In The Meantime 8th Edition

INSIDE 6th Grade Trip

ISSUE 8

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.

Lucas Bacardi Shriftman Per sonal: With summer coming up, the beaches, hotels, and pools are opening back up.

Florida is really starting to come back to normal without a vaccine. More and more people are getting the virus because they had to open up hair salons and restaurants.

Now with Miami opening up the beach after what happened in the beaches in Jacksonville, it is really going to make the economy weaker and not stronger.

I think that they will have to close everything back up again and put another stay at home order. The economy will drop exponentially and for a longer period of time.

Teacher : Karen Davis, the

middle school broadcasting teacher, has found out a lot about herself. She said, "I have let out a lot of my goofy side on Zoom." She also said she speaks very loud on Zoom.

At first, Ms. Davis thought she was going to love cooking three meals a day, but now that she has been doing it for quite sometime now, she thinks it's really boring.

Something that surprised Ms. Davis is physically walking into her class and greeting her students.

She has also missed teaching in a classroom not on a computer.

Student: Diego Leyva, a sixth grader at Miami Country Day, says even though there is less school there is a lot more homework. "The homework has gone down a lot this last week of school," said Diego.

Daniella Arango Student: Asher Evans, a 6th grader at MCDS, can't wait to go to school. As much as he misses his school campus and going back to school with his friends, he is ready to take a break from quizzes, tests, and homework.

Overall, virtual school has been a bit difficult for Page 12 that it is very hard to Asher because he feels concentrate. Asher thinks it is much harder to concentrate in his classes while he is in his room because there are a lot of distractions there.

Asher said, "Quarantine has been affecting me on a daily basis because I usually leave the house first thing and don't come back until I eat dinner. I come back home late because I'm usually outside of the house all day and doing activities."

Something new that Asher has been doing for himself is cooking chicken nuggets which he did not used to do before. He is also playing card games with his family called gin. Asher also loves sleeping in more on the week days since online school starts a little bit later than usual.

Asher hopes that everyone will be more cautious now about what we are touching and always remember to wash your hands.

Per sonal: School is almost done and I can not wait for summer to start. I did not expect for my first year in middle school to turn out the way it did, but I am

very

surprised that I made it this far. This year has also gone by really fast for me even though the whole online school started, it still felt fast.

This entire week there has been some really weird weather and most of the time it has been rainy.

Rainy days always make me feel warm, cozy, and it also makes me crave a good movie. So that's what I have been doing, watching movies, eating snacks, and sadly homework but that has to be done.

Hopefully soon I will be able to go out in public not just to the grocery store but to buy shoes, clothes, accessories, and things like that. Obviously still protected with a mask and gloves because I am still slightly terrified of touching things even with gloves!

Recently I saw hail for the first time in my life and it was super awesome because I never would have thought that balls of ice would start raining in Miami. When I went outside to see the little balls of ice that were no bigger than a ping pong ball, it felt so weird because I was watching ice fall on a hot day.

I can't wait for summer to start and have a fresh start for seventh grade.

Teacher : Alexis Boutin, a lower school teacher at MCDS, feels quarantine has been going ok for her but she still really wants to get out of her apartment to go see her friends, family, and to also go out and eat in

Diego added, "Now I have been able to play a lot more video games."

He has been playing Overwatch and Fortnite.

It has also been a great way for Diego to communicate with his friends. Diego has been really happy over the past few weeks because the tennis courts have opened and he has been able to play.

Parent: Christina Ben Shmuel, parent of Alexander Ben Shumel said, she has been homeschooling, taking care of her baby, and spending a lot more time with her family which she says is one of the best things about the quarantine for her.

Ms. Ben Shmuel and her family are going on long walks and swims together. A struggle she had was finding time between self time and family time.

Everyday she is making time for herself to just relax.

a restaurant like before.

"Covid-19 has obviously made us all go to online learning and it's made me stay inside my apartment a lot which is different,? said Ms. Boutin said. ?It also has really affected my parents. My mom is a flight attendant for Southwest, and not a lot of people are flying anymore so my mom has been worried about getting laid off but thankfully that hasn't happened. ?

Ms. Boutin added, "Where my dad lives, they put a lock down on people 65 and older so my dad could not leave his house, which is the best for him but he was also going crazy of having to be locked in his house.?

Something that Ms. Boutin has been doing lately is going on workout classes that are on Zoom, and she has been taking a lot of walks too. She also has been reading a lot of her favorite books like Memwars and non-fiction novels.

Ms. Boutin thinks that she has adjusted ok to virtual school. She likes being at home, waking up, having her coffee, and getting her little routine going. Where it gets hard for Ms. Boutin is the Zoom fatigue because she gets extremely tired after teaching only for three hours.

