Nina Stonitsch, sophomore: “I have been doing well with online school so far, I like the flexibility that I have with completing assignments on a daily basis, but I hope to get back to school soon and return to a normal schedule.”

Elena Nuñez, sophomore: “So far it’s been going pretty well because the workload has been manageable. Obviously the biggest challenge has been Haiku (PSL) not working and being slow, but the teachers have been helpful and flexible throughout the past two weeks. It’s not totally different from my expectations, this type of work hasn’t been surprising.”

Maddi Lopez, senior: “It’s confusing, especially because some of my teachers are trying to move on quickly. It’s different from what I expected because I thought we would actually get to learn things directly from teachers but we’re not doing that. It’s a very big transition and I think some teachers are giving us a lot more work than usual because they think we have more time but we don’t.”

Isabella Alvarez, freshman: “I think online school is cool because you can do your work whenever and wherever you want, but it’s definitely harder because if I’m having trouble with something, I can’t have my teacher explain it to me. Video chats aren’t as effective as having a teacher explain it to you in person.”

Joe Ortelere, sophomore: “Online school is good but I hate staying inside all day. It is definitely what I expected and I like how we have the whole day to do work. I haven’t had any challenges. It’s been pretty easy.”

John Oak, freshman: “Online school is great! I get to manage my time freely and spend more time on something if necessary. The only challenges are the slow servers on Haiku. They were pretty similar to my expectations.”

Anthony Nitopi, senior: “I think the transition could have been smoother for me, personally, since I wasn’t in school leading up to the school shutdown so it has been a little harder for me. But I think some teachers really handled it really well and others handed it differently.”

Sofia Cruz, junior: “It took me a while to get used to online school, but eventually I got the hang of it. Initially, I thought I would have less work than usual, but a lot of teachers assign a large amount of work. Most of the work is easy, but there’s a lot of it. It’s also harder to complete at home because I’m used to the bell schedule and managing all my work during my classes. Also, Haiku often goes down for long periods of time which affects when I do my work.”

Ciara Leddy, senior: “In an unprecedented time like this, I am glad to have such supportive teachers because it has made the transition from regular school to online really easy for me. Mr. Housley, Mrs. Barragato, and Mrs. Cole have been extremely understanding and flexible with their assignments. I am doing well in terms of grades but I really miss the social environment. I find myself procrastinating my assignments due to the amount of free time I have, and watching TikToks or Netflix shows until 2 or 3 in the morning. I feel like the entire teenage population is becoming nocturnal. Also, I find it really hard to stay productive and active. I am someone who loves to work out and stay fit but I have found it hard to even get myself out of my pajamas.”

Brooke Drucker, freshman: “For me, learning behind a screen was difficult at first, however, teachers have made a huge effort into making online schooling easier and more manageable. I hope everyone stays safe and we are all in this together! Go Knights!”

Ms. Jennifer Dee, English teacher: “I’m trying to help my son with his second-grade school work while doing my job which is very challenging. We canceled a wonderful spring break Colorado ski trip. I won’t get to see my niece graduate from NYU, and my other niece who’s on her way to Harvard Medical School (which costs a half a million dollars), has no idea how she will pay for it now that her college fund has been destroyed by the stock market. I worry a lot about my 80-year-old parents and all my friends who are sick or who work in the medical profession. I worry about my students whose parents work in hospitals. I worry. A lot. However, I can honestly say without hesitation that for me, personally, the lockdown was a gift and a reset: it took a pandemic to get me to finally start working out again. It took a pandemic to get my 13-year-old daughter to hang out and talk to her family again. It took a pandemic to remind me how generous, caring, creative, and resilient people are. And It took a pandemic to clean our water and our skies. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be healthy and safe, and I hope, able to help my students in any way I can right now.”

Dr. Nicholas Pellegrino, History teacher: “Online learning is better than the alternative (no learning) but I’m looking forward to seeing my students again. The online model limits teacher feedback, among other important pedagogical strategies that teaches use. I fear some of my students are not developing intellectually as they would if they had access to my normal feedback. The administration, however, has been very supportive of us and the online education world has done a lot to give us more resources to make this process as seamless as possible for our students.”

Mae Dolan, freshman: “The first week of online schooling was a little difficult, but now it is getting easier because I finally got the hang of things.”