Logan ,
11 , fifth grade at Emma G . Whiteknact Elementary School ( virtual , then in-person ), East Providence
I PLAYED SOCCER COMPETITIVELY . We would travel around Rhode Island . So I was so sad that I couldn ’ t play . I usually have games on Saturday or Sunday . One day I woke up like , “ I have a game today .” But then I remembered I couldn ’ t go .
I think , since we were distant , we didn ’ t get the concepts as much as we did in person because we had it right there in front of us . Sometimes , on the computer , it got to be too much because we ’ re staring at a computer seven hours a day and I think I just like reading better . But after a while , it got easier and easier . We all [ Logan is a triplet with sisters Laila and Savannah ] actually got an achievement award after fourth grade . That was like , seven months ago .
Fifth grade is fun . It ’ s definitely different . Because in fourth grade , the math and English were a lot easier . But as we went to fifth grade , we started using more intelligent words and , in math , there are more confusing concepts .
My sisters like math ; they ’ re always quizzing each other and I ’ m just in my own world . In distance learning , we had some ups and downs . We were right next to each other and , in Google Meet , if we all have our volume up , it would echo . We worked , in the beginning , at the kitchen table . And then we went to our Vovo ’ s
house and she had these little tables . Sometimes we just got sick of each other but if I didn ’ t get something , they could help me . In English , I would help them with book reports .
We went back to school in person but we were still on the computers all the time because of the pandemic . And if we did use paper , we had to let it sit for twenty-four hours . In September , we ’ re going to middle school . It ’ s very nerve-wracking , because it ’ s real school . Elementary school is just getting you used to school . Middle school is real school . We ’ re going to have three floors , we ’ re going to have lockers . Well , we ’ re supposed to have lockers but if the corona gets really bad , we won ’ t get lockers anymore . So , knock on wood , it won ’ t get bad again .
Brie ,
15 , freshman at Chariho High School ( virtual , then in-person ), Richmond
BRIE
IT WAS REALLY HARD BEING ISLOLATED away from all our friends . We couldn ’ t meet , we were really scared . It definitely affected my mental health , just feeling so isolated , so alone . I don ’ t know , I find that wasting hours , like scrolling through social media and having nothing to do , just weighs on you .
And we weren ’ t fluent in Google Meet or Zoom or anything . We couldn ’ t meet because we didn ’ t know how . Our teachers , they were really easy on us because everybody was struggling so much . So , yeah , it was hard transitioning to how school had been forever to the new norm . At the beginning , we basically never had our cameras on . And I felt bad for our teachers because they were never seeing our faces . My twin sister , Isabella , and I sat in the corner of the living room and we
had our backs to the windows , which we realized was not great for lighting . It was weird at first , but it was also helpful because we ’ d be doing the same assignments so we ’ d help each other . It started to become a rhythm : | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 105
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2021 47