It is also hard for Ms. Boutin because she can't interact with her students and see them. "At some point they all have to be muted which is hard to get that interaction and I just feel like I'm talking to myself at times so that's been hard," said Ms. Boutin.

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Arango continued from page 1 Ms. Boutin thinks that we should have all learned from this and be more cautious, think about how we are impacting not only ourselves but other people, also the environment, and what we can do to take care of each other. Ms. Boutin has also been reaching out to people during this time and strengthening those relationships with her friends and family.

Parent: Santiago Orjuela, the father of Matias Orjuela Garcia, said that COVID-19 has impacted his life in several ways.

"First of all I have been able to spend more time with my family, which is always good,? he said.

?It has made me more conscious of the little things in life like being able to get a haircut. It has made me more aware of the personal relationships that we have. It has made me aware that we live in a very fragile world and that everything is very connected."

Mr. Orjuela added, "It has also impacted me financially in the sense that some of my companies have been closed or were closed for a couple of months, so it's been kind of a disruptive time that has changed a lot of things in our lives, some for good so not that good."

Since mostly everyone is under quarantine, people have to find ways to not leave the house as much.

Because of one of Mr. Orjuela's companies, he has had to be outside a lot, visiting some stores, and taking care of that company.

Maya Tafur Martinez Per sonal: As summer is right at the corner, all I can think about is how I am going to miss attending my old summer camps and activities I used to do.

Every summer, I would always attend a summer camp for tennis and it is probably one of the activities I remember always doing during the summer since I was a little girl. I also had sleepovers with my friends all the time or went to each other?s houses to watch a movie and have a spa day.

I also miss being able to feel the warm summer heat as I swim in my pool or relax at the beach.

The plans I had for the summer were basically the same as the ones mentioned before and spend time with family as well. Especially the ones out of the country. Now that we are all stuck in quarantine, all of that will not happen any time soon.

Basically, for the summer, my new plans will probably be the same as the ones I do right now and that?s just staying at home and doing any hobbies of mine that are doable indoors.

Many of us, like me, love shopping or buying little things to enjoy. But, as quarantine remains, I have learned the major difference between what I want and what I need.

An example can be collecting art. As much as I love having beautiful paintings at my home, it?s not a necessity to live like food or water.

Student: Eighth-grader, Leyla Fernandez, had a lot to say about how quarantine affected her summer.

Many people had their hopes up thinking that by now or possibly by the beginning of summer, everything will go back to normal and this global pandemic will remain history. None of that has actually occurred and has not become a reality yet.

Multiple families have now been struggling with the issue of what their summer plans will be now.

Some might continue with their plans with the economy opening up again or some might just remain at home with their family/loved ones and continue to order all their necessities online. ?This summer I had plans to spend most of my time at my sleep away camp,? stated Leyla. ?I have been going there since I was seven years old.?

Since the pandemic, the camp was forced to shut down for the moment and now Leyla is no longer

going to be able to attend camp and

spend time with her friends there. ?Some other plans that I had for the summer were to hang out with my friends as much as I can since some of my friends are leaving for other schools.?

With her summer camp canceled, she now plans on seeing her friends as much as possible without going to public areas that cause the risk of getting the virus.

Throughout the quarantine, many have realized what they really need to live compared to what they want that might not be really necessary to survive but rather just enjoy. ?I have noticed a difference in the things that I want and I need. I know that I need to stay home to make sure I am not exposed or possibly exposing others to the virus but I want to go back to how it used to be and be able to go to the beach and the park and other places?

Parent: Lysandra Gibreal, mother of eighth-grader Leyla Fernandez, had her concerns about how she and her family?s summer will be.

Ms. Gibreal stated that her original plan for the summer was going to take a trip to Europe for her 40th birthday in June. She will no longer be able to go to Europe due to the risk of traveling, going to an airport, and just overall doing activities where other people can possibly expose her to the virus. ?I am planning on spending time with my family and friends in small groups. This is quite different from my original summer plans because I was going to spend time with my family and friends but I was going to see them all together at once, which I can?t do this year.?

Ms. Gibreal will still see her family and friends, but just in small groups to minimize the hances of being exposed to anyone else. It is quite distinct from what she had planned from the start since she would have liked to be with everyone at once.

Lastly, what she has noticed from the difference between what she wants and what she needs are the little errands that people do just for the sake of getting something not necessary. Running around doing errands to get something that wasn?t even what you needed to get in the first place.

Teacher : Ms. Bruno, the COEP teacher, had her thoughts on how COEP and the students can be affected by the pandemic.

