With COVID-19 comes a new calendar for the winter and spring term: gone are the days of month-long Spring Breaks, mask-less Prize Days under the blazing sun, exams in the gyms, and spending Januaries and Mays together on campus. Winter term on-campus learning will begin in February, and the 2020-2021 school year will end at the end of April, with almost no breaks in between. It’s a drastic change from any other year Kent has had, and there are mixed opinions about this. Let’s take a look at what different students think about the new schedule… 

Niki Hu ‘23: “I really appreciate that we don’t have spring break because if I want to go back to China during the break—which is about 4 weeks long—I have to quarantine for 2 weeks in China and then 2 weeks in the U.S. before I can return [to Kent]. That’s impossible, and I don’t have any family members in the U.S. with whom I can stay with for such a long time, nor can I book hotel rooms or rent a place since I’m not an adult. It’s just great that we don’t need to worry about where to stay for a month.”

Tara Abuyazid ‘23: “Since this is my first year coming to Kent, everything is new to me. Not having spring break was pretty disappointing for me, but after I realized that winter break was extended and school was cut early, I don’t mind it as much. I was hoping that I will be able to celebrate my birthday in Kent (January 25th), but it’s okay because I will be able to come back to campus in February. Overall, I am excited about what is coming in the future and I have no complaints.”

Tiffany Chan ‘22: “The school made a great decision for scheduling us to arrive on campus early February and not directly after the holidays. Also having spring break moved to January and combining winter and spring season is a wise decision because we won’t be off and on-campus many times. I was expecting the school year to end as usual (early June), but the school year is ending earlier this year (in late April), which is a bummer. Although I can’t spend as much on-campus time this year compared to the last few years, I’m very excited to be back on campus in February.”

Fionnoula Collins ‘23: “While it’s not ideal to have online classes, I have so much respect for the efforts put in to keep the Kent community safe.”

Gabe Bennett ‘23: “I think that this term went really well, given the limitations. The combination of all our breaks into one big one is certainly an interesting one, and I don’t have a developed enough opinion to speak on it. The online classes seem unnecessary given how few we’d have. Ending school early is always fun, though!”

Mariya Novosad ‘22: “Though this year’s winter term schedule is very different from the one we’ve had years prior, I think it is our best option, given the circumstances. The current plan prioritizes our safety, while also allowing us to have an in-person winter/spring term. It’ll be interesting to see how everything will play out once we’re back from break, but fingers crossed that everything will be okay. As a junior, I’m really looking forward to the spring term. I can’t wait for Rock and Ring Day, but also I want to spend as much time as possible with my senior friends before they graduate. In general, I’m impressed with our community on how well we’ve handled COVID. Hopefully, we can continue to do as well in the winter and spring term.”

Sunny Li ‘21: “I think the new plan is an effective means to fight the second wave of the pandemic since winter is the flu season and we have to stay indoors most of the time. However, I do feel like three continuous months of learning may be stressful. I’m also saddened by the fact that I might miss all major ceremonies for upperformers because it’s hard to come back if there is only one entry date. Under the current situation, I believe the best thing to do is to look on the bright side—we have a longer summer vacation.”

Regardless of whether the students like the new schedule for the rest of the 2020-21 school year or not, students and families all understand the difficult choices the school had to make to maintain the safety of students. While this schedule may not be ideal, the Kent community will continue to work hard to keep the virus out of our campus.