By J1 Reporter Fiona Gautschi

Until 2020, the terms “remote learning,” and “school all online,” were foreign terms for most people. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, these terms soon became part of a lot of students and parents’ vocabulary across the country. 

After the 2019-2020 school year ended with online learning, there was talk about what would happen at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. At Marian, the year started with hybrid learning, where half of the student body was in the building, while the other half did school from home. Then, in October Marian announced that they would be switching to students doing school all in person on Oct. 12. 

While most students followed this, 29 students at Marian are still doing school 100 percent at home by choice, as of Oct. 13. This number does not include girls who are at home because they tested positive for  COVID-19 or if they have to quarantine. Assistant Principal Mrs. Jen Christen said, “In August, we had 32 girls that were 100 percent learning from home, so we have fewer now.” 

Christen said, “Once Marian switched from hybrid to all in person learning, there were nine girls who decided to stay hybrid.”

“I would like people to know that there are a variety of different reasons that are a part of students making choices about school during these times,” Christen said.  

Junior Danielle Carrol has been doing school from her home since March when the pandemic first started. Carrol said that with the cases going up at the beginning of the school year, she felt more comfortable doing school from home. “I miss my friends and the school environment, but I won’t be back until cases go down,” Carrol said. Waking up, pulling out her iPad, and logging onto zoom is the normalcy that Carrol feels every day. 

Carrol said that “teachers are doing their best to adapt but sometimes in class I feel forgotten.” She has made it a habit to put her phone away during school, which helps her focus more during her classes. “It’s easy to forget to do homework, so writing everything down in a planner really helps.” This is how Carrol’s life has been, and will be for the foreseeable future. 

Senior Abby Jacobsen has also been doing school from home since the start of the pandemic. Jacobsen’s mom is immunocompromised, so she has stayed online this whole school year. “The hardest thing is time management, and making sure you use your time wisely during school to meet deadlines,” Jacobsen said. Like Carrol, Jacobsen has kept up with her schoolwork by writing everything down in her agenda, and using apps like Quizlet to help her study.  “With keeping up with school and being isolated, doing school from home is definitely an adjustment,” Jacobson said. “If you have a friend that is doing school all online, make sure you reach out to them, because it’s easy to get socially-isolated.”