In-Person > NTI

As I walk the halls, I hear the excited grumblings of, “when will we go online?” St. X, I urge you to be wary of online school! I have this same temptation of thinking how easy we will have it if we go online, however, from experience, I know going online would be a detriment to our education, as well as our mental and physical health. I think back to my schedule last year for the days when I stayed home.

7:55 — Alarm goes off and I log on to class.

8:00 — Turn my camera off and go get some coffee and maybe some breakfast.

8:00-2:45 — Hope and pray I do not get called on because I have no idea what’s going on.

This of course differs with my current schedule of rising early and putting on my uniform before driving to school for a full day of classes. 

At this point, there are many out there thinking that the online schedule sounds wonderful. And trust me for the first couple of weeks, it was wonderful. But the reality was that as the year wore on I was miserable. I felt isolated and extremely lonely. I didn’t understand how we couldn’t figure out a way to get everyone back in the building. It was truly a depressing, dark time and I have no doubt everyone experienced this to a certain extent. Especially as it got colder and the days got shorter, I felt this insatiable feeling that certain things would never return.

There are other high schools in the Archdiocese and some public schools that have resorted back to online learning because of the latest variant. I now hope and pray that we will continue to be able to come into school each day and continue learning. 

It is also at this point that we must reflect on the blessing that has been this year. To return to school has been so beneficial to all students. Faculty are relieved that they no longer have to balance much of their class being online. Students are relieved that they no longer have to worry about whether it is a green or gold week.

While you are in school, I invite you to slow down in the hallways and look at your brothers. It is a blessing to be able to spend time with them, it is a blessing to be able to build relationships in the building. Finally, continue to pray that we will stay in the building and offline.