Senior sunrises, tech glitches mark first day of distance learning for Modesto students
Before they returned home to log in for the distance learning intended to keep themselves, their families and school employees healthy and safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, hundreds of Modesto students gathered outdoors Monday morning for the tradition known as senior sunrise.
At two gatherings observed, there were doughnuts and coffee, hugs and even piggyback rides, but little wearing of masks or social distancing. Some groups of friends did put on face coverings when taking photos.
When the first 2020-21 school day began online a little later in the morning for the Modesto City Schools, Sylvan Union, Stanislaus Union, Hart-Ransom and Empire districts, it wasn’t without hitches.
At 8:45 a.m., MCS posted on social media that its website was down but its Schoology learning platform and Microsoft Teams video meetings still were functioning. A little less than an hour later, it said the website was back up, but added, “If you are still experiencing issues, shut down, wait 10 seconds, and start up your computer again to reset it.”
A handful of students in a first-period Beyer High pre-calculus class reported trouble signing in on their school-issued devices but got in by using their phones or own PCs. The teacher asked students who knew classmates who’d not logged to have them email him for help.
The Bee visited Downey and Beyer students’ outdoor gatherings, which like others were not held on school grounds. Downey Knights met on the baseball diamond of Downey Community Park, while Beyer Patriots gathered in a field northeast of Wesson Ranch Park.
At the Downey gathering, Sara Her said she’d been looking forward to hanging out with friends she hasn’t seen much during the pandemic. “It’s a good time to finally get together in person and experience something fun together,” she said of senior sunrise.
She said her parents told her to take her mask and hand sanitizer to the event, and to socially distance from “other friend groups.” Those she was sitting close with were friends who don’t have family members known to be infected, she said, and she’s seen them often enough to “not be wary.”
Sara said it’s sad that she and her classmates will miss out on things like football games and perhaps even prom, but she thinks distance learning is a good idea if it keeps students and teachers safe. She thinks its “definitely weird” to be learning online and video chatting with teachers and classmates, but she’s happy with her schedule and said she’s sure she’ll get used to home study.
Friend Lisbet Loya said she was a little apprehensive about going to senior sunrise — “It’s kind of scary what’s going on” — but she brought her mask and was “trying to be safe.” When she’s gone out with friends lately, she’s checked with them beforehand to make sure they’re feeling OK, she said.
Lisbet, too, said she will hate to miss out on special events this senior year but is glad educators and health officials care about keeping kids safe. Like Sara, she expressed little concern about distance learning itself.
‘I’m pretty sure it will be good’
Leaving Beyer’s senior sunrise, Nevaeh Freitas said it was easy for students to put together the gathering. “Everyone was totally down for it and just ready to be together after being on lockdown for such a long amount of time,” she said. She said she and her classmates were being cautious, hanging out in small groups that were spaced apart.
Regarding distance learning, she predicted it will be difficult getting used to it, not just for students but teachers. “It’s mainly the kids with the AP classes and the more advanced classes that have more work, more Zoom calls. We’re more stressed about that,” she said. “But I mean overall, it’s just going to take a long time to adjust and get used to, but I’m pretty sure it will be good.”
She said her family regularly gets calls and emails from Beyer and MCS officials, and she’d heard from every one of her teachers on Schoology before Monday arrived.
Classmate Ian Babb said he was a little hesitant to go to senior sunrise because it began as an idea for a smaller gathering “and then it just morphed into something that turned out to be a lot bigger.” He said the event was “really mellow” and, like Downey’s, was clusters of closer friends socially distanced from other groups. As for any ground rules set down by organizers, “it was basically bring a mask, be smart, be safe,” he said.
“Everyone will go stir crazy being at home for too long, so if you can get out and, you know, have some fun, be with friends, that kind of relieves a lot of stress that you may have been building up,” Ian added.
Regarding the school day, and school year, ahead, he said he anticipates it being stressful because it’s all brand new to students, teachers and administrators. “It’s not like anyone knows what they’re doing. It’s very much so a day-by-day thing.”
Ian said he heard very little from teachers prior to Monday, and he understands that it’s because the district continues to work everything out. “But I feel like teachers could have done a lot more to be like, hey, this is what we could be expecting, this is what could happen.”
‘It may seem a little crazy right now’
At Beyer High, leadership students were among the first to start the day, with a zero-period class led by teacher Melissa Maher. She spent part of the time showing the kids how Microsoft Teams works, including having them practice conversing through its comments field.
Maher also talked about how the course is set up, with discussions taking place in Teams and assignments being worked on in Schoology.
Within minutes of class starting, it appears 80-some of the 90 students were logged in.
There was enough time in the class for Maher to get into instruction, talking with students about creating “identity boards” to get to know one another and assigning them to come up with ideas for recurring features the leadership class can create for Beyer’s social media.
Before first period, students watched a video welcome from MCS Superintendent Sara Noguchi, in which she reinforced that it’s vital they sign in and participate every day and just try their best. She said there are sure to be difficult days, but “I’m confident that this year is going to be a good one. It may seem a little crazy right now, but it is going to be a great one.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 1:32 PM.
