FHSD took a huge turn this school year when they announced they were giving students the option to go to school face to face full-time, or complete school virtually. The statistics, released on fhsdschools.org, say that about 25% of students chose to do online, meaning their school year would look drastically different from previous years. 

Some online students had no problem adjusting to their “new normal.” FHN junior Natalie Venegoni is one of the students who chose to become a virtual learner this year.

“Personally I enjoy online school because I get breaks in between classes and if my teacher doesn’t have a scheduled zoom call, then I don’t have to go to class. At first it was kind of lonely, getting used to things like not seeing friends all the time, but I’m starting to like it more and more,” Venegoni said.

Venegoni still follows the same bell schedule as any other highschool student, she just has more leniency for certain things.

“I wake up at 6:30, but I don’t usually get out of bed until 7:00. I grab my cup of coffee and then I just hop on the zoom call,” Venegoni said. “My first hour is physiology and anatomy, second hour is my math, and third hour I’m taking modern american culture. On Wednesdays that would be homeroom, but online students don’t have a homeroom, so it’s just freetime which is nice. You can catch up on homework or take a nap. Fourth hour is english. Then I go to lunch which is really nice, because I can either go to Taco bell, or I can just make food at home. My fifth hour is my creative writing class, sixth hour is american government, and seventh hour is my personal finance. My personal finance teacher doesn’t normally have class on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays, so I’m usually done with school around 1:35.”

Autumn Blake, a junior at FHN, is also an online student this year. Though all virtual students have different classes, some student’s days still look pretty similar. For parts of the day like lunch, morning routines, and breaks, she shares a schedule that looks a lot like the schedule Venegoni’s days run on.

“I like online a lot compared to in person because it gives me a lot more time to do what I need to get done. I get up around twenty minutes before I have to go to my first hour. I get dressed, get ready, get some breakfast, and then I log onto canvas and go to all my zooms. I get around a thirty minute break for lunch so I head upstairs to make food or sometimes I leave and get some. Then I just head up to school for volleyball practice,” Blake said. 

Venehoni and Blake can both agree that online school is definitely different, but not in a bad way.