Get to know our community through interviews with students, parents, siblings, and faculty members about their experience with the shelter-in-place and things they are looking forward to.
IN TODAY’S POST:
Danielle “Dell” McReynolds-Dell, PK-12 Math Coordinator and US Math Teacher | Leo H., Grade 3 | Donnya J., Grade 9
Check back daily for more interviews!
DANIELLE “DELL” McREYNOLDS-DELL, PK-12 MATH COORDINATOR AND US MATH TEACHER
What is one thing you have learned about yourself during quarantine?
I thought I had infinite patience but came to realize that a 9-year-old singing everything constantly can try the patience of a saint—and I am not a saint!
What is one thing you want to do as soon as the shelter-in-place is lifted?
Go for a long bike ride with my family.
How do you think your life will change compared to pre-quarantine?
I will be more cognizant of the health of those around me and its impact upon my own.
What do you miss most about teaching on campus?
Seeing students and faculty in the hallways-having conversations on the fly. I miss the energy of being in the classroom with students.
What’s one new habit or activity you have picked up during quarantine?
I actually get to work out every day! We have also instituted family game nights which is always fun—my kids are so competitive.
LEO H., GRADE 3
What is one thing you have learned about yourself during quarantine?
I learned that it’s easy for me to make pancakes. I know how to flip them. I love to make them with chocolate.
What is one thing you have learned about someone you are quarantining with?
My sister learned a lot about how to use computers. She had some trouble before, especially with links. You had to copy them without clicking on them, so I helped her with that.
What is one thing you want to do as soon as the shelter-in-place is lifted?
I want to go to the beach or have an in-person play date. I feel sad a lot and I can’t visit my friends and can’t do things I could do before. I’ve been having virtual playdates instead.
What do you miss most about attending classes on campus?
On campus, there were a lot of opportunities and now we don’t get to do as much. There was the I-Lab, but we can’t really go there. I loved coding in the I-Lab. I am coding a lot more at home now.
Favorite thing you ate during quarantine?
I really like salmon. It’s fried a little and I had it with broccoli. I don’t have a favorite meal though.
Favorite place to be during quarantine?
I love being home…where I take all my Zoom calls. I sit right behind the door [in my bedroom]. It makes a convenient place for my virtual background.
Who do you talk to most during quarantine? What was the last conversation you had?
One of my friends that I connect the most with is named Kepler. We use Google Hangouts a lot and sometimes just chat. We actually chat all the time, like we chatted six hours ago and we are supposed to have a call at 4:30—unless he forgets.
One “forbidden fruit” thing you want to do during quarantine?
I want to play more video games, like Roblox. I just play Roblox and Minecraft, but especially Roblox, because it has a wide amount of games. It is a community of 178,000,000 accounts created, and over 1,500,000 people playing one game. There are almost 15 new ones every minute.
DONNYA J., GRADE 9
What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself during quarantine?
I think one thing I’ve learned about myself is that there’s a whole new variety of hobbies that I’ve never tried before, and now I’ve had time to do them and they’ve been really fun. It’s also been really fun to spend more time with my family. I feel like before quarantine, I didn’t spend a lot. So I guess I learned I like spending time with my family and trying new things.
What kind of hobbies have you been trying out?
I’ve actually been on my guitar a bit more recently. I learned the Harry Potter theme song on my guitar, and I’m trying to learn “Drag Me Down” by One Direction, and that’s been a pretty fun experience. My dad has also been trying to fix our garden in the back and I’ve been helping with that. And just saying, I’m not a good gardener.
What is one thing you want to do as soon as the shelter-in-place order is lifted?
I guess one thing I want to do is go surfing my friends. I feel like surfing is just like a normal everyday thing. Every weekend, I would go with a few of my friends and now I can’t do it because of the shelter-in-place. It feels weird and I really miss it.
How do you think your life will change compared to pre-quarantine?
In general, I feel like it’s gonna take a long time for everything to get back to normal. Like, when will it be normal enough for all of us to comfortably sit in a baseball stadium or do all that stuff? It’s going to take some time getting used to going back to normal.
What do you miss the most about attending classes on campus?
I feel like having the teachers there made it easier for me to learn stuff. Right now, it’s been harder for me to learn new topics and information because a teacher isn’t actively right next to you and you can’t just [talk to] them during tutorial.
Which subjects have been different?
CAD or a lot of I-Lab classes. Like, right now it’s been really hard to do it because we obviously don’t have any access to the I-Lab. And in classes like history and English, there haven’t been many changes. I feel like I’ve been getting the same information out of those classes online as I’ve been in real life.
