Students’ Perspectives on Coronacation

By: Sydney Brammer

School cancellation started on March 13th with many not knowing that Friday would be the last day of school for a while. Cancellation has been pushed back to May 1st and some are happy about it, while others not so much. With not being able to leave the house, students have been exercising more, developing new hobbies, and spending more time with family. Some take this time as a good thing and make the most out of it.

Freshman, Natalie McDonnell isn’t very happy that she has to lose a part of her first year at Redwood. Being a freshman means first experiences to everything being a Ranger. She was very excited for all the activities Redwood had to offer during this time and sad she won’t get to experience it the way freshmen are supposed to.

To keep herself busy, McDonnell has been trying to catch up on any school work she may have been behind on. She has also been doing some of the online school work VUSD has to offer. She also has been exercising frequently. During this time, she’s been catching up on sleep and staying in shape. Her goal is to “achieve the activities I wish I carried out during the school year but didn’t have time for.”

McDonnell’s family has been growing closer together, having game nights and just being in each other’s company.

The worst part of Coronacation for her is that she’s only able to virtually talk to her friends and isn’t able to see them for a while. However, the best part for her is she gets more time with her family.

Coronacation is also affecting her school and club sports. McDonnell’s club soccer team was cancelled and so was her first year participating in Ranger Track. McDonnell was “extremely upset” because she only got to compete in one meet and was looking forward to better her times and make fun memories with her teammates.

However, sophomores have it pretty good during this time. Lucas Washam ’22 is fairly upset to lose part of his sophomore year, but he feels worse for the other classes, “Freshmen don’t have the same freshmen experience, juniors are missing testing which they worked hard for, and seniors are missing Grad Night and possibly their Graduation Ceremony.”

To keep busy during this time, Washam has been on FaceTime with friends, playing videogames, going on runs, and cooking chicken. Washam can only leave his house to go on runs and occasional bike rides to meet up with people, but staying 6 feet apart.

Washam thinks school closure temporarily is good because it “helps stop the spread of it (corona virus), however the drawbacks of not being able to see my friends are pretty rough.”

Washam’s parents still have to attend work so he sees them the same amount of time he would if it were normal circumstances. However, his brother is home from college since it’s closed and has been a lot of fun for him to see him again.

The worst part about the Coronacation for Washam is “not being able to see all the people I want to hang out with.” However, the best part is not having to worry and stress about having a lot of school work.

Washam is also losing part of his golf season for Redwood. He’s “heartbroken about having to miss golf practice because of how much work I’ve put into it and to have it stripped away.”

Junior, Lily Stetson is making the most out of this time at home. She’s been doing things that she never had the chance to do during school. She’s been doing her best to stay entertained, but “it’s getting more difficult to find things to do.” One major thing she has been doing is preparing for her AP tests and the SAT.

Stetson has grown closer with her family as they play games and plan more activities together.

The worst about the Coronacation for her is “not being able to see her friends or getting to do anything fun outside of my house.” However, the best part is getting a long break from school which she doesn’t want to take advantage of.

Regarding losing part of her junior year, Stetson is “sad, but I feel worse for the seniors. I’m going to have another year of high school, but they’re missing out on all the fun senior activities.” She’s upset she’s losing Prom, but she has next year so she’s accepted it.

One of the biggest downfalls for juniors during this time is missing their AP tests and the SAT. According to Stetson, a lot of people will be taking the SAT in June. Regarding the AP tests, students may end up taking them online from home and only for 45 minutes. Stetson is happy about this because it won’t be two hours of “grueling writing and thinking, but also a disappointment that we’ve been preparing for the AP tests and won’t have to do everything we’ve learned.”

In addition to all of this, Stetson is also at a disappointment with the golf course being shut down for her. She hopes it opens up again in the summer because “that’s the time I’ll need to practice for the upcoming season (in the Fall)”.

On a side note, Stetson says, “everyone needs to stop complaining about the break and saying they miss school… I hope the people who say they miss school never complain about it again…” Stetson says, “live life and take this opportunity to reflect.”

Redwood’s ASB President, Jada Griffith is upset she’s losing a lot of her last year here at Redwood, but also believes it’s what’s best for everyone right now.

To stay busy during this time, Griffith has taken up painting along with trying to teach herself how to play the ukulele. She has also been exercising more and spending more time with her family. She has gotten to sleep a lot more which allows her to be more productive throughout the day.

Her family has been connecting more and have grown closer together.

Regarding any school work, Griffith has been doing her online COS class homework and reading books that will help her with her inquiry project for her AP Literature class.

Griffith isn’t allowed out of her house, except for occasional times where she can hang out with a handful of friends.

The worst part of Coronacation for Griffith is that she never got to finish her job as ASB President. She had so many plans and visions for the rest of the year that she won’t get to see play out. What she’s more disappointed about is losing Prom. Redwood was going to host and ASB had so many ideas and were very excited to put it on. However, the best part about all this for her is “having extra time on my hands to do things that I enjoy along with trying to better myself through working out, sleep, and family bonding.”

Losing a part of her senior year is “rough. We will not get the closure that I feel that all of us deserved.”

Speaking as the ASB President, Griffith says, “The spring sports will not get the closure that they deserve. They probably will not be able to experience their senior nights the right way, WYL, or Valley wins. My heart goes out to any athlete that plays a Spring sport and was not able to participate in their season. Especially the seniors.”

Message to Redwood:

I know things are very different and this is something that we have never experienced or seen in our lifetimes, but I know that things are going to get better eventually. I feel very blessed to have served as ASB President, even though I never was able to fully complete my job the way that I had always wanted to. I love Redwood and I wouldn’t want to be experiencing the Coronacation at any other school.

Jada Griffith, ASB President

Stay At Home Challenge On Instagram

This fun challenge was created with the intentions of keeping everyone’s spirits up during this difficult time. By doing the challenges, you are able to earn points and the person with the most gets a prize. According to ASB President, Jada Griffith, 21 different ASB Presidents from a variety of different schools around California are also doing a very similar challenge with their schools.

Savannah Travis ’20 and the ASB Executive team team came up with this fun idea. They wanted lots of challenges so people could have options and still be competitive. They came up with 138 “fantastic, original, crazy, and fun ideas.”, says Travis.

Travis was inspired by some of her friends from out of state as their high school was doing a similar challenge. Travis thinks “the challenges are a fantastic way to make memories over this break. You get to get pied in the face, eat a Subway foot-long, sleep outside, and sing the alphabet backwards all while social distancing by staying home.”

The ASB team had to rely on technology since they couldn’t meet up or make posters. They worked very hard to put this plan into action and eventually got it on the Redwood Instagram page, @rhsrangers. If you’re getting bored at home and can’t find anything to do, go check it out!

Message to Redwood:

Do the challenges! They’re actually a lot of fun and compiled… plus, if you win, I’m talking big prizes. But also, please stay home and be safe. I’m grateful to be a Ranger and a part of ASB. It’s helped me make memories that’ll last a lifetime.

Savannah Travis, ASB Executive Member

A lot of Redwood’s students have been taking this time to better themselves and keep busy. From developing new hobbies, exercising more, connecting with families, to the stay at home challenge. Don’t take advantage of this time, make the best out of it. Lastly, stay inside and keep yourself and others safe!

Tags: coronacation, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, stay at home challenge, sydneybrammer