As a teacher, Ms. Bruno had many anticipations and ideas on how to make COEP an activity to do

Mr. Orjuela feels that his family hasn't been affected that much since he does not have any more family here in Miami but he definitely misses his friends a lot. So far, quarantine has been going ok for Mr. Orjuela and his family.

Mr. Orjuela has learned quite a bit from this situation. He said, "I learned that we live in a very interconnected world and that there's no borders or boundaries anymore. I've learned that we need to take care of each other and not just ourselves, and I've learned that life is short and that it can end very fast and we should enjoy each moment as much as we can."

Mr. Orjuela has been doing exercise courses with his son, Matias. Mr. Orjuela has also been working a lot, too, but most of all just spending time with his family which he loves to do.

during the summer for MCDS students and other people. She also had a COEP trip for the students who signed up to go to her elective?s trip to Hawaii. Due to the pandemic, all of those plans had to sadly come to an end.

Besides her elective?s trip to Hawaii, she also had many other activities that are not school-related. ?I had a cruise I was planning with my family to go to Alaska,? said Ms. Bruno. ?I also had a couple of trips to go to Disney with my nieces.?

Since all those activities were canceled to not risk any of her family?s health nor her own, she has made some new plans for the summer. ?I would like to do activities with my nieces such as family plans, I will also be working with stuff for COEP now, and I will be taking online courses for teachers.?

Ms. Bruno said that the difference between what is necessary compared to what is just wanted can be shopping. She mentioned how things such as cleaning supplies are now scarce and are needed especially during these times. Shopping is something that is enjoyed, for example, when buying a new pair of sunglasses or for her case, new camping supplies, but is not something needed but rather wanted.

Teacher : Mr. Batcheller, the STEM middle school teacher, had his predictions and hopes for the quarantine. ?I cannot say that I have a great idea as to when all of this will end,? he said. ?It has been an ever-changing situation.?

Mr. Bacheller did not have any guess or estimate of when the quarantine will end. He did state that when the time comes when the quarantine is uplifted, he hopes that when businesses start opening up again that people still maintain social-distancing in order to continue to keep everyone safe and prevent the spread from getting the virus.

Mr. Batcheller stated that the activities we would like to get back to are the ones that he took for granted such as going to the beach. He also stated that he would love to spend time with friends and family again. ?Unfortunately, we missed what is in my opinion the best month for the beach, April. Aside from that I would love to just get together with friends and family again.?

Finally, as for the future, Mr. Bactheller hopes that students and teachers will get back to school in person, ?I believe the face to face interactions between student and teacher as well as student and student is crucial and very missed as I am sure you would attest to.?

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Broghan Muhlig Per sonal: In this time of isolation, it is getting harder to remember the beauty and charm inside our world. All we can think about is the chaos, the fighting, and the negativity. I too have started to feel this way. This is why I have used the time in quarantine to explore another world, the world of Animal Crossing.

As of March 20th of this year, Nintendo released ?Animal Crossing: New Horizons? for the Nintendo switch. The game takes place on your own personal deserted island. You start off with 2 villagers, Tom Nook, his 2 nephews, a tent, and a provided NookPhone. Though it sounds like a lot, it really is not a lot at all. As you continue through the game, creating items through DIY recipes and by shaping your island and your home in the way you want, the island starts to feel less deserted.

The further you get into the game, the more and more things there are for you to do. My favorite part would have to be collecting the bugs, fish, and fossils.

In every Animal Crossing game, there is a museum ran by Blathers the owl.

Every month, different types of bugs and fish show up around your island and some will disappear. There are over 80 different types of bugs and fish to collect. Each creature shows up during a particular season or month, and some you can only catch at a particular time period. It is so much fun trying to catch these critters and every month I make a list for what I need to get and how.

Collecting fossils, on the other hand, are much different. Every day, you can collect around 5 fossils, which when assessed gives you a random fossil. There are 74 different types of fossils, and 30 total species to complete. The thing that differentiates fossils from the bugs and fish is that they do not only appear on a specific month or season. Needless to say, I love collecting all the things for the museum, and one day I dream of completing it.

The game looks beautiful and all the characters and the animations have such a cute charm to it. The friendly dialogue, the beautiful scenery, even the littlest details like trees shaking in the wind, it all creates such a heartwarming environment that you just feel sucked in.

Whenever I play, I feel as if I am connected to my island. I formed this island. I made it how it is. It is my creation. It?s nice to feel as if you have control over something in these times. Playing Animal Crossing has been one of my favorite experiences in the quarantine, and I?m so glad it came out when it did.

