March 10, 2020. Everyone’s lives were turned upside down.  School was canceled. The stay-at-home order was put into place. The future held only uncertainty.  

Recently was the one year anniversary of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and in order to commemorate it Mrs. Healy had a “Covid Party” in her AP Psychology classes.

“I think I called it a covid party but really I like to think of it as a reflection” Mrs. Healy said. “I wanted to take time out and really celebrate all that you guys have been flexible with.”

During the “party”, students took turns presenting their Pandemic Projects.  The assignment was a reflection of each individual’s experiences this past year and how the Motivation, Emotion, and Stress unit that they had been studying tied into their experiences.  This incorporated self reflection on how individuals dealt with such unprecedented times and gave other students an opportunity to empathize with their fellow classmates.

It also give Mrs. Healy an opportunity to better understand her students and how vastly different their individual experiences were:

“I think that we as teachers, as adults, thought that if we could create normalcy by keeping the train on the tracks for school that that would be helpful but what I have found is that you guys really needed a break and that maybe we pushed school too much”

Working on an assignment that touched a sensitive point for many students brought up a mix of emotions.

“My feelings when I recall the past year are full of struggle and heartache,” senior Sami El Hasnaoui said  “Remembering how confined I was inside my house for those endless weeks, it makes me thankful for being able to finally go outside.” 

To many, the idea that a whole year had passed in both a blink of an eye and long torturous days was remarkable.

“When I first thought of how it’s been a year since it all started I was kind of in shock because of how fast time has slipped by,” senior Emily Beylerian said. “It’s strange to think that a year from now I’d never have thought things would be this bad.”

Passing this milestone has fostered an abundance of powerful emotions, not just through the student body and faculty, but through the entire community, and the whole world.

“If I were to go back and talk to my March 2020 self, I would tell her that although things will be rocky, it will get better,” senior Ava Biordi said. “You will still get to experience some of your senior year, you’ll be able to hang out with your friends again, and you’ll just adjust.”