Mask breaks were added to the schedule this year to allow students a chance to get outside and breathe without their masks on while socially distanced. At just beyond the mid-year point, students and teachers have offered their thoughts and feelings about this new addition to the schedule.
“I think they are a good addition because you get time to be social and talk to friends, and they’re even better because we get a snack,” seventh-grader Ronan Culligan said when asked for his opinion on mask breaks.
When asked how mask breaks affect students during the day, Ronan said that he feels they have a positive effect. “It is a good time to regroup after your class and spend time outside,” he said.
Unlike Ronan, science teacher and Middle School Form Dean Clay Miles is not a huge proponent of these new mask breaks. “For the faculty, masks breaks are brutal because we know you guys want to be close and talk, but you can’t, so for faculty all we end up doing is telling you to move apart.”
Additionally, Mr. Miles does not think that after COVID-19, breaks similar to these should be implemented into the schedule. “I don’t think we should because these masks are because you guys can’t be close together,” he said. “These mask breaks are times where you guys get a chance to talk and be outside and after Covid, we don’t need that.”
Eighth-grader Kiran Sekaran, who was a student in the Middle School prior to the implementation of COVID-19 protocols, noted how mask breaks are different from the types of breaks that were previously put into place. “Mask breaks are a lot different because before we could play games like spikeball but now all we get to do is talk,” he said. Kiran also suggested that because it is cold outside, breaks should be able to occur inside.
Overall, there are several mixed opinions in the Middle School about the addition of mask breaks to the schedule.
