While some students chose to go into the building, many others chose to stick with their routine of learning from home. With COVID-19 cases rising, the majority of remote students decided that they didn’t want to take the risk of possible exposure in a school environment. Here are their opinions on why they decided to stay remote:

“I’m staying remote because doing school at home gives me more flexibility throughout the day and I have already gotten really used to learning at my house.” -Kiley Rabjohns, Senior

“Although many others would argue otherwise, e-learning has been solely beneficial for me. With online classes from the comfort of my own home and workspace, I have the time and accessibility to complete all of my assignments, stay organized, as well as the freedom that I am not granted with in-school learning. This week I entered the building for the first time since March. I can guarantee that students will not fulfill their social expectations from in-school learning. The hallways and stairwells are divided with tape and arrows, and classrooms and cafeterias are filled with only a couple of desks. I am looking forward to obtaining the most at-home learning time as possible, and to taking advantage of its convenience.” -Sophia Van Der Woert, Junior

“I don’t regret my decision of choosing to stay fully remote, even though I would love to be in school. I feel that by staying fully remote I have more of a free will on choosing what I can and cannot do. I feel if I were to be back in school given the new regulations, I would feel very confined which is not how I want to remember my senior year. By being remote, I can still study with friends and be around them without the strict regulations.” -Carley Walker, Senior

“I went into school for one day because I at least wanted to say I gave it a chance. I then decided to just stay home because almost none of my teachers will be there and might as well e-learn with my friends at home then not even see them in class.” -Louise Brickman, Junior

“I feel like remote learning was definitely the best decision for me. My dad has a compromised immune system, so I didn’t want to take any risk in exposing myself for his sake, but I also felt like going to school two days a week for only a few weeks would be an unnecessary and stressful disruption to what I’ve become accustomed to. Plus, half of my teachers are remote and a lot of my friends are remote, and from watching my peers who are at school, it seems like being fully remote is just a lot easier to navigate and learn effectively. I’ve gotten used to being remote, so I know how to make the most of my learning. Being fully remote has made things a lot less stressful for me and I think safer too.” -Margot Pierce, Senior

“Although I think the school has done an amazing job with reopening and ensuring all the children as well as faculty’s safety, I made the choice to stay remote. After trying one day in school, I felt a little more distracted and less comfortable than I feel when I’m at home, especially due to the fact I’ve been in this “at home” routine for a while now. The change of scenery was surely different, but I found myself a lot less productive than if I were at home.” -Bea Pierce, Junior

“Almost all of my teachers are remote, so I decided that staying home would be a better option for me. I am finally getting into a routine after three months, so I didn’t want to have to readjust.” -Katherine Graham, Senior

“I’m choosing to stay remote for this semester because COVID is an extremely serious issue and I want to do everything I can to prevent it from spreading. Also, learning from the comfort of my own home has taken the stress off of an already chaotic senior year which has been a huge help.” -Abby Clarke, Senior

“Why go back if all of my teachers are remote? It’s not worth getting COVID if i’m going to be doing the same thing that I would be doing at home.” -Michael Hartman, Senior

“I would rather be in school working with my teachers than at home all day, but none of them are attending school so it’s pointless to even go in looking for the one on one workspace with my teachers. Also I have issues regarding health in my family therefore I can’t risk going to school with a bunch of kids and bringing something home.” -Max Edison, Senior

“I chose remote because all of my teachers are remote so what’s the point in going into the school to do the same thing that I’m doing at home.” -Chase Breidenbach, Senior 

“I decided to stay fully remote just because I feel more comfortable and safer in my own home rather than in a building with a bunch of people and all the new strict guidelines. My family decided that all my siblings and I should stay remote because two of my siblings are at higher risk due to medical reasons.  I personally like it better than in school because I’m in the comfort of my own home and I can sleep in a little later and don’t have to worry about getting dressed and ready.  The only thing I don’t like is sitting on my computer all day, but other than that I think it’s better to stay home.” -Sophie Burke, Senior 

“I decided to stay home because I feel that going in for hybrid would affect my time management that I’ve gotten from doing remote. Most of my teachers weren’t going back as well so I would be getting the same experience at home. I like remote learning because it has taught me to become more organized and I like working from the comfort of my home without a mask.” -Sara Reynolds, Senior

“Logistically speaking it made no sense to go back to school since all my teachers were still remote. I’d rather be on the computer all day at home than at school.” -Charlie Weisberg, Senior

“I head that in person wasn’t that great, and the majority of my teachers are remote as well so being on a google meet at home seemed better than being in school on that same meet ” -Josca Schabacker, Senior

“I like it better at home because I enjoy the freedom of being able to work where I want. Most of my teachers wouldn’t be there so it would basically be remote but inside school. This is what made me want to stay home.” -Patrick Lee, Junior