

The idea of having students be required to have their cameras on during class has been proposed. Although this begs the question on if this is an invasion of students’ privacy given that they would have to show their home.

Junior Matthew Siltra said, “I don’t want to show my face. It makes me uncomfortable because of my surroundings.”

Junior Coen Leonard said, “The main reason I dont have my camera on is because I don’t want to forget I have it on.”

There are many challenges with this school year and many are not satisfied with this year’s learning experience. Although there is hope for the future, students are really enjoying hybrid and teachers are finding it effective. COVID cases are dropping and the vaccine rollout has been mostly successful. This was uncharted waters for everyone, and it hasn’t been easy, but, the school board is leaning to have a normal school year next year and are currently planning for a five-day school week with 100% attendance. Our informal poll shows that a majority of the students prefer in person school to online this year.

May
5

By

Expectation vs. Reality: students weigh in on the hybrid learning model

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Chris Mejia | Guest Writer

Eman Mazhar shares his online learning set up. With much of the school year taking place via distance learning, students had time to set up their own personalized learning spaces.

Ever since COVID came into existence a lot of things have changed. From sanitizing everything to wearing masks, our lives have changed dramatically. One of those changes has been online school. This new way of learning took a toll on a lot of students, while others thrived in this new learning environment.

Madi Robb decided she wanted to do hybrid learning. She said online learning wasn’t working for her as she is a very extroverted person. “I like the socialization aspect of hybrid,” she said, of her favorite part of hybrid learning was, “It’s more engaging.” Robb’s expectations for hybrid learning were met, as she prepared herself for an empty and quiet classroom.

Students have had the option to revise their choice of online or hybrid learning. “Being able to actually be physically in class is really good for me,” Robb said, “So I would definitely not switch back to online.” In a survey of 88 students, 79.5% agreed with Robb; they would not change their choice of hybrid or online learning.

Keilly Hernandez is an online student. Regarding her reason for remaining in distance learning, she said, “everything is still fuzzy on how things are gonna work out.” She said that she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if the people she loved contracted COVID because she would be exposed to it. “The idea of covid hurting me or the people I love is so painful.” This is something a lot of people can relate to, as COVID can be very scary and dangerous, depending on other factors like previous health problems and age. Students must weigh physical safety with learning. Many have had trouble with online school because they are visual learners who need one-on-one explanation and help. “Online school has really pulled back the opportunity to do so,” Hernandez said.

Kim Truong is a student at the Academies of Loudoun. School has been different for students there because they have been exercising the hybrid method for the entire school year. Truong is a prime example that not everyone had such a rough experience with this different school year. “Hybrid learning at the Academies of Loudoun has been fun so far,” she said. “It’s a nice balance between school and real life.”
Even though hybrid learning has been a lot of fun, Truong wishes things could go back to normal, pre-COVID normal. Hybrid learning has not met Truong’s expectations, as she had high standards for it.

Teachers instruct the same material for students online and in-person, so Truong believes there’s no difference between staying home and doing in-person, other than putting yourself at risk. “School lunch really isn’t that safe,” Truong said. “Students can sit less than six feet apart, without masks on and mingle.” For Truong, stricter regulations would make hybrid school more enjoyable. •

May
5

By

Mid-Year Bell Schedule Adjustment Agitates Students Who Are Still Adapting To The Distance/Hybrid School Year

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Michaela Scott | Editor in Chief

Junior Sophie Hylton quickly cleans the dishes after her rushed lunch break. The shortened lunch periods are preventing students from having the time to clean up after themselves, or even give them time to finish eating their whole meal.

Over the course of the distance learning school year, students have been constantly adjusting to many sorts of changes, such as working from home, preparing each lunch on their own, and balancing their screen time. As of January 21, Principal Michelle Luttrell announced that the second semester of school will follow a brand new bell schedule.

The new bell schedule was established to give distance/hybrid students the flexibility to quickly pivot back and forth between stages without having to change schedules or transportation; additionally, this eliminated the learning lab time. Prior to this decision, learning lab time was held for the last twenty minutes of class as a time where students could seek needed help or work asynchronously. Teachers were not allowed to assign extra work during the learning lab, however, teachers now have the option of teaching throughout the end of class. Not all students appreciate the change, and many teens expressed their concerns.

