The fight for good grades; Challenges faced in first quarter

One quarter of the 2020-2021 school year is done and with this online environment, students and
teachers have faced challenges such as changing their schedules and having to improvise how they
get work done.
Sophomore Audrey Letourneau has faced the big challenge of “finding motivation” to get work
done and also getting her assignments in one time so the work for her just piles up.
Letourneau had trouble getting over this challenge this quarter but a way she plans on
overcoming it for the next quarter coming up is to “work more on staying focused” in order to get
her work done and turned in on time.
This online learning is not only difficult for students, but it is also affecting teachers just as much
because of having to change their plans and switching up how they teach different activities.
Mrs. Jestel, who teaches Chemistry, has struggled to get her students to interact during the online
meetings. “Figuring out a way to change how [she] teach[es] when we can’t do hands on labs” was
one of the biggest struggles when it comes to online learning.
“I tried using the chat box, breakout rooms and open discussions” Jestel stated was one of the
ways she tried to get her students to be more interactive with the lessons and participate in the
discussions.
Jestel has had teachers and other staff members help her film videos for her “Stomp Rocket Lab”
that is for her AP physics students to help bring back some familiar faces that are in the building.
She plans on keeping her current methods for the second quarter but is also going to try some
new techniques. “I’m hoping to try using a digital whiteboard for group work” she stated, and she is
also going to try and incorporate more simulation labs so students can design experiments.
Freshman Aden Harvey also experienced challenges within the first quarter such as stress and the
workload that his teacher gave him.
Harvey has struggled focusing on doing his assignments, but he kept telling himself that he could
do better next time if he did not get an assignment in on time.
One way Harvey is going to help himself next quarter is to “focus more on the task at hand” to
help him accomplish all his work so his grades do not drop at all.