Due to the high possibility of contact tracing leading to quarantining, a majority of winter athletes have decided to temporarily switch to online school until the end of their seasons. Currently, there are six athletes from the boys basketball team, eight athletes from the girls basketball team, and one wrestler partaking in this strategy.

Online school is going to look different for each student, and what is liked by some may be disliked by others. But, overall, these athletes are willing to commit to online school for as long as it takes so that they don’t get contact-traced at school.

Contact tracing is the process of identifying people who may have come into contact with an infected person or people. Westminster takes into consideration how far students’ desks are to evaluate who gets sent home if a student tests positive.

Of course, online school will have a different feel than in-person school because of the fact that students are learning from behind a screen, but for most students, it’s manageable.

“The teachers do a really good job of making online school as similar to regular school as possible. It can be harder at times to pay attention because there are more distractions, but overall it works well,” said Casen Lawerence, junior.

Even though teachers do the best they can to make the learning experience for online students as beneficial as possible, students still miss out on the personal connection with their teachers and other students.

“I miss being able to fully interact with my teachers and classmates. I am very lucky though that I do not have to do online school by myself. My friends and I meet up at different coffee shops and different houses each day to make online school interesting, but I still miss being able to interact with my teachers,” said Reilly Brophy, junior.

A common theme amongst the online students is the fact that they get to wear whatever they want and sleep in longer. But, even with those positives, there are still some negative parts of online school.

“The worst part is some classes definitely aren’t meant to be taken online like ceramics. It is good considering the circumstances, but I would definitely rather be in school for a class like that,” said Lawrence.

With online learning, it is important to maintain a routine to keep a sense of normalcy since COVID-19 causes stress and constant changes in the way people go about their lives.

“I get up every morning and get ready like I am going to school in order for it to feel as normal as possible,” said Brophy.

The majority of the online athletes have been doing online school for four weeks now and are adjusting to their new routines, atmospheres, and schedules at home.