Per sonal: On Sunday, May 3rd, I had my birthday. I don?t usually do anything crazy on my birthday, I usually just get like 2 or 3 friends to have a sleepover.

I think it's really awkward when people just come up to you and say ?Hey man, happy birthday!? because all you really can say is ?thank you?. The sudden increase in attention is unusual and it gets more awkward to respond to a person with the same thing.

I mean, getting attention is always nice, but I also think it's kinda strange that on one day you suddenly become more ?important? and now people talk to you. It seems ungenuine and it feels like people say happy birthday because they are already talking to you.

But when people go out of their way to say happy birthday, it feels really nice.

That?s one reason why I like happy birthday messages (not calls). No one has

to message you ?happy birthday: and no one feels awkward for not doing so.

When people DM you saying ?hey happy birthday?, they mean happy birthday and not just some random thing you say on a birthday.

I also like birthday messages because you can plan out what you wanna say.

Instead of just saying ?thanks?, you can say something that lets the person know you appreciated it, making them happy. Everyone is happy on the birthday and no one gets stressed or worried about not saying something to someone.

Birthday calls on the other hand on are REALLY strange. If you don?t know what to reply with or they say something that you couldn?t understand, the air gets really tense. That?s because the silence you get while sitting on your chair alone or replying to someone?s thoughtful remark with ?I can?t hear you? is really embarrassing.

The quarantine didn?t really change my birthday too much because I am obviously going to see friends once the quarantine is over and there was nothing I was really looking forward to doing on my birthday. I still had my family and friends which is all I needed. But it still is nice to get gifts and an ice cream cake.

Per sonal: Recently I have been teaching myself how to play Solitaire on the computer.

Whenever I want to take a break from homework, I usually play a couple of rounds of Solitaire. After playing many many rounds and trying different ideas, I understand what I am supposed to do and I have won plenty of times.

After I got bored with normal Solitaire, I then challenged myself by trying to learn Spider Solitaire. Much like the last time I tried to play solitaire, I learned and learned and now I know how to win. I have been playing a lot of these types of brain games online and it brings me joy whenever I am bored. It keeps my brain workings and they are games that are hard to get distracted by. I can not wait till this school year is over so that I can play more of these card games with my friends.

Mr. Rick Muhlig Teacher : Fredrick Muhlig, a high school math teacher in MCDS, has done his job to stay safe from the virus. He has stayed home. He tried not to leave his house unless necessary. He has washed his hands frequently and not let other people in his home. During his time of quarantine, he has had the time to pick back up his hobby of fishing and he has also biked around his neighborhood more. He has also taken the time to watch new shows on Netflix. As a teacher, the change to online school has much importance to him. ?I definitely think there are fewer distractions from the students?point of view because they are not in a classroom setting and there are no Mr. Chris Hayes other people in there to take their attention away from the teacher.?

Teacher : Christopher Hayes is a middle school social studies teacher who has been doing all that he can to make his class fun. He says that he truly misses being around his fellow teachers and his students. ?I?m missing being the energy of being around everybody.?

Even though he can not physically be in the same place as his students, he has found other methods to make his class enjoyable. One of the things he has been doing has been creating word clouds for all his classes. A word cloud is a picture of one big word and many other smaller words around it which usually have some correlation to the big word. His word clouds have information, topics, or examples he talks about in his social studies class.

Another thing Mr. Hayes has been doing has been creating raps. ?I?ve been making, twice a week, raps for all my classes,? he said. So far, he has made 5 or 6 total raps.

One of the raps Mr. Hayes has created, he calls OMH (Oh My Hayes).

It goes like this: ?Rub a dub dub Welcome to the club My rhymes are a blaze OH MY HAYES Work hard in my class I hope you PASS Let?s keep going As my Rhymes are flowing I hope your heads don?t spin So let?s begin?

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M uhlig continued from page 3

Teacher :

Ms. Leon

Laura Carla Leon Pino is a Spanish teacher for the MCDS middle school students. While she said that teaching online has not really been that much of a struggle for her class, there are some other big changes about moving to online that she has noticed.

One of these big changes Sra. Leon talks about would be how she no longer sees all of her classes every day. ?I think it?s easier for the students and us (teachers) to have that connection every day because many things can be lost when we are not seeing each other every day.?

With regards to Sra. Leon?s experience in quarantine, she said, ?I haven?t been completely in quarantine.? She says that she feels this way because she has often gone outside to take walks and get some fresh air. The only big difference that she has noticed that has happened because of the virus was that restaurants and stores and many public places have been shut down and shut off from usage.

