Dryden High School/CKDR Files
COVID-19 may have thrown a wrench in another school year, but Dryden High School students have tried to make the best of it.
Members of the DHS Student Council were guests at the Rotary Club of Dryden’s virtual meeting Wednesday talk about boosting school spirit, student morale, challenges of online learning, staying connected with friends and other projects.
“COVID-19 has had a large impact on the number of clubs and activities running at DHS this year, there are only two official clubs running, student council and the drama club,” said Grade 11 Student Council Member Alison Griffiths. “Student Council hasn’t been able to do the usual fundraisers and activities this year, so we’ve had to get creative. We’ve put on a number of successful spirit weeks with all kinds of events, including a Halloween costume contest, Christmas door decorating, Snowball 2.0, Match Makers and candy grams, which was our major fundraiser for the year.”
Students are also working on several legacy projects including a graduate wall, a Grade 12 study lounge, painting inspirational quotes to promote positivity and mental health and student made benches for outdoor spaces.
Emma Gardner/Rotary Zoom Screenshot
When schools were open, a survey was launched to gage both virtual and in person students’ thoughts on their education during an unprecedented time.
“It was commonly heard that motivation and focus is a struggle among students, especially with the new virtual environment,” said Emma Gardner, Grade 11 student and Indigenous Representative Student Trustee for the Keewatin Patricia District School Board. “Other obstacles we found through the survey were the collision of responsibilities at home and internet connectivity. We also found more students attending school in person knew were they could access mental health resources than virtual students.”
Student trustees have since worked with school officials to put a book mark list of available mental health resources on all student chrome books.
Grade 12 Student and Student Council President Alyssa McCready admits it’s hard for seniors to stay motivated with graduation celebrations up in the air.
Alyssa McCready/Rotary Zoom Screenshot
“A big thing in terms of morale, is the idea of not being able to have this last commencing year of high school, not being able to have a graduation where your parents can come to see you get this diploma and not being able to celebrate these last few months with your friends. As for everyone else in the school, not having any sports or extra curriculars is definitely taking a toll on our students.”
McCready adds although there’s been talks of a drive through graduation ceremony, it will depend on Provincial restrictions and lockdowns.
“We have countless students that are going to work in grocery stores and they’re among the front lines of places that are consistently staying open. So, I think to support the youth of our community is really just acknowledging the work that they’ve been doing, the work that they’re doing and the struggles they’re facing as well during these times is really important.”
