The Story
RWL is back. Did you forget about it? Us too.
Hold up.
Last year, amidst that pesky global pandemic thing, some aspects of real world learning were suspended for the class of 2020. Obviously, the coronavirus is still around, and we’re not fully back in school face-to-face yet. So do we have to do RWL? We asked Mrs. Woods, our resident expert, to find out.
What changed last year?
School Activity hours were exempted for the 19-20 school year. And that wasn’t just for our special seniors, but for everyone in the high school. According to Mrs. Woods, this was mainly because spring sports were cancelled and other extracurriculars couldn’t meet anymore. So last year, you didn’t have to worry about joining some random club for a month and then dropping it. Phew.
What else?
Community Service hours were also exempted last year, but only for the graduating class. Apparently, the staff know that all the seniors do their service hours at the last minute in April and May (whoops). So, they figured it wouldn’t be feasible for people to finish them during the lockdown. Because this was only for the class of 2020, the classes of ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, and ‘24 still have to do the full 16 hours. And yes, we do feel really old when we talk about the class of ‘24. They don’t even remember when Mr. Jozokos told everyone not to say the F word!
What about this year?
Okay, back to the present. The school has decided that as of now, all of the Real World Learning hours listed on X2VOL (which we totally know how to use) are still a graduation requirement for everyone. That means School Activity too. Better find that random club! Mrs. Woods says that students now have time to find the “experiences” needed to gain hours, because we’re not on government-mandated lockdown anymore. If you say so, Mrs. Woods.
When do we need them?
The deadline for RWL hours remains the same as regular years, which means you probably have to have them done in May. So you better turn on that presidential debate to get those Democracy in Action hours. Don’t worry, we know it’s painful. We’ll cry with you.
The Runaway
Remember, this could all change in a week if we get put on lockdown again. Savor those Cultural Enrichment hours.
What to Say…
When you feel a little tickle in your throat…
You’re not alone, just like Bedford isn’t the only district with covid cases. On October 7th, Merrimack High School announced that they had three confirmed cases of COVID-19. Manchester Memorial High School also discovered one on the 7th. As for our fave local colleges, Saint Anslem College has had a spike in illnesses, with 10 active cases as of October 5th. And of course, the ever popular University of New Hampshire has also spiked, with 19 new cases as of October 7th. Unfortunately, this isn’t even the worst news: Cases of COVID-19 are expected to increase in schools during the coming months. A bunch of students crammed in a classroom + cold weather = total dream team for coronavirus. Beware. Winter is coming.
When you made a pinky promise with your BFF…
You better follow through. Luckily, Mr. Jozokos did with the seniors about home games, which we talked about in our previous issue. Last week, the class of ‘21 was given a total of five varsity games they could sign up to attend. And yes, that includes football. The games are all for this week, and they will be socially distanced and masked in the stands in order to follow school protocol. They will also need tickets sent out by the one and only Corey Parker to gain admission. So underclassmen, stay out.
When you’re an underclassman and feel out of the loop…
We’ll catch you up on football, since you can’t see the actual game. Sorry. On Friday, the ‘dawgs actually won a game, with a 26-7 victory over Londonderry. Take that, Goffstown, because Londonderry was actually undefeated before this, so it’s kind of a big deal. MVPs of the game include Joseph Mikol, Dylan Kumbani, and Solomon Sanchez, who all put points on the scoreboard. Coach Matthews also says that the team’s defense also played really well at preventing the other team from scoring.
Things to Know
We know you didn’t listen last time.
PSAT. Wednesday. Juniors. Be there. We’re glad it’s not us.
The people you missed the most…
Tuesday is advisory day. Yeah, we know it’ll be awkward, but it’s still better than actual school. The schedule is right here!