COLIN DAVIS, Staff Writer
Well, we had a plan and a chance at the beginning of the year; November 16th was supposed to be the day that NBTHS goes hybrid. Personally, I was all for it seeing as I can’t sit in front of a computer for 6 hours a day. Then in the ultimate twist of fate that honestly epitomizes 2020, New Jersey’s COVID cases skyrocketed and the plan was in jeopardy. NBTHS was notified early that we would be the only school in the district not being able to go back. The other schools would get the chance at a hybrid plan...for 5 days. The Coronavirus cases kept skyrocketing and the hope of being free from virtual learning was like so many things this year: pushed back.
Now for us high school students, we’re fully virtual until 2021, January 19th to be exact. The Elementary schools, Linwood, and the new Middle School move to hybrid learning on December 14th seeing as they’re pretty young and have a lesser chance of getting infected. The obvious features of hybrid learning will be masks and social distancing plus a tweaked schedule so there’s more flexibility in moving around to classes. One constant throughout the district is that all Wednesday’s are going to end up being fully virtual so the school can undergo a deep cleaning. Now the big question is: can you have an in-person class without having the coronavirus spread like a wildfire? Personally, I think we can with the combined help of students and teachers. Things like wearing masks and social distancing do a great deal to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We’re almost there NBTHS, just stay level-headed.