That time has come again where we are all going back to an online learning schedule, the district has determined that with the number of cases continuing to rise throughout every school in the St. Vrain Valley School District that it would be the safest venture for us to all continue our learning In a hybrid schedule. Throughout our time back in school, Frederick High School alone has had to quarantine around 20 people per week with around 7-8 positive cases in total. The numbers keep rising which is why we are switching back to online. With that being said there are a lot of things that will be the same and a lot of things that will be different. 

Things that will be the same

The online schedule will stay the same. The school’s plan will be to use the same schedule that we used at the beginning of the year where students will have certain times that they need to log on and will be required to log on at the start of class and stay online for a certain amount of time. Along with that students will be required to stay on and the class will be followed by Independent practice. 

There will still be warrior time held on Monday’s- Thursday’s after school along with Saturday’s from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. it is highly recommended that if you need help to go to these meetings. The only requirement is to make sure to self screen yourself before coming. 

The library will still be open to those who need it. Students will still be allowed to check out books when needed. The only requirements again are to self-screen and also make sure to book an appointment before coming to school. 

Lunch pick up is still going to be available at the school for the remainder of the semester. It will not be available during Thanksgiving and Winter break and will begin again next semester. 

Another thing is that students can make an appointment with teachers one on one just like they did beforehand except instead of it only being on Friday’s they can now do it throughout the week as needed. 

Teachers will continue to teach the same way that they did before hybrid learning when students and teachers were all on Webex for a certain amount of time and teachers were available after the meetings ended as well. 

Counselors will be available at the school through the remainder of the school year. They are available when needed either for a Webex meeting or an in-person meeting. If an in-person meeting is to occur then again we will be doing a self-screen before coming in and we will need to book an appointment. 

Things That Are Different 

One of the biggest differences that are going to happen is that Friday’s will be similar and students will continue to have advisory every Friday (except for late starts) however, students will not have an eight-period class schedule afterward but will instead have a set assignment for the day to get done. 

Another thing is that teachers can work from home and are now not required to be in the building during the school day. This being said sometimes teachers will be in the school sometimes they will be at home but it is no longer a requirement for teachers to be in the building. 

Other Important Details

Frederick High School is not the only school to be shutting down at this time. It was stated and decided at Wednesday’s meeting that the whole St. Vrain Valley School District will be shutting down from now until the end of the semester. 

We don’t know when we are going back but we do know that there will be a reassessment the first week of winter break and we should have an answer by then. 

When asked if we will be returning to school at all however, Mr. Young responded saying

“Yes, I absoloutely think we will. With the guidance that I heard from the board meeting is that their projecting this latest waves spike to be in mid December. Similar to what we saw in late April of last year and then it came down pretty quickly after that.” which gives us all hope. Of course it all depends on the multiple variables that consist of what will keep us safe. But there is still hope for sure. 

“Our district’s priority is to get students back into the building as soon as possible.” Mr. Young continued. 

That being said there’s hope and our goal is and will always be to get students back into the building and to have some normalcy return. 

As for Ecredit, it has been said that seniors will have their Ecredit fully online and the schools will see what happens for that. As for other students who need to take Ecredit it is unknown what will happen with that or how that will work. 

It is still unknown what will happen with sports and clubs until December when another update will be sent out in regards to whether we’ll be returning to school or not, what’s going to happen with sports and clubs, and more information. When it comes to graduation and whether graduation will be pushed back or not it is still unknown since graduation is still six months away. As we near graduation more news about that will come out but for right now it is still unknown. 

It is also still unknown whether or not a vaccination will be mandatory for students to come back to school. 

“There has been no district direction in any way and that will all follow whatever the county public health decides to do.” Mr. Young Cleared up for us when asked if he had any idea on whether a vaccination will be mandatory or not. 

That being said that part of next semester is still unclear but will most likely be cleared up in the future for sure. 

When we do return from online school which was indicated and believed to happen by Mr. Young we will most likely be returning to a hybrid model and hopefully working our way up to being back in school with fully in-person learning going on. Along with that hybrid, learning will be optional. If students want they can return to school and continue to join and work with their classes at the school from home. That is an option and will still be an option when we return. On top of that when we return there will not be advisory that Friday due to it being a PLC day as well. 

Obviously, This was not wanted and online was not and is not the easiest or most fun when it comes to school. However, this decision is going to be helpful for everyone because the school district is trying to keep everybody as safe as possible. The district and school’s overall goal is going to hopefully get everyone back into a fully in-person learning environment which is why we’re hoping that after these two breaks that our numbers will decline and we will be able to do just that. It shouldn’t be a surprise that we have to return to this kind of schedule but overall we know that it will be the best decision for the overall health of everyone.

The online learning schedule is going to start on November 30th and although it will be difficult without a doubt we can get through this as a district and a community. We want to get our numbers down and gone for good and that can happen with steps like these being taken. Right now it is looking and sounding like we are going to be going sick next semester and there is hope. So stay strong and know that we are all in this together and we’ll all get through this.