THE NETWORK MARIAN
VOLUME SIXTY-FIVE • ISSUE ONE •August 2020 MARIAN HIGH SCHOOL • 7400 MILITARY AVENUE OMAHA, NE 68134 • MARIANDIGITALNETWORK.COM
So, it’s been a while
Welcome back, Crusaders!
Staff Editorial by MaddieGenoways
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alking through the front doors at Marian, you’ll probably notice that a lot more has changed than just backpacks and hairstyles. When we left for spring break, none of us ever expected that while we were gone, our whole world would turn upside down. Many of us are more familiar with the halls of Marian than our own houses, yet it seems we’ve all joined the freshmen in their “first day at a new school” jitters. We’re in completely uncharted territory, both educationally and life-wise. But that’s just it: this is new and scary for all of us! No one has any idea where this school year is headed, so the best thing for Marian to do right now is stick together. Whether it be through the screens of face shields or through the screens of computers, we can be scared and uncomfortable and have terrible face mask acne together. Above all, we need to remember that this is not forever. This pandemic does not define our futures, and we don’t have to let it define our school year, either. Although we may not be a hospital full of health
care workers and sick patients, we are a school with a responsibility to return to school safely. Here is how we plan to do so. In order to keep your classmates and teachers safe, please take note of your own health and symptoms each morning before coming to school. If you feel any possible symptoms of COVID-19, such as a fever, cough or shortness of breath, consider the people you could hurt by spreading the virus. Even if you don’t feel seriously affected or don’t want to attend classes online, remember that masks and shields can only compensate for so much selfishness. Online classes can be tricky, but nothing is more difficult than knowing that you’ve potentially endangered your friends, classmates or teachers. So for your safety and the safety of the community, please wear a clean cotton mask each day at school, sanitize and wash your hands regularly, and please— do not endanger yourself or others based on the belief that the danger will pass without communal effort. Make these sacrifices and know that you are protecting others, possibly even saving lives. There is no greater heroism right now than compassion for others and their safety.
NatalieCusick
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he days where Marian girls used to squeeze an entire homeroom into one row of bleachers at Mass and eat elbow-to-elbow during lunch seem like ages ago. Sweaty Welcome Dance parties and 180-girl Field Day huddles are a distant memory. We’ve officially begun the “new normal,” and with it, we’re entering the “new Marian.” The “new Marian” is physically distanced, disinfected and masked. You won’t be seeing below the eyes of a single face from the time you walk through the doors of Marian until you get into your car at the end of the day. What you will see, however, is “hand sanitizer in each classroom, disinfectant wipes in each classroom, hourly cleaning of our restrooms by custodial staff, and directional signage for traffic flow,” according to Principal Susie Sullivan’s emailed message to the Marian community on July 15. In fact, most everyday Marian procedures will look different this year. “We will not have all school Masses together. Mass will be said from our new chapel and students will watch it together. We will not offer the Eucharist, at least in the first semester,” Sullivan said. A big adjustment for Marian girls will be finding new ways and places in which to start their mornings. “Unfortunately, students will not be able to congregate in the hallways in the morning. Students will be able to congregate in the cafeteria, quad, west gym, Haddix, and Student Services. There will be a limit on the numbers of students in each area. Once those spaces are filled, students will go to their first block class,” Sullivan said. Students and staff will follow new rules and receive points for breaking them. Removing your mask will immediately result in points, and social distancing will be strongly enforced at all times. Although Marian’s “new normal” is a positive situation that protects its students and staff, it does come with a few losses. Student Board’s annual Welcome Dance has been cancelled along with curriculum night, and future events will be decided on as we move closer to them.
Marian’s teachers, staff and administration are making additional sacrifices to make this school year happen and have been working twice as hard as usual to coordinate and provide classes of both online and in-person students the best education possible. Principal Susie Sullivan and President Mary Higgins have worked tirelessly each day during the summer to make our school safe and accessible. Please be patient with your teachers, especially now, as they try to manage their and their own family’s health, as well as protect the health of their students. That being said, it is important to remember that new health procedures at Marian are in place to protect not only ourselves, but also those around us. Let’s do our best to keep Marian’s doors open and its students and staff healthy. Remind your friends to wash their masks at night, share sanitizer instead of germs and make sure to clean up your work spaces. Marian should always be a place where students and teachers alike can feel safe and informed, so, as this year’s Network staff, we promise to do our part to get you the information, news, and uplifting stories you need to stay safe, smart, and smiling through this
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ith so many changes, it may feel like we’re starting back at an entirely new school, but the Marian we know and love is still here. It just looks a bit different than we remember. “In true Marian fashion we will adjust and embrace the change as a community,” senior Abby Jacobsen said. If you look beyond each and every change, a Marian tradition is still in place. Even though we are eating lunch in different locations such as the cafeteria, quad and west gym with two or three people to a table, we will still be enjoying our favorite Marian lunches and desserts. Welcome Dance may be absent, but we will still hold our annual Walk-A-Thon. When we are not physically together at Masses, we will be praying collectively as one community unified in faith. Class retreats will still be held, and no matter how they may be adjusted, they will still bring each class closer together at heart. Whether in-person or online, our connections with our teachers and the other half of the alphabet will persevere through a new sense of gratitude for those around and apart from us. “I think we will all still be happy just to be at school, see our friends, participate in activities, and follow traditions, even if those things don’t look the same as they did last year. I think the spirit will still be there, even if it isn’t the same,” junior class officer Josie Golka said. While Marian is going to continue to reinvent its procedures throughout the year, and the “new normal” will probably never feel anything less than “new,” the Marian community will one day relish in the effects of these changes. When students can go to college in person and mosh pit at their favorite artists’ concert someday, everyone will look back and thank the administration for making us wear face shields in the hallways. Students won’t remember how sweaty half of our faces were throughout the day, but they will remember all the days we spent in school because that protection allowed us to. Marian girls might not have the memories of a 2020 Welcome Dance or first day of school assembly, but that is one small sacrifice we can make for the safety of others and the education of ourselves.
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