Norwich Free Academy, along with other schools and students across the country, has had to adapt to the recent COVID-19 outbreaks while still trying to participate in face-to-face learning this semester. These new challenges follow new regulations being put in place, including one of which requires the wearing of masks throughout the school day. 

While masks have proven effective in keeping people protected from the virus, they also come with many obstacles that students are still trying to overcome. NFA students are required to wear their masks throughout the school day, which means almost seven hours of continuous wearing of a mask.

Morgan Guimond, an eleventh grade student at NFA, expressed her view on masks and communication struggles with others: “while wearing masks, you can’t see if I’m smiling or if I’m mad and you can’t see my emotions. It changes the environment at NFA a lot.”

This experience has also been difficult for incoming freshmen, having to adapt to NFA’s large campus and having this added interference.

“While I’m trying to learn, I get distracted by thinking: it’s hard to breathe with this and there are this many hours before I can take it off,” said freshman Emma Suchoski.

The CDC recommends that people wear masks in public settings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 from person to person.

“It is common sense that if two people are facing each other and each has a way of blocking at least some of the air and associated viral particles from entering the area between them that the virus will not pass as easily” said Science Department Head, Chad Johnson.

“There are people who won’t wear masks and that affects the people that do want to wear masks,” said Morgan.

Norwich Free Academy students and teachers are all working hard to keep the school safe and to maintain the same energetic and caring environment as years before.