By Morgan Clark,
Bruce Peninsula Press
Springtime in the halls of BPDS is normally filled with the hustle and bustle of extracurricular activities, sporting events and class trips, but the 2020 school year came to an abrupt halt in March. I reached out to the students in the grade 12 class to see how the new and confusing times of this Pandemic has affected their graduating year and plans for the fall. Here is what some of the students had to say.
Avery Hutchinson:
When speaking with Avery, she explained how Covid-19 has made her final year of high school more stressful than traditional graduation years. She shared some of her struggles with making sure documents and information for university and scholarships were submitted on time, without the direct help and support from staff that students from BPDS always receive. She also spoke of how it was challenging to contact people and to get answers or information about what her first year of university is going to look like.
Beginning in the fall, Avery will be attending Western University in London, Ontario. There, she will be taking a Social Science program. Avery is one of the lucky first year university students to get the opportunity to live in the residence on Western’s campus but will have to take all her classes online. She hopes they will have regular classes second semester so she can experience at least part of a conventional year.
Caileigh McNamara:
When I spoke with Caileigh she told me how it was a let down for her not being able to go to school and see friends, teachers, and classmates. She also spoke of how it was frustrating not getting the full, in class education in the final months of her last year. She explained that for her, the online learning that was introduced was very confusing to navigate and use.
Caileigh’s original plan was to attend Seneca College in Toronto to take the Fashion Studies program, but the college has converted the first semester classes online. She was unable to defer her program until next year, instead she made the decision to start her program at the beginning of second semester in January. She is hoping by then classes will be in person again and she can get the complete educational experience.
Caleb Marcella:
When speaking with Caleb he discussed the difficult transition from being in class everyday to all classes being completely online. He feels that because attending such a small school as BPDS and receiving an incredible amount of support from teachers every day, it was a very dramatic change to begin online learning and not seeing his teachers daily.
For Caleb, Covid-19 was a large influence when he had to decide on which university he was going to attend. He will be attending University of Guelph and taking the Mechanical Engineering program there but completing first semester courses online from home. He decided on Guelph because it was closer to home than his other option and it was going to be easier to get to the campus if necessary. Guelph is planning to start regular classes again on campus for second semester which Caleb is looking forward to.
Chloe Mielhausen:
Chloe shared with me how she felt the busiest and most exciting time of her final year was robbed from her and her classmates. She said the last few months of the school year are always packed with fun activities like prom, Footprints, and graduation, and they were all taken away by Covid-19. Chloe is a very social person and loves interacting with everyone at school everyday and really missed seeing her friends and teachers.
Chloe is attending Nipissing University in North Bay and is taking the Concurrent Education program offered. The campus has been closed for the first semester of the year so she will be participating in online classes from home. Her program is very reliant on in person interactions and she is unsure if the school will extend her program for the students to get the full education. She told me how she is excited for the new experiences she will get when the campus opens.
Haley Forbes:
For Haley, and many other students, the closure of the school due to Covid-19 was very disappointing. She described how the last couple months of the grade twelve year are some of the most exciting times that students look forward to the years leading up to it. Haley was saddened by the many events including Footprints, prom, and graduation being cancelled or postponed and to have a very abrupt, unexpected ending to her final high school year.
In September Haley was initially planning to move to Hamilton to attend McMaster University and to take the Health and Society program. Now, she will be participating in online classes from home for, hopefully, at least the first semester. She feels she is missing out for her first year of university and will not be able to have many of the new experiences students traditionally receive. Haley is hoping for the best that the school opens in January so she can experience some of a more traditional first year of university.
Jasmine Brough:
Jasmine shared with me that through these difficult and confusing times she was able to get a better appreciation for high school and all the experiences that come with it. She is saddened by the lack of ending and goodbye she had from friends and teachers and looks forward to the graduation ceremony in the fall to physically confirm her completion of high school.
For the fall, Jasmine first planned to go to Humber College in Toronto and to take the Acting for Film and Television program. She decided that because this program is very hands-on, it would not be enjoyable or worth it to complete the first year online. Instead, she decided to decline her acceptance and work for a year and will apply again in the winter for the 2021-2022 school year. For now, she will continue to spend time with her family and hope for next year to be a more traditional year.
John Cuffe:
John shared with me that he felt that Covid-19 had very little impact on him. While in school, he was doing a co-op four days a week and after the school was closed, he was lucky enough to still be able to continue with it. In school John said he was also in tech construction class which is a very hands-on class and he was unable to continue online.
John has already begun to work full time for the summer. He planned to continue in the work force in the fall, so his plans have not been affected by Covid-19.
Michelle Davies Straby:
Covid-19 interrupted Michelle’s final year of high school as she was completing a victory lap year. With her high school classes becoming online classes she shared that her patience has grown, especially with technology. She said it felt very strange and different not being able to go to school everyday to see her friends and teachers.
Michelle will be going to Georgian College in Owen Sound this fall. While there, she will be studying to become a Personal Support Worker. Although the school has changed most of her classes to online classes for the first semester, they will still be having one to two labs a week so she will still be able to get some of the hands-on learning from the program. Michelle is looking forward to when we can get back to our normal lives again.
Sasha Cognigni:
Sasha explained how she was very disappointed missing out on all the thrilling events that were planned for the last months of her grade twelve year. She was anticipating her graduation, prom, sports teams, and other trips to make memories to last her a lifetime and is sorrowful she will not have got the opportunity. Sasha has used this time out of school to get a head start on her summer job without it interrupting anything.
Sasha will be attending University of Guelph in the fall. She will be taking her program, Animal Biology, online for at least the first semester. The new experiences and opportunities the first year of university gives to students is something Sasha was really looking forward for, but she is optimistic Guelph will give the students opportunities for those experiences when they open to students again.
Zachary Rodgers:
When speaking with Zach, he told me how he was able to use this new and unexpected time to better his education. He has completed many online courses before this, so it was a less challenging transition for him. He shared he enjoyed being able to create his own schedule with nothing to interrupt it and was able to spend more time and get a better understanding of the classes that were more important for his university program. He feels that the past three months have been good preparation for what university will be like.
This fall, Zach will be studying industrial design from Ottawa’s Carleton University’s Bachelor of Industrial Design program. He was unable to defer his program to next year, therefore he will be completing online classes from the comfort of his own home. Zach is excited about the future years of his program and when he will be in the school using the incredible technology they have to offer.
No doubt 2020 will be a year for the history books of BPDS and the world! Most students would agree that despite missing out on the traditional graduation festivities including prom and photos by the lighthouse and the graduation dinner and awards at Wildwood Lodge, they can still take away many good memories and positive experiences from our little school.
Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with all the graduates. Congratulations go to Anastasia Chisholm, Emily Lancaster, Griffon Thomas, Isaac Rankin, Makaylah Irving, Nathan Naves, Kiana Benham and all the above mentioned BPDS students.
Best of luck in all your future endeavours! See you at the fall commencement ceremonies (to be announced)!