“I understand where administrators are coming from, but I will never understand why the school board let us get used to the schedule in the fall, if they knew they would have to change it mid-year for hybrid,” sophomore Genesis Chhour said. “There should have been one definite schedule that would benefit students regardless of distance or hybrid; yet the school seems to wonder why kids don’t have the motivation to do school anymore.”

Out of an informal survey of seventy LCHS students, 98% had negative opinions about why they strongly oppose the changes brought about by the mid-year bell change. The vast majority of students’ responses in the survey believe that the asynchronous learning lab for each class was essential for a variety of reasons.

“The schools board’s decision to take away the learning lab was terrible,” junior Mairenn Blest said. “To have students stare at a computer screen for an hour straight was already bad enough and strained our eyes; now the new schedule makes it even harder to pay attention.”

Additionally, senior Bess Fields is apprehensive about the normality of learning through a black mirror, and the effects of having zero breaks throughout the day. “Administrators cannot expect us to be glued to a computer for seven hours with a thirty minute lunch break and pretend like that is appropriate for this adjusted school year,” Fields said. “Mainly, I am really concerned about the younger students in elementary school, they are going to be so messed up from this.”

According to the survey, many students have a dislike for the immediate block changes between each class. “The alteration does not give students the proper breaks and time to complete in class assignments,” junior Charlotte Penberthy said. “I hate it.”

The other main concern many students became vocal about was the dramatic change in lunch schedules. Junior Sophie Hylton stressed how inconvenient the bell switch has been for managing to eat during the online school day. “I have to cook all my food, eat my lunch, all while cleaning up after myself in less than thirty minutes,” Hylton said. “I seriously prefer having the longer lunch time.”

Despite the unamused student responses, the Captains are slowly adjusting to the unwanted change brought by LCHS administration. “Teachers lecturing for a whole hour and thirty minutes through a screen just gives me a headache,” junior Chris Mejia said. “We seriously needed those mental breaks in between classes.”

May
3

By

Students and teachers return to four days a week in-person learning

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Olivia DeWan | Staff Writer

Spanish teacher Bryan Boeing poses in his classroom. To prepare for in-school learning, plastic shields were attached to the desk to prevent the spread of COVID, and teachers were given moveable carts for their laptops, which they will use to teach both in-person and distance students at once. Photo by Olivia DeWan.

Earlier in the year, students who had selected the hybrid learning option would go into school physically for two days a week. Following the development of the COVID vaccine, they returned to school for all four days.

“Going back to school four days a week has been a good experience for me,” freshmen Ashley Conner said. “It’s kind of nice to get back into it.”

Previously, students alternated going to school and staying home. Half of hybrid students would go in the building on Tuesday and Wednesday and the other half would attend Thursday and Friday.

“I was looking forward to seeing County a little closer to normal with so many students in the building,” junior Kenly Howerter said.

Many students were anxious to get back into the building, but when COVID put a bump in the road that was their daily lives, they weren’t sure what to expect. In fact, many freshmen had never seen the inside of the building.

“The four days a week scared me at first,” Howerter said. “I was so used to online classes or having it half in school and half distance.”

While the students may have been unsure of the sudden change, teachers were over-the-moon excited.

“Before the students returned the school was like a ghost town,” math teacher Elaine Voketaitis said. “Students bring great energy into the building.”

However, the change from hybrid learning to in-person didn’t happen overnight. Many steps were taken to set up the classrooms, cafeteria, and bus schedules.

“To prepare for the students’ return, the classrooms had to be reconfigured to accommodate the required distancing,” Voketaitis said. “Due to the different learning styles, I am providing students with hard copies of notes,” something that was not possible earlier this year.

In addition to changes in the classroom, the entire school underwent a new series of rules so that the COVID guidelines were followed.

“I really enjoyed walking around school in the morning,” sophomore Lauren Kirk said, of her freshman year. “But we can’t do that now because of COVID.” Instead, students are expected to go right to class upon entering the building.

