For Sophomore Carter Farbry, returning to in person school was the right decision. After kids were given the choice to go back to in-school learning or to remain with distance learning, Farbry said choosing to return has been beneficial and increased his productivity. 

“I’ve never gotten this much work done before,” Farbry said. 

Hybrid learning returned earlier this month as kids slowly started walking through the doors of Loudoun Valley High School. However, things don’t look the same way they did before March of last year when everything changed. Some classes only have one student in them, with the largest classes containing about eight, giving room for everyone to stay socially distanced and maintain CDC protocols. 

Not all students have returned to the hybrid version of school, which Farbry says affects teacher-to-student interaction and class participation. 

“Teachers have to stay engaged with students online and in person, so it feels slower, however, the teachers do a good job including everyone,” he said.

In his experience, online school also has its perks.

 “A reason I like online classes is that you could be doing other things in between learning breaks, and that makes the day feel faster,”Farbry said. “But in person, you’re always in your seat.”

Precautions and rules have been set to ensure that students in school protect themselves against Covid-19. 

“If you are at school and someone takes their mask off and a teacher sees, they will be upset and tell you to put it back on,” Farbry says.

POV: A Typical In-Person School Day for Carter Farbry

“I woke up at 7:30, tired and ready to go back to sleep as soon as I woke up. I went downstairs to eat and to get my clothes and football gear ready in my bag. Now that I got everything ready to go I hopped in the shower, brushed my teeth, washed my face and put my clothes on for the day. My bus comes at 8:48 so I leave my house around 8:40.

Just got on the bus and headed to the school now.

Just got off the bus and headed to the locker room to drop off my football bag. Now I’m social distancing in the gym.

They dismissed me from the gym and now we are going straight to homeroom and we have to wait in this class for a few minutes. Now that this block is over I am walking to first block, which is math, but these teachers are telling me to stay away from people.

Just walked to my 2nd block science class and waited for it to start. Every class you have to sit six feet apart with these plastic dividers in front of you.

Just went to lunch, and it is so different having to sit in a single file line and six feet apart. Now they dismiss us from lunch and they do one section at a time, so I was last and it took me a while to get to my class.

My next block was Sports Marketing and we are talking about March Madness so it’s actually pretty interesting. That block went by fast so now I’m off to my last block, which is the study hall. Personally, in study hall I’ve never gotten this much work done and it’s just so efficient. This block is now over and they dismiss us kind of like how they do to lunch.

They call on the speaker subject hallways, then dismiss your class. Now that class is over, I go to football practice and my day is over!”