One place that has been shut off from public usage that Sra. Leon misses most is the beach. The reason why she misses the beach so much mostly comes from her love and the special connection that she has had with the beach ever since she was young.

She said that she used to live right on the coast of Peru, in Lima. ?I grew up ever since I was little smelling the ocean breeze.?

daughter and her husband. Even though she can not hang out with her friends right now, she has made sure to keep in contact with them through Zoom and FaceTime. Even though we are in quarantine, Mrs. Cataldi has obviously been very active and has done lots of things.

he really misses being able to go see his friends, hang out with them, and play games at their house.

He says that staying in contact with people is the most important thing do to during the quarantine because if you don?t, you can easily lose yourself from being inside for too long.

Parent:

Student:

Marcelo Tangioni, the father of 8th grader Isabela Gabrielli Tangioni and 10th grader Gabriela Tangioni, believes that the most important thing to do during a time like this quarantine is to stay healthy, both mentally and physically. ?Take care of yourself, take care of your friends, take care of your family.?

Isabela Gabrielli Tangioni is an 8th grader who seems passionate about how the recent influx of assignments and the increase of daily workload has been affecting her. ?I?ve been a lot more occupied with homework and studying because it?s, like, actually overwhelming,?

Because of all the time Mr. Tangioni has on his hands now, he has been able to spend more time doing his hobby. ?I love music,? he says. ?I?ve been listening to a lot of music, I?ve been playing, also I have been taking classes, video classes, because I am a bit rusty.?

Mr. Tangioni has also spent a lot of time doing more things with his family. They have started baking together and also they have started watching movies together more often. ?Usually we watch movies from the ?80s, from the ?90s, things that I watched at their age,? he said. ?So now they are having the opportunity to watch movies that I watched back then.?

Parent: Gabriela Contreras is the parent of 8th grader Andrea Bravo-Contreas and 10th grader Isabel Bravo-Contreras. Every day, Mrs. Contreras does meditation. ?I meditate because it sort of grounds me, it gives me center,? she said. ?It keeps me calm sometimes or when I?m angry or anxious or sad, it gives me perspective.?

Sra. Leon also said that doing things like walking down the beach and swimming in the ocean, feeling the waves crash against your back to then return to where it once came by roll down your skin, they just make you feel good inside and it relaxes you while also making you feel happy. ?I think we are made for the elements and water is one of them.?

Other than meditating, she makes sure to swim for at least 20 minutes in her new pool every day. Her family had recently moved houses and their new house has its own pool, which was something their last house did not have. She has been using her new pool as her safe main source of exercise, her other source would be actually moving furniture or other indoor preparations/activities.

?This has been an experience for I think all of us to realize that we need to live every second in the fullest that we can, not to be concerned about your past nor your future because what we actually have is right now,? said Sra. Leon. ?The quarantine helped me to realize that and get more into that way of thinking because from one day to the next, all of our lives and our future plans were completely crashed over. So, Just start living day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute.?

She says that she doesn?t want to go outside around their neighborhood because she does not want to risk catching the virus from someone.

Parent: Lisa McCarthy, the parent of 8th-grader Miles McCarthy, says that the thing she has been limited from doing is going to the gym. She says that going to the gym is very important to her and she is frustrated that she can no longer go.

Even though she hasn?t been able to go to the gym, there are a lot of other things she has been doing.

She said she?s been ?riding bikes, doing yoga, and playing out in the yard baseball and such with Miles, my son.?

Her favorite thing during the quarantine, she says, has been being able to make breakfast for Miles and eating it with him every day.

Parent: Anna Cataldi, mother of 7th grader Sofia Cataldi, has spent her time in quarantine doing many things.

She has been reading many books and she has also made sure to get lots of exercises. She says that she makes sure to exercise two times every single day.

She has been spending a lot of time with her

Student: Renzo Carbonell, an 8th-grade student, says he has taken the time to try and get more sleep, something he says he definitely needed. He also has spent the time playing games such Renzo Carbonell as ?DOOM Eternal? and ?Rainbow Six Seige? in his free time along with talking to friends. He is still disappointed because his parents won?t let his bike ride. ?I bike a lot but I feel they are overreacting because they won?t let me go outside at all.?

Student: Miles McCarthy is an 8th-grade student who goes to Miami Country Day. Miles McCarthy During the quarantine, he has been playing a lot of video games. He has been playing Call of duty, Left for Dead 2, and Minecraft. Along with playing these games, he has spent a lot of time talking with friends. Miles says that

Isa said that the workload overwhelms her because there are a lot of things being assigned from all her classes. She believes this comes from an issue of communication between students and teachers. ?I?m going to assume there is a lack of communication because I do not think the teachers understand the amount of homework going to students and its kind of Isabela Gabrielli stressing me out.?

