In the Meantime- 3rd Edition

INSIDE 6th Grade Trip

ISSUE 3

The middle school j our nalists will be documenting our exper iences under quar antine. We will be inter viewing classmates, parents, teacher s and other member s of our community as well as shar ing thoughts on our own exper iences.

Please enj oy these slices-of-life dur ing this weir d, challenging time.

David Bejar Per sonal: After another week of quarantine I have found myself busy doing things I normally wouldn?t do. I have also realized how much I miss school. I came to understand how much I enjoy being in a place with all my friends and classmates 7 hours a day. I also miss the daily routine of getting up early and going to school. In school everyday at lunch, I would play football with my friends. Now, I can?t do that, and I can?t get that exercise. But, I have found a new way to exercise by running 2.5 miles everyday and doing a three minute plank everyday in an effort to get exercise.

Student: Seventh grader Riley Richards is is finding ways to keep in touch with her friends.

She explained, ?I?ve been Facetiming a lot of my friends trying to be as social as possible without actually seeing them.?

To keep herself busy, she?s been ?watching a lot of Netflix, spending time with family, doing outdoor activities while still being safe, and making lots of tik toks.?

On Netflix, Riley has been watching Gossip Girl and The Fosters. She?s also been watching lots of movies.

After being asked her thoughts about online school she said, ?I don?t necessarily mind online school, but it is hard for me to focus when I'm not in the classroom.?

Riley does miss school. She said, ?I miss seeing my classmates on a daily basis.?

Teacher : Seventh grade math teacher, Ms. Karin Davis, whas been keeping herself busy during quarantine. ?At the beginning of the quarantine, I decided to do a complete clean up of my house,? she explained. ?I decluttered everything. Additionally I painted my living room and one of our bedrooms.?

Exercise has always been very important to Ms. Davis. When I exercise I feel happier,? she said. ?I usually go to OrangeTheory, but it has closed so I decided to get back into running. I have been running six days a week for about 30 minutes each day and I am planning on adding more minutes each week.?

She adds, ?I spent lots of time working out how to teach on Zoom. It takes longer to plan virtual lessons, so this has been a new challenge for me.?

Being stuck in quarantine has Page 12 had a huge effect on my school/work life. School used to be from 8 am-3 pm. But now, school is from 10am-2:40pm. We have less in-class school hours, but we still have a huge load of homework. I enjoy the fact that I now get much more sleep, but I do miss the experience of going to school and sitting in my classes. I was able to interact with friends, but now that has all changed. My classes are longer than they used to be, but I only have three classes a day. Sometimes, I wish this would all be over so I can go back to school and be with my friends again.

Teacher : Like many teachers, Tanya Hayes feels challenged by the new online teaching program. She said, ?I am having to quickly learn about and use different teaching tools, platforms, and programs, adjust how I plan for and teach my lessons, and adapt to the challenges of communicating and teaching using technology.?

Ms. Hayes also said that she enjoys going to real school because she enjoys the face-to-face interaction with her students and colleagues and the

Other than that, she has spent many hours with her family, baking and cooking together. They play old board games, and they enjoy revisiting these games. ?I am reading lots of books and have finished seven novels since March 13th,? she said proudly. ?I have started a blog about my reading. I have also enjoyed lazy walks with my dogs and spending time in the pool.?

Additionally Ms. Davis has learned new things during quarantine. ?For a while, I have been interested in knitting,? she explained. ?My mom and sister knit the most beautiful sweaters. I have taken this up. I am not very good yet, but I am trying to persevere. I am knitting squares that each have a different pattern and when complete, I will sew them together to make a blanket. I normally knit and watch TV, because I don?t like to sit still.

She also cooks every day,? she said. ?I love curry, and we are trying lots of vegetarian dishes. Tonight I am making a coconut chickpea curry. We have also been BBQing more than usual. We love boerewors, which is a typical South African sausage. We are doing lots of baking, crème brulee, banana bread and pecan pie!?

Ms. Davis has developed a new program while in

feeling of connectedness that it brings. ?Online and traditional schools both involve a lot of work for teachers,? she explained. ?The recent transition to online school has created a lot more work in a short amount of time,?

Chloe Shapiro Per sonal:

quarantine. ?I started sharing my love for journaling and have three students,? she said. ?We meet on Monday and Fridays to share ideas.?

Ms. Hayes claimed that she has been able to catch up on emails and work during this time.

