What it’s like to be a Year 8 student during a pandemic

April 23, 2020

Humanities- Create a primary source

Students across Junior Humanities were asked to create their own journal entry reflecting about living through a pandemic. For most, this is the first major global historical event that they have experienced, and it present a fantastic opportunity for the students to create their very own primary source.

 What it’s like to be a Year 8 student during a pandemic

Being a student during COVID-19 isn’t all bad, it has its ups and downs but at the end of the day we all realise it’s not going to last forever and it’ll be back to the normal routine in a matter of time.

It was actually quite stressful at first, “how do I join this?” “How do I complete that?”

But eventually we figured how join our online classes and complete the work the teachers gave us.

If I have to be honest online classes are probably easier than real classes.

The situation a lot of people are in right now aren’t good, fortunately we have it lucky, our parents provide food, water, care, and love. Our siblings provide care, not going into complete and total madness and love. But those who don’t have enough food, water and people to love and take care of them. I encourage those reading this to help those kinds of people, or you could do something as simple as checking on your neighbour and giving them some of the necessities they might be running short of.

(Oscar, Year 8)

 Living through a pandemic – Day 19 0f quarantine, it is really boring and being stuck inside really isn’t good for a sporty kid like me. Only being to play soccer and other sports in the backyard gets boring after a while. I try to go on bike rides as much as possible but even that gets boring. I can’t wait for the world to be back to normal and to resume going to school and seeing my friends because not seeing them is making me sad. Lucky I’m friends with them on PlayStation so I can communicate with them through that and also with my phone. I do feel bad for the people and their families that are suffering from complete quarantine and also the people that actually do have the coronavirus. And it’s just a bad situation for everyone and I hope it’s over soon. From all the stories I’ve heard I’ve managed to piece together that someone in Wuhan, China ate a snake that had previously ate a bat which was carrying a disease which has now infected the whole world!

It is considerably harder for me to work at home because it is scientifically proven that working from home doesn’t give you the same mindset that working from school or in other peoples cases their workplace. So I feel I’m not used to it quite yet but I’m sure I’ll adapt, and because I’m used to having people around me while I work so I’m used to talking to them but now I can’t because we aren’t in the same vicinity as each other. For once in my life I’d actually rather be at school then at home, and I also find it stupid that a lot of people a panic buying, especially toilet paper. Why do you need to have 30 toilet rolls at a time. You can just buy some when you need some, but since everyone is panic buying people like me that find it stupid have to get the last rolls because we are not in there as they restock so we don’t get the first ones.

(Indi, Year 8)

Living Through A Pandemic    Today they have now cancelled footy that’s soccer, school now footy! I cant talk to my friends I sometimes will text them but there is nothing to talk about there is nothing to do. Since school started you have to do everything online its alright but my brother hardly does anything he finished everything for the week in the first hour. The benefits about this is that everybody now washes their hands that’s good and that world pollution is going down and that our dog can get 2 or 3 walks a day he’s loving it. Easter was not the same this year like being at home its normally you wake up you see the eggs you got get changed into some good clothes and go to your cousins house with the rest of your family and have a good Easter but it wasn’t the same this year. What I have been doing is that I’m reding more books and my family is doing more stuff together like playing board games, we made a fire pit.

I hope this crisis ends soon since I’m at home I would rather be at school then home everything is just not the same everything is different it’s a bit weird. There is now so little things to do during this time you cant play sport you cant do things with your friends

(Callum, Year 8)

“The coronavirus is making people all over the world thinking about how they spend their money, including us. All of a sudden, there is barely any toilet paper and it’s really hard to buy spaghetti in the supermarket. All our family is healthy but we are not allowed to visit our grandparents in case they get sick. (Joe, Year 7)

“I Feel trapped in my environment because I can’t leave home or see friends.  I am missing social sports and I am frustrated about it. I feel a little bit unsure of when things will go back to normal and how long we have to remain at home. I feel sad when I hear of the amount of people in the world who have got the virus and the others who have died.” (Noah C, Year 7)

“It is the first day of online school. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it there are ups and downs in everything. I find it more difficult to communicate with teachers because most of the time I have to email, it is a lot easier to talk to a teacher in person and I don’t like how you can’t put your hand up. Overall, I prefer going to school than doing online school.” (Noah K, Year 7)

“I am getting used to the coronavirus and feel like it is getting easier working from home. I am missing sport and seeing friends and family. I have been cooking and it reminds me of food tech. It feels so different at home. My Nanna had 2 back operations last week. I haven’t been able to see her. We can only FaceTime her to see how she is. I have been face-timing my friends and playing on the tramp. I am disappointed that we can’t go to school or see any friends.” (Spencer, Year 7)