The County Chronicle

The online newspaper of Loudoun County High School

Jun
10

By

EL students struggle with obstacles in online learning

Category: News Tags: , ,

Michaela Scott and Maggie Sheridan | Editors-in-Chief

El teacher Sarah Loredo teaches her hybrid students during first block. Since the switch to in-school learning was implemented in February, over 80% of EL students were brought back into the classroom. Photo courtesy of Sarah Loredo.

During the distance/hybrid school year, to say students have had obstacles to overcome would be an understatement, especially for English Language Learners. Many of these students are brand new to the country, so having to go straight to online school has introduced several challenges unique to these specific students.

Many teachers have seen firsthand the effect of distance learning on their students and have made it known that it is not easy for the students to comfortably navigate a brand new way of learning.

“The technology piece is definitely the most significant,” English Language teacher Erin Mclaughlin said. “From a teacher perspective we are all new to this so we’re learning while teaching. From a student perspective, they had to learn a totally new system of learning for the first time in their homes with zero help, plus Schoology is in English.”

Several of the English Language Learner teachers emphasized the amount of class time that was consumed by each problem they ran into trying to help out the EL students. On the other hand, general education teachers couldn’t always find the time during class to instruct their EL students individually while teaching dozens of general education students.

“I think the stress for GenEd teachers is very high this year. General Education teachers have to manage so many components of teaching that as an EL teacher, we’re only focusing specifically on EL students, instead of a mixture,” Mclaughlin said. “Whereas in an all EL class we would have to go through each individual student to walk them through their assignments, and so if you have 10 students in a classroom, you’re taking away the first 30 minutes for weeks because they don’t remember right away.”

Overall, the GenEd and EL teachers have explained that the technology aspect is the most crucial part of this learning experience, and it had an impact on the school year involving things like attendance, access to assignments, and testing.

“During distance learning I have struggled with making sure these students have equitable access to technology,” Biology teacher Kayla Urban said. “Attendance has also been a struggle. Many of my students have many responsibilities such as working a job, looking after others, and also having access to reliable internet and a private place to work.”

Urban has worked with these students for eight years and has grown familiar to them. This will be her fourth year teaching some EL students in a separate, self-contained course. She said participation was a struggle for these students at the start of the year.

“It’s harder to reach those students at home because they do not have their cameras on and I can’t see what they’re doing or what’s happening at their house, even if they’re at their computer. You have students that just log in and never give any responses, so it’s hard to tell if they’re struggling because they don’t understand the material or if they’re just playing a video game, or if they’ve just been going through a hard time due to the pandemic,” Urban said.

English Language teacher Sarah Loredo explained that students are used to one-on-one contact, or small group instruction to understand the material given to them. Although break out rooms are an option, it isn’t the same as when students are physically present to ask for help from teachers or use class resources.

“Students learn a lot visually, so technology is good for that, but it is not as organic as the need happens immediately and you can easily pick up a book or a piece of paper,” Loredo said. “Learning can be so much quicker and more efficient when all the resources are available to the students.”
Urban was concerned with the fact that students appeared hesitant to speak up when they were confused or had a question over the Google Meets. “They are scared to comment or ask questions online because they feel as though the spotlight is totally on them in the meeting and it is recorded. We have told them they can always ask us through Remind as well as emails or breakout rooms so it’s private,” Urban said.

In order to help the adjustment with distance learning, Urban has used new programs and incorporated them into her classes, such as Desmos. “It is very helpful in order to control the pacing. It also makes everything more interactive and I can see everyone’s participation. I can also make it anonymous so I can talk about certain student’s responses without them being embarrassed by their wrong answers in front of the class,” said Urban.

Additionally, Loredo explained the challenges specifically for students who are on a level one in EL and are not participating or speaking up during class time. There are six levels to becoming fluent, and English is usually nonexistent for students on level one. “The students who just started, and are on level one, I cannot even imagine them being new to the country and learning how to navigate the technology, testing, copying something from Google, writing an email, completing assignments,” Loredo said. “Due to this learning curve, we have worked even harder to give them the support they need because we want them to be successful.”

Over the course of the year, EL students have been gradually coming back; beginning in October, LCHS was only allowed to bring the level one students back, which was 15 students. “We would have students that didn’t qualify as level one coming to the front of the building and asking to be let in,” Mclaughlin said. “We had a lot of our students who wanted to be here, but they couldn’t.”

Since the switch to hybrid was implemented in February, over 80% of El students were brought back into the building. “All of my students are here except for two and that is amazing, I am so happy about that,” Loredo said. “In-person school makes things a lot easier and better for the students.”
Although learning at home was a challenge, Urban agrees that having students back in the building has helped their learning and understanding. “I think it definitely helps now that we are back in the building and we are able to support more students. I have had more students return to school in my self-contained ELL biology than I have had in any of my other classes,” Urban said.

She has also been able to use more resources in order to help them and make them more comfortable in the classroom. “It has been really good for students to come back because I am able to provide more hands-on manipulative resources for them, which are important when you come to a place where you do not understand the language,” Urban said.

