YEAR eleven student, Charlotte Eastwell said it was \u201cstrange\u201d arriving at school, Phoenix P-12 Community College last week.<\/p>\n
Having been away from campus, learning at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, she said the reopened site is safe but \u201ccompletely different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the walkways are one way \u2013 in one door and out the other. Every single classroom, you have to sanitise your hands when you walk in the door, and then when you leave again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe canteen is the most different. We have to order our food before school or on an app.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over at Loreto College, year 12 pupil Stephanie Jones is happy to be back on site.<\/p>\n
She said all desks have been separated in classrooms, rooms are thoroughly sanitised, and teachers are socially distancing from students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey recommend that we all keep sanitiser on us and sanitise when we need to, and keeping classroom doors open as much as possible so we\u2019re not touching doorhandles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been different, but having been in isolation, it doesn\u2019t feel too foreign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie said the best thing about being back by Lake Wendouree five days a week is being able to see her friends again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know being in isolation is not the worst thing that\u2019s ever happened on the planet, but it was hard being away in a year that\u2019s so key, and missing out on celebrating 18th birthdays,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Charlotte agreed that seeing her classmates and teachers has been most positive, although some are still off-site to reduce risk to their health.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of my friends aren\u2019t back at school because they\u2019re still social distancing and isolating. They might not even be back this semester,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great being able to see, communicate with, and ask questions of my teachers in real time. I do year 12 theatre studies. Being back in those physical classes is a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a physics and chemistry student, Stephanie has relished the opportunity to return to practical VCE classes too. She said the cohort of 2020 will be stronger, having experienced the COVID era.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a sister in year 8. She can catch up on things in the next year, but this is the one year my cohort has to get everything right before university.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole experience will be beneficial for year 12 in the end, because it\u2019s helping us to find our own self-motivation, especially going into university next year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s given us a taste of what it\u2019s going to be like and how we\u2019re going to have to work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
YEAR eleven student, Charlotte Eastwell said it was \u201cstrange\u201d arriving at school, Phoenix P-12 Community College last week. Having been away from campus, learning at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, she said the reopened site is safe but \u201ccompletely different.\u201d \u201cAll of the walkways are one way \u2013 in one door and out the other. […]<\/p>\n