Similarly, students are required to fill out a mandatory symptom checker questionnaire before they enter the school building. The questionnaire asks if students have had any COVID symptoms such as a cough, fever, or loss of taste or smell, or if they came in contact with anyone who caught COVID. Once the form is completed, students can proceed with their day.

In addition to the COVID questionnaire, temperature scanners were installed. The scanners act as a giant thermometer by checking the temperature of every person who enters the building.

Of course such advancements came with some challenges.

“I think it can be difficult to stay six feet apart,” Kirk said. “I do my best and back up if someone comes too close, but sometimes others don’t even try, which I find frustrating, along with when people don’t wear masks correctly.”

On another note, some students were concerned about adjusting back to a full day of school.

“I think finding time to relax will be difficult because you are in school seven hours a day and then go home and do homework,” Howerter said. “Junior year is known to be difficult and so far the workload has been bearable because I was able to complete the assignments from the comfort of my own bed.”

Conner agreed, saying she thought it would be difficult to return to her original schedule.

Regardless of all the changes, teachers and students are happy to be back in school.

“It’s been really great having an (almost) full classroom again,” Spanish teacher Bryan Boeing said. “The classroom dynamic with 10 or 12 students is way better than only three or four.”

Asides from bringing a missed energy and busy environment back, in-person learning made several aspects of school much simpler.

“I like that I can communicate with my teachers easier,” Kirk said. “I am also able to talk to my friends in the hallways, which was something I didn’t realize I missed a lot in in-person school.”

It also gave teachers a chance to reconnect with their students.

“I can definitely provide more detailed and personal feedback to my students who are in-person,” Boeing said. “But there are many activities that we are still unable to do.”

While a handful of students are in-person and are reacquainting themselves with what school is normally like, others chose to remain home and continue school using the distance learning program.

The distance learning model was familiar, as students had been using it for a solid few months. In-person leaning was a totally new adjustment to a lifestyle that had already undergone a series of intense changes.

“I would not go back to distance learning,” Kirk said. “I actually switched to hybrid after November by emailing my counselor. While I did like some aspect of distance learning, I definitely prefer being in-person and not seeing people through a screen.”

Conner agreed.

“Being in school gives me more motivation to do things,” she said.

A burst of motivation is just what many students are searching for as the school year is rapidly coming to an end. Many people, students and teachers alike, are looking forward to the summer vacation, and are ready for a break.

“Keep up the great work and be proud of yourselves for making it through all the challenges this school year had to throw at you,” Boeing said.

To finish out the year strong regardless of COVID, students will need to continue working hard.

“Keep moving forward,” Voketaitis advised. “The best is yet to come.”

Apr
23

By

Library Remains Open to Students During Hybrid and Distance Learning

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Emily Banner | Staff Writer

Freshman Alex Eurek checks out a book from the library. Photo by Valerie Egger.

Before March 2020, the library was often overflowing with students in the mornings, and students visited regularly during lunch and study hall. This year however, the library is a much quieter place. The main visitors now are teachers, seated at socially-distanced desks during their planning periods. But through distance and hybrid learning, the school library remains open for students to check out books. Safety precautions are being taken to ensure that this remains safe for all involved.

Students are able to request books through a book request form. Books are delivered to English or study hall for hybrid students, and the librarians are still delivering books to virtual students as needed, or students can pick them up in the front office. Students can view the catalog to see what books are available and submit a book request form from the library Schoology page (access code FT6Q-SRDD-J9N54).

Currently, hybrid students are allowed to come to the library to browse books in 15-minute increments. Students are asked to touch as few books as possible and use hand sanitizer when entering the library.

When books are returned, they are quarantined for three days in keeping with the American Library Association’s protocol.

“We want kids reading paper books and taking screen breaks,” Librarian Christina Burge said. “We will do whatever we can to get books in students’ hands.”

Apr
22

By

SCA finds virtual solution to morning announcements

Category: News

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

County News Network is the newest addition to our school’s morning announcements. The network, created by SCA, provides daily video announcements to students.

