By Gabriella Sorrentino, Assistant Sports Editor

With the global outbreak of the coronavirus, members of the community have been forced to adjust to life in quarantine and the implementation of online classes over the past few months. Even with the changes to daily life, however, students have been finding ways to cope with the new challenges of this time. 

With the closing of both schools and most businesses, students and their families have been experiencing the struggles of being around one another much more than usual, and many families have been dealing with the effects of cabin fever during this time. 

From March 16-June 11, students and faculty engaged in remote learning via virtual “live” lessons and online assignments due to that statewide stay-at-home orders mandated to manage the outbreak of COVID-19. (Illustration by Lucy Retterer)

“I love my family, but finding a quiet space to do my work or be in class can get really annoying sometimes,” junior Kailey Totland said. 

While social distancing may make it hard to keep up with friends and classmates, students have found ways to stay connected. Popular activities include group Netflix parties, rounds of jackbox and other virtual activities. For those who celebrated their birthdays during quarantine, a new trend of birthday “parades” quickly became popular. 

Even with sports and clubs being cancelled, students found ways to stay busy during this time. Common activities included going on long walks, either alone or with family, or running around local parks and towns to stay fit, as well as enhancing their mental skills through the school’s athletic workshops (see article here). Students have also been catching up with their Netflix watchlists and are finding time to read new books in their downtime. 

Though the time away from school and the time gained without the daily commute may have seemed like a welcome reprieve in the beginning, many students hope to return to school come fall. While most students enjoyed the no-uniform days, many also miss their classmates, teammates and castmates, as the spring sports season and the spring musical were cancelled due to the stay-at-home orders. 

“I really miss the track team and all of the track girls,” senior Ryen Miller said.  

With NJ entering Phase 2, students are looking forward to the reopening of businesses for the summer and hopefully returning to school in the fall. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing my friends on a daily basis and being able to interact with people I wasn’t in touch with as often during quarantine,” Codispoti said.