Items

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  2020-06-17

  No Shared Supplies

  As a 7th grade, social studies teacher I follow a few different teacher pages on Facebook. One of the pages shared this meme in June as schools began to describe their reopening plans for the fall. Many schools are moving towards individual supplies only. While this does make sense, it's hard to imagine this working well. Many students usually don't show up to class with a pencil! I can't imagine asking them to remember to bring their paper, colored pencils, and pens to every class.
• 2020-05-22

  Class of 2021 wins

  Junior year is suppose to be the hardest but because of the covid 19, my classes are online and school was even easier. There was less homework and some of my teachers didn't even give us tests anymore. For ap Calc, our teacher planned to give us 8 tests in one month to prepare us for the ap test, but we got to skip that. Ap tests is only 45 minutes and Juniors were able to also skip the standardrized test.
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  2020-05-31

  A Time For Reflection

  Like everybody else, I have recently spent the majority of my days at home. I can say that I have had my fair share of ups and downs, some that I never even saw coming, but I think that there is a lot that I can take from my time in isolation. Of course, I really miss some things about my normal life such as talking to my friends every day at school and practicing for my school's track and field team, but in the end, I realize that I have to fix my head onto the present and do what I need to do right now until the whole COVID-19 pandemic blows over. I joined my school's track and field jumps team this year, and as season approached, I was stoked to see where my performance would stand. I actually felt as if I had found a hobby that I genuinely enjoyed doing, and even better, it was productive too. Its hard knowing that something so out of my control impacted my life as well as the lives of those around me so much, but at the same time, I have to remember that there are countless other people that have it way worse than I do. I would say that I am upset about not being able to experience track season this year, but I can always look forward to the next, or at least the possibly of there being a "next season". As for some other student athletes, they have it worse. Many seniors did not get to have their final moments in their athletic career, and worse, they won't get the graduation they looked forward to. It is sad when you realize that so many people have been affected by this pandemic, but it is important to look forward in the face of adversity. I admit that I spent way too much time complaining about what I won't get to experience because of the corona virus, but I recently began to see the lesson that this quarantine is trying to teach me, to teach all of us. For anyone awake during these uncertain times, it seems as if the year somehow gets worse and worse every month. As disaster rears its head, we must act appropriately in order to turn each moment of misfortune into a learning experience. I am grateful for what this quarantine has helped me realize, because with all of this time reflecting, I feel like I was given the time to really think about my past and my regrets. It would have been easy for me to say that this pandemic has made me miserable, but I want to bring light to such a dark time by acknowledging the positives I have been obtaining from this quarantine. Although many of us have lost a lot, there is always hope for new opportunities in the future.
• 
  2020-05-31

  How COVID-19 affected my studies

  The COVID-19 has affected us all tremendously, including oursleves the students. Some who wanted to strive in their spring sports, live out their last high school year and be able to walk across the stage and say that they finally did it, all the hours of homework, the football games, the dances, the tests, procrasination, drama and time they put was worth it. But on March 13, a friday little did we know that in Garden Grove, our whole community would change tremendously. As the days passed by, we were being transmitted to more online work, more restrictions, more work, and take more precautions. At first, as being a student myself, I was not worried about it at all and was happy at the fact that we were not going to school for two weeks. But two weeks turned into a month, then 2 months, and until the end of the school year. As a Junior in high schoolm that changed my academic life more. I was not able to take the SAT, i was not able to take my AP exam in school, finish junior year. This whole pandemic has shaped now the way we look at life, and let us see the things that we so call hate like school , is something that connects us to peers and gives us a better opportunity at learning the material.
• 2020-05-31

  The Same Old Same Old

  Personally, while this pandemic has impacted many people around the world, in my area we are not as affected by death nor illness, but rather the fear of the situation. There is much doubt and fear in our world at this moment in time, not only with COVID-19 but also in regard to the riots and protests. Despite this, I have merely stayed at home and both stressed over coursework and enjoyed more time to relax. I feel that this meme encapsulates the relief I experience over not having to physically go places, but also the sadness of not being able to see my friends and family. However, with social media and games especially, I am able to communicate with them and talk as I would do with them online like I would if we weren't on lockdown.
• 
  2020-05-31

  Have Faith

  During times of fear or crisis, many people will rely on faith. During this pandemic, faith is what I rely on just like millions of others around the world. And to pass the time during social distancing, I started designing wooden crosses to send out to family members so that they receive the message to always have faith during these challenging times.
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  2020-05-31

  Life in a Macbook

  Ever since school has been cancelled in person, I've been doing all my assignments on my laptop. I never thought that I would be kind of home-schooled but it's just the way it is. It has been a routine of mine to wake up and immediately grab my laptop to see if any of my teachers have assigned any work. I can manage working on my laptop but I miss seeing friends and teachers.
• 
  2020-05-30

  Summer Time

  Relatives from Mexico were supposed to visit during the summer since they were finally granted access to visit the United States. Unfortunately, those plans have been canceled and it is truly upsetting. They've never experienced a fun day at the beach due to how they live in the very center of Mexico, the city, and we wanted to make the most out of this opportunity they were given.
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  2020-05-29

  Idaho Schools Facing Budget Cuts

  Idaho schools faced a 1% holdback when COVID-19 struck. We are facing additional budget cuts going into 2020-2021 school year.
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  2020-05-29

  Grades Truly Do Not Matter

  As we wrapped up our school year I went to finalize the grades for the fourth quarter and found my grade book was entirely empty. It was a glitch in the system but many teachers joked that this was just a sign that grades truly did not matter for students during the 4th quarter. Which is a feeling felt by many teachers and students across the country.
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  2020-05-29

  Middle School - Final Staff Meeting, Budget Cuts, & Student Population

  Staff Meeting 5/29/2020 Agenda: Wrap up the year Reflection: Today we learned that our Title 1 funding will not be increased and most will be cut for the next year. We are losing 2 staff members because of this cut and that leaves us in a place where we need to find elective classes for 240 students next year. We additionally lost another elective teacher this year as her funding was moved towards an instructional coach position. Middle schools are also in a unique situation right now as we are experiencing a drop in our attendance numbers. This drop is because our students right now were born during the economic recession of 2008 and the years immediately following. The 2008 recession is credited with a drop in the birth rate from 2008 to 2010. There were tears on our meeting as teachers are frustrated with our system moving forward. Our district was very fortunate to have the finances to weather this original economic storm but as we look forward we have learned that we don’t have the money to keep everyone on staff.