By: Christian Carreto (Sullivan Freshman)
Students and teachers at Sullivan High School in Rogers Park have just completed their final days of the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year. At this time, they are reflecting on their experiences of the school year so far and hopes for the next semester.
James Asmal, Sullivan Freshman, shared his thoughts on how the last semester went and how he plans to improve.
“My thoughts on last semester were alright. It was a pretty good experience and I really enjoyed it. I plan to improve next semester by joining a sport or a club. I really hope that I could meet new people and pay more attention in class.”
Kaleb Guzior, a Saga Math Tutor, offered a different perspective of this situation as a Sullivan community partner.
Guzior stated, “Although last semester had its setbacks, I believe that last semester went fairly smooth. As a result of it being the first semester of in-person learning since the pandemic, the semester was filled with uncertainty from the start.”
When commenting on school safety, Guzior went on to say, “I believe that the experience at Sullivan can greatly improve if everyone continues to do their part in following the COVID protocols and classroom expectations. If everyone proactively follows COVID protocols and classroom expectations, the school will become a safer place.”
Jonathan Franco, Sullivan Freshman, shared how teachers are handling COVID safety in classrooms.
“I feel that the staff did a pretty good job trying to keep everyone safe by having students do jobs, like having a person pass out hand sanitizer to everyone. Passing out KN-95 masks to students who want them. Other than that, the teachers were really living up for the standards for COVID Guidelines.”
Eleanor McMahon, Sullivan Freshman Math Teacher, commented on how her first semester in-person has gone since the COVID-19 Pandemic started in spring 2020.
“It felt really great being back for in-person learning with a full classroom of students this semester. I have been able to see students thrive, grow and learn over the past 4 months and that is something I really missed during remote learning.”
McMahon also spoke about the challenges that the first school term brought and how she plans to make a change this upcoming semester.
“One of the challenges this semester has been planning engaging activities for students while trying to maintain social distancing. The second semester I hope to engage students who are learning from home more, ensure we are being COVID safe, and give students the space to continue to become the mathematicians I know they are!”