Although distance learning has introduced a variety of obstacles for EL students, EL and GenEd teachers have developed strategies and new ways of teaching to make learning a better experience for these students. “We want to do what is best for our students, and I’m happy I was able to support them throughout this year.”

Jun
10

By

School store thrives despite challenges

Category: News

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

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

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.

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

Jun
8

By

Time capsule rediscovered at County

Category: News

Emily Banner | Staff Writer

The plaque by the flagpole. The capsule is buried beneath, not to be opened until May of 2076. Photo by Emily Banner.

In early March, teacher Tamara Tucker was outside with her students on the LCHS lawn. While looking at the flowers around the flagpole, Tucker noticed a half-buried plaque.

“As I cleaned it, I was intrigued to find what was hiding underneath… it was a time capsule!”

The capsule was buried in May 1976 by the SCA, and is set to be opened in 2076.

Becky Ottinger, co-SCA sponsor in 1976, said that the capsule took over a year to bury. The issue was that they had to find a way to protect the capsule from the elements.

Eventually, however, they figured it out and there was a day of celebration involving the whole school. Ottinger describes it as a “carnival on the lawn”, beginning with a flag-raising ceremony with everyone “dressed in colonial attire as much as possible” in celebration of the bicentennial of 1776. “It was a fun day and a wonderful experience,” she said.

While no records exist to reveal what might be buried, Tucker speculated that the capsule likely contains a newspaper, a LCHS yearbook, recordings of popular music that year or a list of popular books or magazines. Even Ottinger doesn’t remember exactly what the capsule contains, but she has a similar idea, thinking that it probably contains a yearbook, a copy of the Raider newspaper, and a copy of the local paper.

There is no fail-safe plan for remembering to open the capsule, which is not scheduled to happen until 2076, but hopefully 52 years from now, the mystery of the time capsule will be revealed.

Sidebar: Time Capsule Contemplation

Matthew Murdock (left) and James Cook (right) make deliveries for student-run business Gifts and Munch Munch More. Of all responses to the time capsule question, “masks” stood out as the top item to include. Photo courtesy of Alyssa Casanova.

Many students responded with a mask, something to commemorate the outbreak of COVID-19. Several others suggested a roll of toilet paper. “In the beginning of quarantine everyone was scrambling to get toilet paper and the stores ran out; I’ll never forget it,” wrote freshman Charlotte Edmunds.If we made a time capsule to remember 2020, what would you put in it?

Some other interesting responses included Junior Gracie Hawkins, who suggested “an iphone with no passcode, so they could go through it, see the social medias, how we took pictures”.

“I would add a copy of the Crow’s Nest 2021 or a copy of the Yearbook so people living in 2120 could see the art and literacy that we were making today or see some of the people in the yearbook that buried the time capsule,” wrote junior Chris Mejia.

“I would include a Raiders shirt because in 100 years from now all remnants of Raiders gear will most likely be gone and I think it would be interesting for them,” wrote sophomore Matthew Jackmore.

Jun
3

By

Lewis Retires, Reflects on Career as English Teacher

Category: News

Summer Orledge | Staff Writer

After almost half a century teaching English, lifelong educator Arlene Lewis is retiring at the end of this academic year.

During one of her first years as a teacher, Lewis (back row, second to the right) poses for the yearbook with her colleagues at Iselin Junior High School in New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Arlene Lewis.

Lewis earned a master’s degree in English Education and a Specialist’s degree in Education from Rutgers University. After completing her studies, she worked as an English teacher for 45 years, periodically switching between junior high, high school, and community college.

Having aspired to work as a teacher since elementary school, Lewis was elated to have achieved her dream career and would eagerly discuss it whenever possible. “If I could fit my profession into the conversation, I would!” Lewis said.

She considers attending the Excellence in Education banquet, an exclusive celebration of students in the top 5% of their class, a highlight of her career.

“I felt very honored,” Lewis explained. “I have also enjoyed receiving emails from students who have updated me on their lives after LCHS. It is always rewarding to think that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

Lewis is perhaps best known throughout LCHS for teaching AP English Language and Composition, but her abilities as a teacher extend beyond that. “I really like teaching any kind of composition course, but I also enjoyed working with the freshmen when I taught English 9. It is exciting to see students when they are just starting their academic careers.”

Outside of the English classroom, Lewis sponsored both the Signet and Anorak clubs. Signet is an extension of LCPS’s gifted program that participates in community service, and Anorak is a club for students interested in video games and anime. “They have both been fun clubs to sponsor,” she said. “Both were pretty big at one point.”

Lewis was also involved with High School 101, an orientation for rising freshman at LCHS, and Odyssey of the Mind, a program where students collaborate to creatively solve intellectual challenges.

She plans to take advantage of her free time by traveling both domestically and internationally. This upcoming summer, she intends to hike in Sedona, Arizona, and vacation in Rehoboth, Delaware. She enjoys traveling internationally and next year she plans to attend a wedding in Wales and hike in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Despite Lewis’s cosmopolitan aspirations, she “will also be volunteering at LCHS” and “would be happy to help students with their application essays.”