Parent: Mauricio Fernandez, father of sixth grader Natalia Fernandez, said that this quarantine has taken a hit on his work. Mr. Fernandez has three different businesses, and two of them are affected. He owns a hotel, which had to be closed down. The other business affected is in the filming industry, and it also had to take a momentarily pause because his team is not able to go outside and get films, etc? His last business is fine because it is a digital business, so everything was done online in the first place. He said that everything is moving slowly right now, but after this whole quarantine and pandemic, everything will get back on track.

Student: Sixth grader Maria Carstensen said, ?Now that school is online and we aren?t sitting in a classroom, I have definitely missed going to school.?

She claims that students are given more homework and have less time to actually be with their teacher.

She also said, ?If we need help, we have to log onto office hours which occur after school.?

Maria also said that she thinks the workload is too much because now ?we are suspected to have more time, which means more time for work. This is because we do not see our teachers as much.?

She also stated that she finds it easier to hand in her homework at school, instead of online.

She explained that keeping a healthy routine like waking up every morning at the same time and then doing your morning workout is a great way to get a better lifestyle during quarantine. ?It is also important to have a routine because we need to keep discipline and because we are all in it for the long haul,? she said.

Angelina Belin Parent: "I don't like to be in quarantine, but I like to focus on the positive things and spend time with my family," said Cristina Moscoso, a parent of sixth grader Melissa Brauer at Miami Country Day School.

She believes everybody should always look at the positive side of things to help get through rough times. She said, ?This is a perfect opportunity to be with the people you love the most, your family.?

"In the beginning, it was really hard to know that you can't go outside to go see your friends and your family and that you have to stay inside." said Ms. Moscoso. The beginning is definitely hard on everyone, but now some people are getting more used to staying at home, but still missing the outside world.

"The thing that I miss the most is being able to interact with other people and my students, and I definitely took for granted before the quarantine,? said Mrs. Jordan.

Everyone probably misses being able to interact with other people,? she said. ?We have all once just wanted to be in bed and not go out, but now everyone probably takes that one time where they didn't want to go out for granted.

Student:

Ms. Moscoso said she can't wait to go back to work and be able to go visit her family in Spain."

Sixth grader Natalia Fernandez is finding things to do while stuck at home in quarantine.

Teacher :

"I've been riding my bike and Facetiming my friends,? she said.

"I try to keep a routine every weekday so I don't get into a sump or get depressed," said Mrs. Kim Jordan, a middle school math teacher at Miami Country Day.

She believes it is important to keep in touch with friends and family during the quarantine. She also is trying to stay fit. She said, ?Everybody should definitely try online workout classes or take a bike

Alex Pool Student: Ella Green, a student in the 8th grade, shared her experience during quarantine. Ella has found it harder than she expected adjusting to online school. She said that it is specifically hard adjusting to the amount of homework in each class.

The class it was hardest for her to adjust to was PE. Ella said PE is the hardest for her to adjust to because ?PE is harder to do online. We aren't face to face with the teacher.? She adds, ?Instead, we are asked to use our time offline to do workouts and record them to send to the teacher.?

Lots of classes have parts of it that aren?t the same online. Students and teachers both have to adjust.

Ella said the good parts of online school are the many opportunities for extra help. It gives her more time to see a teacher if she has questions. She also says that the three classes a day makes the schedule more balanced.

Teacher : Brooke Ehinger, seminar teacher, talked about her experience during this time. Like others, she had challenges adjusting to the new situation. She misses going out and seeing friends. She adds that it is important to set work time and relaxing time.

Ms. Ehinger thinks online school has more difficult parts. ?When you're in the class, you can gauge how people are feeling and play into people a little bit more,? she said. ?It is a little more difficult when it is on the screen. I feel like I am talking to myself a little bit sometimes. It is just learning how to keep people's attention while online.?

A problem she has run into is the technology side of online school. Being able to connect is not something she can rely on right now. There are always different things going on. If this happened in school, there were ways around it, but now there aren't as many.

She likes that people can feel more comfortable in their own space. Also, she noticed they open up in their writing. Some students have a little more focus during online school. She said that it depends on the student as well. Ms. Ehinger said that is because they feel more comfortable in their space, no distractions of other students, no thoughts about lunch, and more. Overall, the social dynamics make it easier for students

Per sonal Now with the third class a day, it

ride.