School bells buzz as the PA system clicks on overhead. The familiar sound of SCA’s morning announcements fills the hallways as students prepare for the day ahead. While this would be a normal scene for any other school year, it has been discarded by one lone factor: distance learning. Instead of kids filling the classroom, the rooms are now close to empty, with only teachers and a few students filling the chairs. So how do you provide morning announcements for a virtual student body? The answer is simple: pre-recorded video announcements.

“The videos started with Mr. Prince, and then we all took it on and started brainstorming ideas,” senior communication director Jackson Chinn said. Chinn, who works alongside fellow communication director Safa Saad, supervises the process of putting together and editing the morning announcements.

The managing assistants collect information and put it into a Google form based on a specific day; afterward, they work to outline and organize the information. Once outlined, the SCA anchors divide the topics amongst themselves, and begin filming each portion of the announcements.  “We pre-determine what day will cover each topic, usually each day has its own specialized thing, like the word of the day is Tuesday, and the lame joke of the week is on Friday,” Chinn said.

Once each section is complete, Chinn and Saad work to edit and put the announcements together the night before they air. “Mr. Prince, Safa, and I, the communication team, we just go over jobs and who’s doing what. If something is missing or we need something, we then try and organize that to get the videos in on time,” Chinn said.

Each announcement video has a process of about a week or so to put together, and the virtual aspect of the process has added a new level of difficulties to deal with. “Technology has definitely been an issue,” SCA advisor Matthew Prince said.

“The hardest part of the announcements is definitely putting it all together,” Chinn said. “The editing is definitely the most time-consuming part that wouldn’t be there if we were in person,”. Besides the editing process, basic communication has also proved to be an issue at times. “Communication issues have come up, mostly with people being occupied or times where videos haven’t been sent through, it’s just all a part of the process,” he said.

“Although I’m not that in tune with filling out the information, I know that emailing teachers and garnering information, that’s definitely time-consuming as well, especially getting stuff approved,” Chinn said.

Despite the challenges, SCA has found ways to come together and tackle obstacles as a team. “Everyone’s input has made the process a little easier as we’ve gone through it,” said Prince.

“Sean Rombach gave us the idea to do the weather, and Stella Celentano came up with the word of the day.”

“It’s been a great team effort, and Jackson has done an amazing job of taking over a good lead of it. He and Safa have really created something together that’s pretty special, and I think students enjoy it much more than the normal announcements,” Prince said.

As for the announcements, Prince indicated that they hope to continue doing the videos for the foreseeable future. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a new tradition,” he said.

Apr
22

By

Coronavirus vaccine provides hope for the community

Category: News Tags: ,

Liberty Harrison | Staff Writer

The front entrance to Brambleton Middle School, with coronavirus mitigation procedures posted in the window on the left. Photo by Liberty Harrison.

The coronavirus vaccine has brought with it many emotions, including relief and hope but has also once again highlighted the tribulations caused by the pandemic. The experiences of both nurses and those who have been vaccinated are not only impacting those individuals but are also shaping the history of the coronavirus pandemic.

Almost all people throughout the process have had the same reaction to receiving their shots.

Kathie Miller is usually Harmony Middle School’s nurse, but she also works as a vaccinator at the Brambleton POD. Miller said, “Most people are very excited to be there. There’ve been a few people who’ve been a little anxious just because you’re getting a shot, but for the most part people are just so excited and they just roll up their sleeves, they just can’t wait to get it, because everybody wants to get back to some sense of normal.”

“The reason I haven’t specifically [seen anyone not wanting to get the vaccine] I think is because everyone who is coming in is very excited about it,” said Jamie Klucken, a clinical pharmacist who volunteers with the Loudoun Medical Reserve Corps, run by the Loudoun County Health Department. Dr. Klucken works as a Safety Evaluator for the FDA, but any views expressed are her own.  “I think people that are more concerned about the vaccine have not signed up for it. But the people that are coming in for the vaccine are just very excited about the possibility of some semblance of normalcy after they’ve got their second shot. However, we still advise everyone to still mask up and socially distance, especially with others around them that aren’t vaccinated, until we have herd immunity. Most people are just very grateful that we are there and are just excited to get it.”

