"A lot of people were hoping to start this school year in person, but that just didn’t happen," Reeghan Walsh, 6th grade
It’s obvious that starting this school year online wasn’t ideal. A lot of people were hoping to start this school year in person, but that just didn’t happen. We all tried to make the best of it, and the OSA staff worked hard to have this school year start off right.
However, this was hardest on the new students. Starting at a new school online was going to be nothing like we had ever done before. How were we going to get to know each other? How would we do assignments? Was OSA going to be online for the entire first semester? Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. OSA did many things to welcome us.
The first thing OSA did was have a New Student Meet and Greet Gathering months before school started. They gave us some background information and had a little Q&A. Then, about a month before school started, we met with our arts teachers. Personally, I think my arts orientation went well. I interviewed a few of the new students and this was what they witnessed in their arts.
Sixth grader Alex Epstein, an artist in Production Design said it wasn’t that bad. The one thing they didn’t like though was when their teacher asked if they had any questions, they were kind of confused. “We were new,” Epstein said, “Why would we have questions?” Other than that, Epstein thought the orientation was nice and smooth.
Sixth grader Hana Geckeler, in Vocal Music, said it was chaotic since the entire middle school was there. Not just the new students. The vocal teacher was telling the whole class to write things down, but only meaning for one specific group to do it. “The 6th graders did things they found out they weren’t supposed to,” Geckeler said, “It was extremely confusing.”
On the other side of the spectrum, we have Maya Mastropasqua. Mastropasqua is in 6th grade, and is in Literary Arts. She said the orientation went well. “It was smooth and simple,” Mastropasqua said. “I thought it was helpful.”
Zoe Bolick, 6th grader in Vocal Music, said she liked the orientation. “It sounded like a lot of fun,” Bolick stated. “Even though it was going to be online.”
Xander Saenz, 6th grader in Theater, said the orientations got him really excited. “I jumped out of my chair and slid across the floor in some kind of theater move,” Saenz described.
Ava Brooks, 6th grader in Visual Arts, said the orientation was okay. She said, “I had attended Step It Up, so I had learned a lot about the program already.”
Another thing OSA did was host a 6th grade welcome/orientation the Friday before school started. The 6th graders were able to meet the staff, and got a little more information about OSA.
OSA also held a 6th grade Zoom meeting on the first day of school. We had longer classes so that we could get to know each other better. The teachers had us introduce ourselves.
A final thing OSA did was they started school on a Wednesday. Though, it has not been confirmed this was on purpose, it allowed us to meet other people in our grade at the grade level meeting. We also got to meet the students and the teachers in our advisory. Starting on Wednesday also gave us a shorter week which also gave us some time to have our OSA experience sink in. But, not all students felt the same way about the school welcoming.
Epstein said they were welcomed the way they wanted by OSA: by being left alone. Epstein doesn’t like to talk so being left alone was really nice. They were engaged enough that people were aware of them being there, but left alone enough to where they felt comfortable. Epstein wouldn’t have wanted anything different. Epstein likes that there’s no bullying at OSA. They struggled with it at their elementary school. Their welcoming at their old elementary school was hostile. The kids were rude and called them terrible nicknames, and the teachers did nothing about it. After everything that happened at their old school, they felt OSA had a very warm welcome!
Geckeler was also very happy with her welcoming. Though she attended the same school as Epstein did, she joined in kindergarten, so she doesn’t remember much. Geckeler did say she was pleased with her welcome at OSA. She said everyone was really nice, and the older kids did a good job explaining everything. But, Geckeler would’ve wanted the explaining from the staff to be more thorough and clear. The first few weeks were very confusing with the schedule and the zoom links. Geckeler likes OSA more because at her old school, only two people she knew were bi, trans, or gay. But at OSA, half the people in her classes are bi, trans, or gay. This feels very inclusive. Overall, the welcoming was very fulfilling.
Mastropasqua was satisfied with her welcoming as well. She didn’t remember anything about her old school’s orientation, but she felt OSA’s was great. Mastropasqua liked the first three days to get used to online learning. She liked that everyone in her grade was in the same boat as her. She would’ve liked to be in person, but this was still better than nothing at all.
Bolick was comforted by her welcome. She felt like she could relate to what people were talking about, the older kids seemed to like the school, and she said the community was really nice.
Saenz also felt very welcomed by OSA. He can’t remember anything about his old school’s orientation, but OSA’s was one he enjoyed. Saenz liked the way he was welcomed, seeing how happy and enthusiastic people were made him feel happy and comfortable. He didn’t have any expectations of what the welcoming would be, so he wouldn’t have wanted anything different. Except for being in person.
Brooks felt happy and welcomed at OSA. At her other school, she was treated like family. At OSA, she found some new friends and teachers she likes. Brooks appreciates how her teachers welcomed her, despite being online. She likes that both of her schools were so welcoming and were full of opportunities for learning, therefore, she can’t decide which welcoming was better.