Tangioni

She also said that she thinks that teachers and students should talk more often to try and figure out a medium or something that works for both parties.

There are other things Isa had been doing besides schoolwork, of course.?I?ve been playing games a lot,? She said. ?Animal crossing a lot, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild quite a bit? ? She also says she has played a lot with her dog recently, because of all time she has to be able to.

Student: Andrea Bravo-Contreas is an 8th-grade student at MCDS. She has been doing many things to keep her entertained a lot of her time in quarantine. ?I?ve been playing video games, I?ve been reading a lot, and I learned how to play the ukelele.?

The games she has been playing she says are Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Hollow Night. The books she says she has read was Romeo and Juliet, Pet Cemetary, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

A few of the songs she learned how to play include Country Roads, Wonderwall, Riptide, Somewhere over the Rainbow, and more.

As a student, Andrea?s day is directly impacted by the online school and the amount of school work assigned. She said that she doesn?t totally blame the teachers, but she believes that most of them do not know how to teach school online or at least do not know how to do it well. She says that one reason why she Andrea doesn?t put all the blame Bravo-Contreras on the teachers is that they were only given like 2 practices before being set off alone.

Andrea also said that a side effect of the teachers not knowing how to teach online well, is that she finds it very hard to focus and she often finds herself zoning out. One other problem Andrea particularly dislikes is the amount of homework, or rather, the total amount of homework in one short timeframe. ?I don?t like how we have one week with no work and then the next week, every single day we have a bunch of work due.?

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David Bejar Per sonal: After another week of quarantine I have seen a lot of changes. More things are opening up, camps are closing, and parents are being more lenient with their kids hanging out.

All of these things are having a big impact on me.

My camp partially closed but I decided not to go this year. I was really looking forward to camp this year. But I decided not to go because I really didn?t think it was safe to go into a contained place with people from all around the country.

Despite things opening up I really haven?t gone anywhere at all. Once I heard that things were opening up again I thought that quarantine had ended. I also thought we could go back outside and go to places like the mall or restaurants. But I quickly learned that wasn?t happening.

Lastly, my week has been filled with me trying to convince my parents to let me go to my friend?s house. I thought that they would say ?yes? quickly because I saw how many other kids were going out, but that wasn?t the case.

On Friday I was able to go to my friend?s house for the first time. One thing I wasn?t expecting was that I would only be outside. At first we had played basketball for like two hours. I hadn?t played basketball with anyone since the quarantine had started so that was refreshing. But shortly after my Mom said she was on the way to pick me up.

Teacher : Mr. Yann Abily, a middle school French teacher, said that he has been trying to stay up to date as a teacher. He?s been trying to help his four kids in any way he can. He?s also been trying to grow professionally, paint, garden, and play classical guitar.

Mr. Abily is a great artist. He said ?I went to school to become a professional artist/painter,? he said. ?I was in the professional art circuit for a

couple of years.?

He?s also been trying to gain a new inventory. He?s added 5 or 6 new pieces. Mr. Abily is also getting ready for an exhibit. Painting runs in Mr. Abily?s family, starting with grandfather who was always into art. It then got passed down to Mr. Abily?s father and uncle. His uncle was the professional painter and his Dad was also an amateur painter.

Mr. Abily?s parents had put him into an art academy when he was 12 years old. He got his first easel and first canvas when he was thirteen years old and since then he never stopped painting. When he turned 18 he went to a college in France for painting. While he was in college he was also becoming certified to become a teacher. When he was 23 he won an award for best 10 promising artists under 30 years old.

He added that he absolutely loves gardening and now that he has more time he has been growing his garden.

Mr. Abily hadn?t played the classical guitar for fifteen years, but during quarantine he has picked it up again saying he has been going over some old classical pieces that he hasn?t played in a very long time.

For Mr. Abily teaching over quarantine has been very different. He added that his main concern is to have everybody engaged, because students could be doing things like watching videos or playing video games instead of paying attention.

As a parent he has been really trying to help his two younger kids. He said that because in the beginning of quarantine their teachers were having a hard time with work balance so he helped them through that.

He has two brothers and one sister in France. His younger brother and his wife contracted COVID-19 along with his sister. They both had a really bad case of the virus. His sister had even gone to the hospital. He has been keeping in touch with his Technology teacher Ms. Hongyi Xue thinks that it was tough in the beginning to adjust to online school.

She has 2 kids which made it tough sometimes. One is 8 and one is 2. It is especially hard for her with her 2 year old.