However there are still many people who have shown suspicion in the vaccine, and have expressed an anxiousness or even outright refusal towards getting the vaccine.

“I have run into a lot of friends and family on Facebook that have reached out to me and expressed concern about the vaccine, given the rapid development,” Klucken said. “So it’s been very helpful knowing, because of my job, how the drug approval process works and knowing that steps regarding the evaluation of safety and efficacy were not skipped. The one thing that really sped up the process was manufacturing the vaccine prior to approval, which is not normally done. The government paid for the vaccines in advance, in case it worked, so companies could have vaccines ready to go upon approval. We’ve lucked out that so far all these vaccines presented to the FDA have actually worked. So they already had it manufactured and have been able to push it out more rapidly than normal. So there’s some hesitancy out there because people are concerned about that.”

Shannon Nerantzis,  a Loudoun County High School nurse, has worked as both a vaccinator, a floating nurse (those positioned around the POD to transport materials and information to the vaccinating nurses), and as a nurse monitoring those waiting to be cleared after their injection. She said regarding those who have doubts about the safety and viability of the vaccine, “Basically the science behind this for a mRNA vaccine has been around for over 10 years. It was developed around the time of the H1N1 flu vaccine so, when they were able to get the genetic code for this virus, literally back in January, they were able to have the components to start, producing vaccines even last January. It took time to figure out  what solutions and that type of thing would be needed but, honestly science is pretty amazing these days.”

Inside the vaccination PODS, however, there are still some problems.

“It’s been a very positive environment, I think for pretty much everybody as far as vaccinators, as far as people receiving vaccines. It’s a little overwhelming sometimes for people to see the first time, because it is a gym, it’s loud and it’s not the private area that they’re used to when they get vaccines, even a flu vaccine. For that usually they take you to your private room,” Nerantzis said.” So everybody’s in this big room so for some people that… took some time to get used to, but now that we’re pretty much only doing second vaccines people just kind of take the energy that’s in the room and are really positive.”

Instead of being apprehensive about getting the vaccine some people appear to be overzealous.

“I think what I’ve seen more [than people not showing up]  is people trying to show up with maybe their spouse or their partner who doesn’t qualify and see if they can get a dose. Of course we can’t do that because we have it set up for so many per day and we only have so much supply,” Klucken said.

There have also been some problems at the various vaccination PODs, but these have been e resolved as time has gone on.

“As far as timing, I know I was there at the very beginning when we first started doing this. It was a little bit more difficult for us to get people through just because we were all new at this, trying to vaccinate so many people in a short period of time,” Klucken said. “But right now what I’ve seen recently is… it’s a very smooth process, people get in and get out.” Adding that her husband was vaccinated at a Fairfax vaccinating center where they too have created a smooth, efficient system, Klucken said, “So I think everyone has a set up now that it’s not a problem.”

Booking for the Brambleton POD in particular, teachers experienced some technical difficulties that were later resolved.

“So initially the County rolled out an email that was in essence, a free for all, for all teachers or staff to try and load the page up and get in and book an appointment as quickly as possible,” said Caitlin McAteer, an English and Advisory teacher at Loudoun County High School. “That was the first way that they approached getting people the vaccine. I am not sure whether they had planned to do it that way the entire time, and then realized that was a bad idea, or if that was just a, ‘let’s get people the vaccine as quickly as possible however we can and then start setting up the protocol.’” She explained that by protocol she meant the system they put in place to let teachers book appointments for the vaccine, then continued, ”I, as a teacher, received an email midway through January that said, ‘this is your personalized link to create an appointment for your COVID vaccine’ and I clicked on that. The first time I clicked on it, I opened it up and there was nothing there…it didn’t even have the dates listed that I could have picked an appointment. It just was straight up like there’s nothing there?”

After a few days however, the system was fixed and McAteer was able to book her appointment.