"I have been taking online cooking classes with my mom,? she explained. ?The experience has been great so far."

Natalia has been cooking steaks, desserts, and different types of pasta. ?Online classes are a big hit for everyone now. Even though we are in quarantine there are many things to do with your family and to do online.?

Per sonal: Quarantine got me thinking about a lot of things.

I've been wondering how it feels to be in a hospital and be isolated from all the people. I wonder how it feels being in the hospital and no one being able to come visit you because you are contagious and can give the virus to other people. I would be devastated if a family member or someone is dying and I couldn't say goodbye.

Online school has been going pretty well, and it's been pretty easy so far. My dad is making me do online yoga, and it's been really fun. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to do yoga.

Even though it was hard to communicate over the Zoom class, I still have a great time.

I'm also spending a lot of time with my family, and I think this is a good time to be with loved ones. I really hope this ends soon and everything goes back to normal.

feels more like a normal school day, except with a lot more homework. In my free time, I have decided to start becoming better at cooking and baking. I used to do a lot of baking, but during the school year I didn't have the time. Now that I have the time, I am doing more hobbies I didn't get to do often. I have been learning how to cook. I will also bake muffins or cakes. My favorite thing to make is a vanilla cake with whipped cream. During a hard and stressful time, it is good to have something to do that is enjoyable and make people happy.

Something I miss a lot right now is my friends.

Before, I took for granted seeing them everyday. I always enjoy texting and facetiming them. But it all isn't the same as seeing people in person. The first thing I will do when I am able to leave quarantine is see my friends.

Page 3

Daniella Arango Student: Alec Gilderman, a sixth grader at Miami Country Day School, is sad that he can't see his friends and he can't see his family, especially his grandparents.

The hardest part about quarantine for Alec is that he wants to get out of his house, and he wants to be social again. At the same time Alec is spending more time with his family, and he really enjoys that. Alec and his family have a house on the water so they go on boat rides very often.

Not being social is very hard for Alec. He misses going to school and seeing his friends. Alec said, "Since virtual school started we have had more and more homework and it has been hard, and I definitely prefer school on campus instead of virtual school."

Some of the things that Alec has learned during this time is that it is very important to keep your hands clean, not touch your face, and be aware of what you put into your body.

Per sonal: Finding out that virtual school is going to continue until the end of the year made me realize that I was not going to see my school campus until late August. It also made me remember that I could not see my friends and family for a while, if things don't get better soon. When will be the next time I am on a plane traveling to different places? When can I visit my family? As of now all of us have to stay at home and hope for the best in everything.

My family and I have always wanted to go camping, so we tried to be creative and camp outside in our garden. We spent the day building a tent and making it cozy inside. Me and my little brother hung up flashlights and put cushions and

blankets inside. As it got later in the day we made a bonfire and ate dinner outside. After watching a movie in the tent I decided to make a challenge. No one was allowed to go inside the house and we had to spend the whole night in the tent. I know I was the one who suggested the challenge, but I just could not take the heat in the tent. So I quickly snuck into the house and slept in my comfortable bed. My mom followed me. When I was sleeping I felt so bad for my family who was still sleeping in the tent probably suffering from the heat and actually making it through the challenge. Spending days on quarantine doing creative and fun activities really makes a difference.

Parent: Matthew Storm feels he is blessed in this very difficult situation - blessed to be in quarantine with people that he loves, not cooped up in an apartment in some big city, but in a home. Mr. Storm is grateful to spend this unsettling time with the ones he loves in the beautiful paradise of Miami Beach.

"Personally I have been seeing a lot of silver linings in being cooped up for the last month,? said Mr. Storm. ?I think it is affecting everyone a little bit differently. I am starting to get a little worried about the day that they tell me I can leave, because I don't think I want to, and if you talk to my kids I think they are really missing their friends and dying to get out, especially my son.

Mr. Storm thinks everyone has been affected just a little bit differently, but he thinks that everyone has been appreciating going a little bit slower and spending more quality time, paying attention to

Maya Tafur Martinez Per sonal: Throughout this entire duration of being stuck in quarantine, I have found myself being more proactive than I was before. Before, it was only a basic routine of getting up, getting ready, attending school, staying after school, going home, taking a shower, eating dinner, doing homework, sleeping... and repeat. Of course, it was different on weekends, but did we really have the time within two days to have fun, relax, and be proactive? Not really. Now, I finally feel that I have the option to take time for myself and learn new skills that I didn?t have the time to learn before.

