“Things Aren’t Yet Back To Normal”

As we end the 2021-2022 school year, the majority of people are glad to be back at ACIT. Returning back to ACIT has been very beneficial to students, teachers and administration. Even though we are getting closer to normalcy and getting further away from the “Covid Age,” things aren’t back to normal quite yet.
“I went into the year thinking things were “back to normal” because we were back in school, in-person and full time,’ said Assistant Principal Ms. Teri Hardmeyer. “But things aren’t yet back to normal. As a society we’ve created coping mechanisms to get back on track but we are a long way off from being back to normal.”
Although things still are not back to normal, it seems for everyone it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
“As a counselor, last year it was really difficult to get in touch with students who were fully remote for different things such as scheduling and help with academic issues,” said guidance counselor Ms. Alyssa Pickett. “We also had a hard time with attendance. This year since everyone is back in the building, we do not have to worry as much about students trying to learn from home.”
Re-adjusting back to in-person learning felt seamless to most students.
“The transition was fairly smooth and I felt like the administration handled it very well,” said senior DayDay Haddock. “Learning online and learning in person to me was very similar.”
“The transition from virtual to in-person was not that bad at all,” said junior Bradley Beaulieu. “Getting up early for school was hard at first but it is actually not bad now.”
While adjusting to pre-Covid expectations held by teachers has been a struggle, Assistant Principal, Mr. Brian Rovani says one of the key reasons people at ACIT have had a seamless transition is because of the teachers.
“With the challenges this year, I believe that our teachers have left no stone unturned with finding creative and fun ways to implement their lessons, while maintaining the highest level of safety and security for our students. With that said, I believe our teachers worked hard to find every way to improve instruction.”
It has also been a near flawless transition for teachers too.
“I think for me it has been a relatively seamless transition,” said English teacher Ms. Jackie Siscone. “The only issue I have faced is getting students to realize that deadlines do matter again. I would say that I have been fortunate to see that a majority of my students have given their full effort this school year.”
Since returning to ACIT, students Mike DeVita, Bradley Beaulieu, and Cooper Privitera say the work has been easier compared to learning virtually.
“The online learning did basically nothing for me, while being back at school has made me learn way more things than I did virtually,” said junior Mike DeVita.
“It has been easier to learn this year compared to last year,” said junior Bradley Beaulieu. “Activities that we do in class this year are way better to do than online which makes me learn better… I am able to focus more on assignments and get better grades on them.”
“It was easier to learn this year personally since I learned better being in person and going to school compared to virtual computer learning,” said junior Cooper Privitera.
The 2021-2022 school year has been a little hectic for many, but at the end of the day, most would agree that it’s great to be back at ACIT. Here’s to one step closer to normalcy as we move onto a brand new school year.