Poly Student Ambassador Blog: Return to Campus With Maja K. ’23

After a year of being home, we have finally returned to the Upper School campus, and so far the experience has been amazing. It almost feels as though we are back to normal life. 

One of the amazing parts about the Poly Upper School is their constant need to make sure every student feels safe and welcome, and after coming back to school after quarantine it is clear safety and health is the Poly Upper School’s number one priority. Poly conveys this whether it is through surveys about how safe we feel, or through protocols designed to make every student feel secure.

Not only has Poly focused on our physical health, but the school has also focused on our mental health because they know going from online school straight back to in-person school with very little notice can be overwhelming. We have our Upper School Counselor, Ms. Fleetham, available to us at all times if we ever need to talk about a serious topic or if we just need someone to talk to. We also have easy access to our advisors, who would be more than happy to talk to us about why we are feeling overwhelmed or what is making us anxious or nervous.

I personally have enjoyed being back at school much more than I had anticipated. I have been able to see people I haven’t seen in over a year again and have class experiences that we couldn’t do online. For example, in chemistry we haven’t been able to do many of the labs we would have normally been able to do, but since we are back in school we now have a new exciting lab every week. So far we have created our own calorimeters and measured the number of calories in a walnut and in a marshmallow. We have tested different acids and bases for the colors they created when burned. We have measured the absorbance level for screws dissolved in acid. Last, but not least, we have electrocuted a pickle to see how it would react. 

Overall, I have also noticed that it is much easier to learn when in an actual classroom. I personally believe that after a year at home you forget all of the advantages of being in a classroom, and after returning to school and regaining all of those advantages, I feel as though I can put the same effort I was putting into my classwork before quarantine. For example, in math class I have better access to one-on-one time with my teacher when everyone else is working on their homework because I feel like I’m not interrupting the entire class’s silent work with my question, and in French class I can improve my language skills face-to-face. 

Not only has the return to school been smooth from a safety and educational standpoint, but it has also been a ton of fun. I get to see my friends every day, and I’m not stuck on my computer staring at the screen all day. Additionally, Poly’s ASB has created many fun back-to-school activities for anyone who wants to participate. They have made rivalries such as chalk drawing, spike ball, knockout, and trivia, all of which were fun to participate in and were also fun to watch and cheer on your grade. Not only has the ASB created plenty of rivalries for the returning students, but they have also made a clothesline for Denim Day, and they gave us all a Poly water bottle with a sticker containing our name to make sure we stay hydrated and Poly-spirited throughout the warm California days. To top it all off, last week we got ice cream from the Lower School Parents Organization which really helped brighten up everyone’s day. 

Overall the return back to on-campus school has been nothing but positive, and I am so happy to finally be a community on the campus again.
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