Alex Pool Per sonal: I am really hoping that things will get better and open up soon since the end of school is next week. I felt like school gave me a schedule that I got used to. But I am still excited for summer.

School went by so fast, and I really wanted a graduation.

I started to rewatch shows. I have continued with All American, which I really like. I have been talking a lot to friends recently as well.

In my free time I have baked muffins, tye dyed some shirts, and watched movies/shows. Since it was a rainy weekend, my family and I stayed in and watched movies and shows. For example, the office.

It seems it has been raining a lot more which I don't like. I am trying to enjoy the sun when it's out! I will go on walks, swim, and sit outside when I can.

Ms. Hongyi Xue

This summer, I was supposed to visit my family, which I hope I can still do. I was also supposed to spend the summer in Boston, but now I don't know if I can anymore.

Teacher :

Her 2 year old needs the most attention when she is awake. So they came up with a schedule to take care of her. When she is teaching, her husband watches her. When she isn't teaching, she will watch her. There are conflicts when her husband is working and she is teaching. Sometimes, she has to bring her to class. Her students like to see her. But over time her daughter learned to like playing alone too.

After a while, she adjusted to her schedule with family and school. In Ms. Xue's free time, she will bring her kids to a nearby park if they are awake.

When they go to sleep, she enjoys reading. She likes reading teaching and parenting books. She also has read some novels.

She really misses her students and seeing them.

She really misses working with them closeby. She didn't realize how much she would miss having school lunch. Now she has to cook everyday. She misses how she can just grab food instead of having to always prepare it.

Student: Fourth grader Lola Shapiro is excited for summer to start again. It was a hard adjustment to online school but was able to get used to it. She says, ?I miss my friends. It isn't the same over zoom.?

Even though she is excited for summer to come,

parents so he could see how they are feeling. But everyone out of his family that got it are fine now.

One thing he was very thankful about was that there is Zoom and social media so he could stay in touch with his family.

Mr. Abily has been cooking some traditional French dishes, and his wife is Dominican so they have been also cooking some Caribbean food.

Lastly Mr. Abily had to cancel his trip to France because of COVID-19. If he were to go to France he would have to self quarantine for two weeks. He and his family might take a trip across the United States if the virus is somewhat contained.

Parent: Mrs. Michelle Maloy, mother of 7th grader Rachel Maloy, said ?My family and I are thinking about driving to Colorado or North Carolina.?

Mrs. Maloy and her family have been doing many different activities over quarantine such as watching movies, playing board games like monopoly, playing badminton, going swimming, and going on the boat.

Mrs. Maloy also added that they started playing badminton over quarantine.

Lastly Mrs. Maloy?s thoughts about online school are quite positive saying, ?It is so amazing that teachers could start school again so quickly and efficiently.?

Student: Seventh grader Oscar Bergier has been playing a lot of video games such as Fortnite with his friends and watching YouTube over quarantine.

When asked about if he?s picked something new up over quarantine, Oscar said that he has started swimming again. He has been swimming since he was two years old. He said he enjoys swimming because it makes him feel relaxed.

Lastly Oscar said he goes to camp every year and is very thankful that his camp didn?t get canceled.

her sleepaway camp was canceled which she was really excited for. Now, she will go to a day camp.

In her free time, she likes to watch Riverdale, play roblox, and watch movies. She says that she is excited to try new things during summer.

Lastly, she adds that online school was hard since there was more independent work. She likes to be in a classroom.

Parent: For Gregory Pool, father of eight grader Alex, it has been hard for him to not see people. But he has gotten better at technology to communicate and use.

He has been impressed with how organized online school has been at MCDS and how quick they were able to adapt to all the new changes.

In his free time, he has gone on long walks, watching new shows and movies, and reading.

He really misses going out to eat with his family, seeing friends, traveling. The first thing he wants to do when he leaves quarantine is good out to dinner.

He loves sushi and that would be the first place he wants to go.

Page 6

Angelina Belin Head of School: Mrs. Mariandl Hufford, the president and head of school at Miami Country Day School, said, "I think and hope that we will all be able to go back to Country Day next year, but we are also planning for the worst, just in case the government tells us we are not allowed to go to the campus at the beginning of next school year."

Coronavirus might affect the beginning of the next school year. Miami Country Day hopes that next year will be a regular school year with some changes due to corona. But they are also planning just in case we have to go to school with masks or have online school again, which hopefully won't happen.

Mrs. Hufford said,"When I was saying goodbye to everyone on the last Friday that we had together, everyone including myself thought it was only going to be only a few weeks but then it turned into a month, then into two months."