As you can see, people had different points of views of the OSA online learning. While they all felt welcomed, some people were welcomed in different ways. The OSA staff worked very hard to welcome the new and returning students. The new students all seemed to feel welcomed which is a great start to the school year. Thank you to all the teachers and staff for working hard to have a great start to the school year.
However, this was hardest on the new students. Starting at a new school online was going to be nothing like we had ever done before. How were we going to get to know each other? How would we do assignments? Was OSA going to be online for the entire first semester? Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. OSA did many things to welcome us.
The first thing OSA did was have a New Student Meet and Greet Gathering months before school started. They gave us some background information and had a little Q&A. Then, about a month before school started, we met with our arts teachers. Personally, I think my arts orientation went well. I interviewed a few of the new students and this was what they witnessed in their arts.
Sixth grader Alex Epstein, an artist in Production Design said it wasn’t that bad. The one thing they didn’t like though was when their teacher asked if they had any questions, they were kind of confused. “We were new,” Epstein said, “Why would we have questions?” Other than that, Epstein thought the orientation was nice and smooth.
Sixth grader Hana Geckeler, in Vocal Music, said it was chaotic since the entire middle school was there. Not just the new students. The vocal teacher was telling the whole class to write things down, but only meaning for one specific group to do it. “The 6th graders did things they found out they weren’t supposed to,” Geckeler said, “It was extremely confusing.”
On the other side of the spectrum, we have Maya Mastropasqua. Mastropasqua is in 6th grade, and is in Literary Arts. She said the orientation went well. “It was smooth and simple,” Mastropasqua said. “I thought it was helpful.”
Zoe Bolick, 6th grader in Vocal Music, said she liked the orientation. “It sounded like a lot of fun,” Bolick stated. “Even though it was going to be online.”
Xander Saenz, 6th grader in Theater, said the orientations got him really excited. “I jumped out of my chair and slid across the floor in some kind of theater move,” Saenz described.
Ava Brooks, 6th grader in Visual Arts, said the orientation was okay. She said, “I had attended Step It Up, so I had learned a lot about the program already.”
Another thing OSA did was host a 6th grade welcome/orientation the Friday before school started. The 6th graders were able to meet the staff, and got a little more information about OSA.
OSA also held a 6th grade Zoom meeting on the first day of school. We had longer classes so that we could get to know each other better. The teachers had us introduce ourselves.
A final thing OSA did was they started school on a Wednesday. Though, it has not been confirmed this was on purpose, it allowed us to meet other people in our grade at the grade level meeting. We also got to meet the students and the teachers in our advisory. Starting on Wednesday also gave us a shorter week which also gave us some time to have our OSA experience sink in. But, not all students felt the same way about the school welcoming.
Epstein said they were welcomed the way they wanted by OSA: by being left alone. Epstein doesn’t like to talk so being left alone was really nice. They were engaged enough that people were aware of them being there, but left alone enough to where they felt comfortable. Epstein wouldn’t have wanted anything different. Epstein likes that there’s no bullying at OSA. They struggled with it at their elementary school. Their welcoming at their old elementary school was hostile. The kids were rude and called them terrible nicknames, and the teachers did nothing about it. After everything that happened at their old school, they felt OSA had a very warm welcome!
Geckeler was also very happy with her welcoming. Though she attended the same school as Epstein did, she joined in kindergarten, so she doesn’t remember much. Geckeler did say she was pleased with her welcome at OSA. She said everyone was really nice, and the older kids did a good job explaining everything. But, Geckeler would’ve wanted the explaining from the staff to be more thorough and clear. The first few weeks were very confusing with the schedule and the zoom links. Geckeler likes OSA more because at her old school, only two people she knew were bi, trans, or gay. But at OSA, half the people in her classes are bi, trans, or gay. This feels very inclusive. Overall, the welcoming was very fulfilling.
Mastropasqua was satisfied with her welcoming as well. She didn’t remember anything about her old school’s orientation, but she felt OSA’s was great. Mastropasqua liked the first three days to get used to online learning. She liked that everyone in her grade was in the same boat as her. She would’ve liked to be in person, but this was still better than nothing at all.
Bolick was comforted by her welcome. She felt like she could relate to what people were talking about, the older kids seemed to like the school, and she said the community was really nice.
Saenz also felt very welcomed by OSA. He can’t remember anything about his old school’s orientation, but OSA’s was one he enjoyed. Saenz liked the way he was welcomed, seeing how happy and enthusiastic people were made him feel happy and comfortable. He didn’t have any expectations of what the welcoming would be, so he wouldn’t have wanted anything different. Except for being in person.
Brooks felt happy and welcomed at OSA. At her other school, she was treated like family. At OSA, she found some new friends and teachers she likes. Brooks appreciates how her teachers welcomed her, despite being online. She likes that both of her schools were so welcoming and were full of opportunities for learning, therefore, she can’t decide which welcoming was better.
As you can see, people had different points of views of the OSA online learning. While they all felt welcomed, some people were welcomed in different ways. The OSA staff worked very hard to welcome the new and returning students. The new students all seemed to feel welcomed which is a great start to the school year. Thank you to all the teachers and staff for working hard to have a great start to the school year.