22 FEATURE
LOOKING BACK
Students reflect on unusual school year in pandemic BY EMILY BRISENO reporter This school year has impacted everyone differently. Students have had ups and downs while learning during a pandemic. With the option of learning in-person or virtually, students had to decide which way they wanted to learn. Freshman Elliot Swan is one of the students who used virtual learning to his benefit this year. Swan says as that as a student athlete he had to worry about being benched due to contact tracing or contract-
ing COVID-19. “About halfway through the first semester, I went virtual for basketball as I did not want to risk getting contact traced and miss two weeks of the basketball season,” Swan said. Swan noted some of the challenges he faced during his time as a virtual student. “I had to overcome being unmotivated throughout the time I was virtual. It was very hard for me to stay motivated and locked-in while I was virtual, as it is hard to not be distracted at home, but it was a good challenge that I overcame,” Swan
said. Unlike Swan, senior Connor Phutawon opted to attend school in-person throughout the year. “I chose to stay in-person because I thought it was the best for my education. I knew that staying in school would keep me focused and determined, and I only wanted what was best for me. I was worried about the ongoing pandemic, but I knew that the school had safety measures in place to keep us safe,” Phutawon said. Due to CPHS’s COVID-19 protocols, several students were quarantined for two
KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES: SUMMARIZING
August 2020 Students arrived back in the building in late August and were met with various new COVID-19 protocols. One of the biggest changes was lunch moving from the cafeteria to the gym. The year also started on a “yellow” schedule, with students going two days a week and split up by the last name of their parent.
October & November 2020 September 2020 CPHS did not have a homecoming dance, but still had the annual game and parade. Senior Grace Price was crowned homecoming queen along with senior Felix Meeks as homecoming king.
CPHS finally shifted back to a “green” four days a week schedule at the end of October, but after two weeks the decision was made to go to a “red” all online schedule.
