On September 30,  NDA decided to go fully virtual because of the spiked numbers of COVID-19.

The Tritons were on a hybrid schedule which allowed students to be in the building 2-3 times a week.

But COVID had other plans as Green Bay has become a hot spot for COVID in the past weeks.

For the students and staff this is a big adjustment from past years. 

NDA senior Max McNeil said, ”It’s tough being at home doing school work when I would rather be at NDA interacting with classmates and enjoying our senior year.”

This year the Tritons have started using the service Swipe to track attendance when the students are not inside the building.

This is different from last year when teachers had daily attendance questions, questions with no correct answer, to mark if the student was “present” in class.

For this online learning format Swipe has become an even more vital part.

Swipe has provoked mixed views but some students like it, such as NDA senior Seth Baeten who said,  “Personally, I love swipe. I get a weird thrill from typing in my numbers before classes. Sometimes before I go to bed or even in the middle of the night, I get a weird urge to Swipe in.”

Another major component of online learning is Zoom.

Zoom is the way the teachers are facilitating learning during virtual, online classes.

Students have four 80-minute classes four days a week.

That means students see each teacher or attend each class twice a week with Wednesday being a work day not on Zoom.

All in all, that is a lot of screen time and some students are concerned about the long-term effect. 

NDA senior Noah Jaeckles said,  “The blue light produced by the computer screen is not good for our young, developing eye balls.”

English teacher Carolyn Brown said she was concerned about screen time too. “Twice I’ve found myself seeing spots, like blackout spots in my vision, when working on the computer at home after school.  I need to look into the glasses some students have purchased for help with the intense screen time.” 

This year the online learning program is more detailed and structured than last year’s sudden switch from in-class to online learning. 

Needless to say, students and teachers alike are hopeful for a return to the building soon.