Griffin News: E9 Griffins Return to Campus
Posted: 28/05/2020
By: Cynthia Lin, Cathy Luo, Ella Sha, Victoria Wang, Emily Xu, Richard Zhang, Kevin Zhao, and Cecilia Zheng
Photos By: Ray An, Kevin Chen, Andy Guo, Gianna Li, Jonathan Lu, Helen Wu, Bill Yang, and Tom Yuan
As restaurants start to open once again, one by one, and more and more people are wandering the streets, our SMIC is also alive once again. Many E9 students have already returned to campus.
According the Bureau of Education, ninth graders could start returning to campus on May 11. About a dozen SMIC ninth graders chose to return to campus; however, many foreign teachers are still teaching online since they are not allowed back into China yet. High school students are currently at the main campus for logistical reasons, but they will return to the high school campus in June.
Mr. John Gao, the PE teacher, is very happy to be back on campus. “I have been at home for a long time,” he said. “It feels nice to be back in school.” Ethan Wu from E9 said he loves being back at school since he “really wanted to see my friends and teachers and finally get out of the house.” Alice Qu from E9 chose to return to campus because “being in a supervised environment can make me more productive.” However, some students have decided not to return to campus yet. Tommy Xu from E9 is currently studying off campus because “the main campus is too far from my home.” He says if he can wake up early, he will go back to school.
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Mr. Gao believes the challenge now is to prevent the recurrence of the epidemic, so the school has adopted various protective measures to avoid the outbreak. “Everyone has to wear masks because of the epidemic, and the school has to be disinfected every day,” he said. No one is allowed to take off their masks in their spare time unless they are more than two meters apart from each other and in an open area. Students also have their temperatures taken in the morning and at noon every day. In addition, students all use disposable cutlery for lunch, and each seat must be more than two meters apart to prevent cross-infection. Concerning the precautions taken by the school, Ethan believes, “they are perfectly designed to work and fit together like puzzle pieces or gears.”
Several SMIC High School students who previously studied at SMIC Middle School said that they enjoy temporarily studying at the main campus. Ethan said that as “a student who has been with SMIC for nine years, going back to the main campus doesn’t just bring joy, but also brings memories of the times that I’ve spent with amazing people.” Alice Qu said she misses the middle school campus, and “looking at the hallway and the classrooms, it just brings up memories.” The high school plans to move back to the SMIC high school campus on June 1, when tenth and eleventh graders can return.
When classes resumed on campus, the schedule also changed. Most classes meet once per week for two hours, which includes live in-person or online classes (depending on if the teacher is physically at school or not) and sometimes a work period. In the afternoon, students have study hall, outdoor activities, and student affairs activities.
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Many students like this new schedule more than the previous schedule of two forty-minute classes per subject per week. Alice Qu said she prefers the current schedule of only two classes a day because it “leaves a decent amount of time for us to do silent studying, which is awesome and very useful.” Similarly, Ethan is also satisfied with the new schedule since it leaves more “time to finish assigned work in class, giving more of a sense of freedom at home.”
Coming from a different perspective since he is studying at home, Tommy thinks two classes per day is beneficial since he can “prepare for TOEFL stuff in the afternoon.” He added that having only two classes per day can reduce the pressure on students and teachers, as well as give teachers more time to explain details and instructions in class.
Students also seem to enjoy the outdoor and student affairs activities. Alice believes having outdoor activities, such as dodgeball and basketball, give her an opportunity to exercise, which is important for staying healthy. Ethan also thinks that outdoor activities are necessary because “they are very enjoyable and distract us from stress and crisis.”
Furthermore, he believes SA activities, such as puzzle solving and teambuilding games, “help us work together and understand important life lessons, like a recent one that gave us a perspective of how precious time is.” He said the pandemic has changed him in that, “The things I used to see as big are now so much smaller.”
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In conclusion, going back to campus marks the beginning of a new start, and the remaining students from E10 and E11 can go back to campus on June 1. Upper elementary school will resume on June 8. The excitement of seeing each other is almost tangible. As Mr. Gao said, “it feels nice to be back in school and have class with my students again.”
Check out the video for this article here!
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VgUG_VtpZixk3izsOmiNTA