“Then the second or third time that I refreshed and went back, I think a day or two later, the appointment times had filled in and at that point I was able to get a slot that worked for me,” McAteer said. “So they went from having it be wide open and crashing the site actually several times, it was kind of a mess, shifting over to doing it on a personalized level, which still had some glitches, but it was a lot simpler because at least that way I knew what options I had. I wasn’t desperate to grab any of them. I knew that there were available mobile spots that I could manage.”

Dealing with these bumps in the road are the many nurses working in the PODs, many of whom have felt a great impact from their work.

“I can tell you the first day, besides being completely exhausted,” Miller said. “I literally, I cried. I called my brothers and I said, ‘Mom and Dad would have been so proud of me because of it.’ You know, this is part of history. I said, ‘I’m going to someday if I have grandkids, someday tell my grandkids about this.’ Because we are part of history. We are part of you know, this worldwide pandemic and this is this one step in getting everything back to normal or somewhat normal. So it was a very emotional and exhausting experience.”

Nerantzis said what she took away from her experience working in the POD was, “Just that people really appreciate all the efforts that we’ve gone to to make sure that they’re vaccinated, that the system has gone smoothly, that they don’t have, for the most part, they don’t have to wait a long time.” She added, ‘I think one of the lessons is that if you  take time to orchestrate something thoughtfully and make sure that everyone’s taken care of it really shows.”

Not only have nurses been affected by working at the POD but by getting the vaccine themselves.

“It’s kind of funny because I knew, the student health services staff, we knew prior to going on Christmas Break that we would potentially get it [the coronavirus vaccine] over break so we were told to make sure you’re checking your emails and so I was checking my email every day over break,” Miller said. “New Year’s Eve I looked at the email in the morning there was nothing there, so I went out and walked my dog and came home and I was like oh, I’ll look one more time and then lo and behold there’s this email. I filled it out and then literally I got my shot like an hour later, it all happened really, really fast. And when I got mine it was at the initial vaccine clinic …in this warehouse in Sterling and it was bizarre because it was this big empty warehouse that was freezing cold and everybody’s just standing in line, following the dots on the floor that are six feet apart. I kind of pulled my camera out on my phone and I was being all stealth to get a picture to send it to my husband and the girl behind me goes, ‘I just did the same thing, do you feel like you’re in a weird sci-fi movie?’ and I said, ‘I do.’ It was funny because last year for New Years I was on a cruise and I’m saying to her, ‘It’s just so bizarre because last year I was in the Bahamas and this year I’m in this weird warehouse getting a vaccine.’ Then the second one I actually got at the Loudoun County School POD, all the nurses were working the pod so we just got our vaccines there. Then it wasn’t as strange but the first time, like I said, from the time I got the email I literally was rolling up my sleeve like an hour later and it just happened so fast and I kind of didn’t ask a lot of questions I just  kind of went with it and then thought, ‘Wow, this is strange.’”

The nurses who have stepped into the front line of vaccine distribution want to share the knowledge and insights that they have gained from their profession and their experiences.

“I would feel like whether you’re talking about COVID or you’re talking about, like, a tornado that happens or anything,” Miller said, “I think until it affects you personally or your family or your friends, I don’t think people really take things seriously.

Miller explained that she had a close family friend who lost his leg because of blood clotting issues related to COVID-19.

“He [Miller’s family friend] was one of those people who basically had every possible bad thing related to COVID happen, and he survived it but his life will never be the same,” Miller said. “I think my message I would want to get across to the people is, maybe it hasn’t affected you or your family, or maybe it did and it was very mild, but this is serious. This is not a fake virus. I think we all need to do our part to move past this whether it’s wearing your mask, or doing your social distancing or getting your vaccine.  We all have a social responsibility, because not everybody is lucky enough either not to be affected or to get by with minimal symptoms.”

Nerantzis has a similar message to Loudoun County High School, “Just continue to be careful with [your] social distancing. I know it’s hard and I applaud all of you who’ve done such a great job, but just keep carrying on and hopefully we’ll get back together soon. So I guess sort of keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working.”

Multiple teachers from LCHS who have also gone through the experience of getting the coronavirus vaccine agree that it was an easy decision to get it done.