It was a huge surprise for everyone at Miami Country Ms. Mariandl Hufford Day that everyone would be in quarantine for a few months. It was a huge change for everyone, even the teachers to switch from seeing each other in person to seeing each other virtually.

Mrs. Hufford said,"I have been trying to take care of myself by doing workouts every morning, because I think it is important for everyone to take care of themselves during this time."

During this time we are all in stress and have to

take care of ourselves. You can take care of yourself by doing things you like or working out. Hopefully this will end very soon and we can have a regular school year next year.

Per sonal: This school year has gone by so fast. By now, I would have thought there were still at least three more months of school left. This year was one of the best school years that I have ever had. (Mostly because it was the first year of middle school, and because I had a lot of freedom in the school) This summer we can't make any plans, but we are going to try and get to the Keys and rent a house there with my family. Before COVID-19 struck I was going to go to Switzerland alone like I did every year since I was five. My parents would drop me off at the airport and someone working there would take me to the plane and would do the same thing when I landed but instead they brought me to my grandparents. When I'm in Switzerland I would stay with my dad's side of the family for three weeks then go to my mom's side of the family that also lives in Switzerland for three weeks.

This year was going to be different because I would stay in Switzerland longer so I could go to a summer camp with my step cousin. I was really looking forward to going to Switzerland this year but Corona took it away from me. I hope that I will be able to do this next summer.

Even though I was going to go to Switzerland this year, now I have to take an online math class so I can go into advanced math next year. I am looking forward to that. I really hope the beginning of next year is not affected because of quarantine, but of course, there will be some changes that are mandatory because of corona.

Parent: Leopoldo Brauer, the father of sixth grader Melissa

Chloe Shapiro Per sonal:

easier,?well it really isn?t. It?s usually one meeting after the other, planning, and

grading schoolwork.?

There is one more week left of Mr. Mathes said he prefers going to school much school during the quarantine. To me, this more because, at home, you don?t school year went by extremely fast. I get the real school experience. Mr. remember showing up on the first day Mathes said, getting our locker combinations not ?There are also a couple of things knowing what we were doing. Next year I that we have found impactful will be in seventh grade and I will always online, some students who have remember that I spent almost half of my trouble focusing say it's much sixth-grade year in quarantine. I am easier to focus during online excited about the summer, although I school, and they are learning don?t think it will be very different from quarantine.

Mr. Steven Mathes quicker.?

Student: ?I am taking advantage of this time a lot by practicing the piano more, and spending more time with my family,? said sixth grader Charlotte Assali. ?I also have been getting Charlotte Assali lots of schoolwork done. I don?t mind having online school. I think it is much more relaxing, since I don?t have to wake up at six every day. But I do miss being in school, going to classes and being with my friends and really having the school experience.?

Director of M iddle School: Steve Mathes, Director of Middle School, said, ?When we went online I thought, ?this is gonna be

Mr. Mathes also said that he is very grateful that he has his job. ?Most of Americans are losing their jobs and I am very thankful I can still sustain my job,? he said.

He said that when quarantine is over he wants to travel, he?s not sure if he wants to get on a plane yet, but he said we will hop in his car and visit family and friends.

Parent: Melissa Netkin, mother of Marielle Netkin, a sixth-grader at Miami Country Day, said, ?I have

Brauer, said, ?This summer I was planning to go to Ecuador to visit my family but since Corona a lot of things have changed.?

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, and almost everyone?s plans have changed from the summer.

Something that has changed is that there are no international flights and no hotels.

Mr. Brauer said, "My family and I have been cleaning around the house.?

During all of this free time you could always clean around your Zoe Grondin house like a summer cleaning. It will help get you organized and will help you feel better.

Mr. Brauer said, "Hopefully this will end soon so everyone can go out and enjoy life."

Student: Zoe Grondin, a sixth grader at Miami Country Day school, said, "During the summer I will be visiting my grandparents that live nearby."

She believes that during COVID-19 it is important to be safe and not go anywhere too far so it doesn't spread. The only way to stop the spread is by staying in your city and making sure you follow the quarantine rules.

Zoe said, "I can?t believe school is done already and we are spending our last day of school on online school.?

It is a big surprise to people that the year is already over and that we will be saying goodbye to each other over virtual school, and maybe never even seeing them again. It is hard to imagine that we might not see some of the people ever again if they move or go to a different school and the last goodbye is virtually.

Zoe said, "Once this is over I can?t wait to see my friends and go outside.? been thinking about lots of positive things during this quarantine, I think that this has been an amazing time to spend with our families, and to reconnect.?

Melissa said that she likes to have control over her time, and in this situation, she hasn?t been able to, since she has been staying home.