Although she is undoubtedly experienced in academics, Lewis admits to being uncomfortable with this year’s reliance on technology, describing her teaching style as low-tech. Still, she praises the assistance and fortitude of her students in handling these novel challenges. “[They] have been both kind and patient. They still let me know that I am not presenting.”

“Teaching is so much more than the content,” Lewis said. “The joy has been in getting to know students and watching them grow in so many ways. It seems cliché to say that teaching is rewarding, but it is so true. I have been lucky to be in a profession that I love for so many years.”

Arlene Lewis teaches virtually during hybrid learning in May. Photo courtesy of Valerie Egger.

May
7

By

Cadets overcome challenges posed by distance learning

Category: News Tags:

Olivia Zavadil | Managing Editor

Incoming ROTC students participate in basic leadership training during the summer. The program was allowed to meet in person during that time if following social-distancing guidelines. Photo courtesy of Deanna Foust.

The NJROTC program has been a key component of our school’s livelihood ever since its doors opened in 2009. The program, which is the only of its kind in Loudoun County, draws participation from students all over Northern Virginia. In a normal year, cadets would participate in hands-on activities that foster the development of important life skills such as leadership and communication. However, a new challenge has presented itself in the form of distance learning.

“In past years, we would go outside to practice marching (drill) and physical training (PT). We have not been able to do that since March of last year,” said Master Chief Deanna Foust. NJROTC instructors have had to find new ways this year to adapt to a mostly virtual learning environment. “Similar to other teachers, we’ve moved much more of our syllabus online, but with NJROTC many of the things we do are hands-on, which makes it more difficult,” said Captain Bill Johns.

With 39 percent of cadets opting to return for hybrid learning, extra precautions have been taken to ensure that the program adheres to the COVID guidelines set forth by LCPS, while still giving students the experiences that they need.

“When it comes to COVID restrictions and guidelines, we follow what the school is doing. If there is a conflict between the school and the Navy, we coordinate with either to resolve it but would take the more restrictive of the two. It hasn’t been an issue though.” Foust said.

All cadets are required to wear masks, and social distancing measures are being put into place when needed. For example, wherein a normal year for drill cadets would stand 2-3 feet apart, they now stand 6 feet apart.

As for the physical training aspect, instructors have found a way to incorporate workouts into distance learning as well. This is accomplished by cadets completing short, stationary exercises from home while on a Google Meet.

The biggest change in the program, however, would be the lack of participation in competitions due to COVID restrictions put forth by the county. “This has been the most dramatic change,” Johns said. “ We used to have three or four competitions a month per team; most of those have gone away,”. Teams such as orienteering have taken an especially big hit, as it is almost impossible to compete virtually in that type of competition.

“The competitions we would normally attend, especially for the younger cadets, they get a really good sense of the discipline and comradery that many are drawn to, and from that motivate them to go into the military,” Johns said.

However, despite the challenge, some teams have still found impressive successes in virtual competitions. “ We were able to compete fully (with COVID guidelines) in our CyberPatriot competitions because they were held here at the school. One of our teams even placed first in their tier!” Foust said. Additionally, the Academic Team competed virtually in the National Academic Exam for NJROTC and placed 9th in the DMV.

“For those cadets and parents who allow participation in person, we’ve been holding practices throughout the year, although the quantity of these practices has reduced,” Johns said. While in previous years teams would have ample amounts of practice time every week, COVID guidelines require a reduced number of cadets in the annex building, and a reduced number of teams allowed to practice at one time. As a result, teams can only practice one or two times a week, and can only have a limited number of cadets present at each session.

“Because we are not able to do hands-on training, the way we do military drill has suffered because the cadets have not been able to practice and receive hands-on tutoring from instructors and mentors; that is one of the key areas distance learning has hurt our program,” Johns said.

While cadets still have knowledge of the military and knowledge of the program in an academic sense, distance learning in most cases has taken away the aspect of the first-hand experience. “We have suffered in the sense of not being able to take trips and give cadets exposure to the military,” Johns said.

In previous years, cadets visited military installations, toured college campuses such as West Point and the Naval Academy, visited the Pentagon, and explored the Marine Corps Museum. “Those orientation visits help students get an early insight into what might be in store for them later on, and give motivation to those who might be on the fence about joining the military,” Johns said . In an attempt to continue providing these important experiences, students this year have participated in virtual tours of important sites during class.

While distance learning has posed many challenges, there is still a positive takeaway from the difficulties. “We’ve all learned so many other skills that I believe prepare cadets for the bumps in the road that are sure to happen in the future. We’ve all been able to adapt and overcome many challenges as we’ve navigated the waters of COVID,” Foust said.

May
7

By

Restaurants of downtown Leesburg surmount challenges posed by COVID-19

Category: News Tags: , ,

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’

Category: News Tags: , , ,

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. •

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