“It was easy and it was made easier for me to prioritize because the County, the admin gave us the go ahead, that … teachers [and] staff have the option to create asynchronous learning day that you go get your vaccine,” McAteer said. “I was able to choose that in order to drive to Brambelton, and then stand in line. So knowing that I had been given the permission, that we had permission from the administration to give the students something, without feeling like I was cheating or without feeling like, you know, taking care of myself, came at the cost of doing my job. It was much better that way, and knowing that with the vaccine, if I’m vaccinated, I’m going to be that much more prepared to get back into the classroom. It was always easy enough to just say yes, I’m going to go get it.”

“The school system allowed us to take the time  during the school day, if we needed to, to get our vaccination,” said Eleanor McKenzie, an APWH teacher at Loudoun County High School. She explained that in fact the day she scheduled it for was a snow day and said, “So I didn’t have to miss school, but if I had to, they made the process easy for us. I could find someone to cover for me or I could do an asynchronous class.”

After making the decision to get the vaccine the process for teachers was fairly easy.

McAteer made her appointment on the 18th and got the vaccine ten days later, on the 28th.

“I was concerned because I was prepared for it to be booked out solid, but it worked out pretty well,” McAteer said.

Arriving for her 3:30 appointment at 3:45 McAteer stood in line for 20 to 30 minutes, got her vaccine, and waited for 15 minutes to make sure she did not have an adverse reaction.

“So all told …it probably was just about an hour.” said McAteer. “So it was, it was really not bad”

McAteer got the Pfizer vaccine.

“It didn’t hurt,” McAteer said. “I have a lot of experience getting blood drawn and that’s always where my head goes when I think of needles. So this was actually a lot easier than getting blood drawn and it was just right into the muscle of my left arm. The vaccine itself didn’t hurt, I would say for probably two or three days afterward, my arm was sore. So I tried to be more careful about not jostling it, but, that was really the only adverse experience. Maybe my health dipped a little bit. I might’ve got the sniffles, but I don’t think … anything major happened.”

She might not have had much of a physical reaction, but McAteer admits she was emotionally affected.

“I will say that I felt kind of emotional,” McAteer said. “I have been feeling a pretty great sense of relief over having gotten the vaccination process started. I am aware that there are, you know, questions about whether they’re effective against the newer variants of COVID  and that does make me a little bit uneasy. But I spoke to the nurses who were in charge of all the stations and they expressed a sense of being part of history and I felt the same way. I feel an extreme relief, the kind of thing where something really intense has been hanging over you and then all of a sudden it’s taken care of. It’s over. It’s done. And you’re just like, whew, you feel kind of giddy almost…it’s still just a big sense of, of happiness and of release.”

McAteer was scheduled for her second shot on the 28th of February, meaning she is now fully vaccinated.

Now that she had been through the process, like the nurses, McAteer also wants to share her experiences with the community.

“I know there’s a lot of fear and that different people think different things about the vaccine,” McAteer said. “I’ve put a lot of faith in history, looking at the history of vaccinations in the United States and looking too at the people…on the ground. Like, do I trust the nurse at school? Do I trust Shannon Nerantzis ? Yes, I do. Do I trust nurses in general? Yes I do. So if these are people who have worked quote unquote on the front lines of healthcare, their entire life, and they are excited and they are feeling positive about it, then I think that that gives me more confidence to trust them and to believe what they see over any conspiracy theories or fears that other people have. That’s what I would share most and foremost is yes, remain informed, but I mean really remain informed by talking to people who actually know, who have had the real experience.”

McKenzie also described the ease of the vaccination process and how it affected her personally.

Referring to the interim period between booking and getting a shot McKenzie said, “It was only a couple of days because I opened up the link randomly on a Saturday morning and I got the appointment on Monday, but that was the Monday that school was closed, so they moved it to a different day.”

She got the Pfizer shot as well, spending about 20 minutes going through the process. Afterwards she reported having a sore arm for around 3 days and fatigue, but no other symptoms.  She was scheduled to get her second shot on March 1st, meaning she as well is now fully vaccinated.

After getting the shot she too felt a sense of relief.

“You know that George Michael song, ‘Freedom’? That was going through my head,” McKenzie said.

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