As the numbers for coronavirus continue to rise, Addison Trail High School has decided to return to phase one of the plan for school in person.
DuPage County Health Department has deemed out of every 100 people tested, that 8 people have tested positive in the county.
This qualifies DuPage county for the red zone and means no extracurriculars will run after school.
The tough news has been difficult for the Blazer community, including athletes. Senior varsity football player Raul Villarreal said, ”I know that we need to do what is best for the community, but it is still kind of disappointing to not have these experiences in our senior year.”
Football is one of the few sports that have been running along with tennis, track, and golf. The team has only had 8 practices since the start of the school year and was planning to keep going for a few more weeks.
Many of the seniors on the varsity football team are having a hard time with coronavirus because as of now, there is no way for them to get scouted.
“My college education is going to be primarily based on what scholarships I can get for school,” added Villarreal. “Without football, scouts aren’t going to come looking for players which means no money will be awarded.”
Senior, Victor Gutierrez also stated, “These are our last few months with each other as a team and I feel like we are getting farther and farther away from progressing back to school and athletics.”
Athletics are not the only activity being shut down as the school returns to phase one. Music and theater are now undergoing changes for the 2020-2021 school year.
The marching band has been running for two weeks so far and now it is not authorized to continue in person.
One of theater’s co-presidents, Gabriela Mendoza, talks about theater doing the first-ever virtual show. “I think it is really amazing that we have the technology to be able to do all of these things like have an entire show on zoom,” Mendoza stated “It is nice to know that we are making history and that our class will definitely be remembered.”
On the negative side, however, Mendoza says, “Theater is something that has just always been better in person. It is a time that we can express ourselves and doing that over a computer is near impossible. Plus, I know many seniors just want their last musical in school like normal. These new updates just push us farther back,” she concluded.
The students all seem to come to the same consensus no matter what they do for school. Without extracurriculars, school is just a building.
All are disheartened by this major pull back on extracurriculars. However, they know that it is only right for the community to make these changes happen in order to stop the spread.
After the school pulls itself out of phase one again, the student body is hoping for their programs to go back into session.