I have really gotten into cooking now since I finally have the time to do so. My family has always loved cooking together, and the idea of being together and preparing a delicious meal. My grandma, as my mom tells me, was an amazing cook and even wrote recipes of her own. My mom, when she was a child, used to tell me how she, her siblings, and friends would always live for my grandma?s food, and everyone always fought for the last piece of the dish.

What got me interested in cooking despite the fact that we love doing it as a family, is the feeling of accomplishment after you actually make the meal. I also love seeing the happy faces of my loved ones when they take the first bite of the food that you worked hard to make. It?s a nice warm feeling just like the one you get when you make the

Thanksgiving feast with your family.

Once everything goes back to normal, I think that for sure I will keep cooking, but I just won?t have enough time to do it as frequently as I would like.

Student: One student in the eighth grade, Francesca Piffaretti, is one of the many peers and classmates amongst the middle school who had a lot to say about their experiences in quarantine. ?I find myself more proactive because I have more time to work on my new activities and really put a lot of thought into it and have a lot of patience,? said Francesca. ?I recently learned how to make fresh pasta and a homemade sauce to go with it. I never was able to do that since I never have time.?

She never really cooked or baked before, but now that she must find an activity to do, she always sees herself in the kitchen ready to make a scrumptious good with delight. ?My family has always been big on cooking and baking; to us, food is not just meals 3 times a day,? she said. ?Now that I have so much free time, my family can pass me the torch. I like baking and cooking because it makes my family happy that I?m doing something, and it also gives us a delicious reward!?

When things get back to normal, she thinks that she won?t bake as much, but will bake once in a while to keep that skill refined.

Parent: Keli Piffaretti, mother of eighth grader Francesca,

each other, as opposed to running to work, running to activities, running here, running there. Mr. Storm feels that there should be less running and more talking and listening, and he hopes people can hang on to that once we get let out of our homes.

"A lot of the stuff that you do in normal times and a lot of things you think you need and want are just not that important,? said Mr. Storm. ?Despite the fact that you think as a grown-up you get it and you know what's important it's really easy to forget it.

And there is like only two or three things in life that really matter and everything else is superfluous."

COVID-19 has helped Mr. Storm refocus on those few things that really matter. Mr. Storm is grateful for his immediate family, his small group of friends and health.

Teacher : Coach Ochiel Swaby was impacted by COVID-19 in a few ways. "The first thing is that I am able to get some rest for the first time in 16 years,? said Coach O. ?I also started working out again due to the boredom. YouTube has a ton of workout videos and I have lots of time to do them."

Quarantine has changed Coach O and his family's lifestyle. Coach O and his family have to now isolate themselves in order to stay safe. Netflix and YouTube have also become very popular in Coach O's household.

The adjustment to virtual teaching is not easy for Coach O. "Keeping track of the students' effort and behavior is not as easy as in person either,? said Coach O. ?There are tons of resources online in terms of coaching. I just need to find the right videos."

What Coach O has learned from the situation is that things in life can change at any moment and you have to be ready for anything. You have to be adaptable. is having her own challenges and successess as a parent going through quarantine.

Mrs. Piffaretti states that she finds herself being more proactive now, and she has unleashed her creative side and ordered some new things to work on.

What Mrs. Piffaretti does to keep herself busy is to order paint-by-numbers. She loves doing them and how they keep her very focused and productive.

She got interested in the idea of getting the paint-by-numbers because she wanted to do something fun and artsy that would keep her busy.

Another activity she does is bake with Francesca. ?We didn?t have bread, so we made some ourselves, and the paint by numbers popped up on Instagram.?

Lastly, she stated that she will keep up doing the new activities that she has fondly enjoy doing now.

Teacher: Mrs. Pekoc, a middle school science teacher, is finding things to do during quarantine.

She stated, ?I find myself extending activities that I currently enjoy and also trying new activities that present themselves because I like to have a schedule and I like to see progress.?

Mrs. Pekoc explained that she is now using her time to learn more about one of her interests: technology. She also is spending time or staying in touch with family and loved ones. Finally, she is also reading books for her own personal liking. ?These are all activities that I have always enjoyed and now I have more time to do them.?

Mrs. Pekoc ends talking about her experiences by stating that she will sadly not continue her new activities when things go back to ?normal.?