February break is a time most students and staff spend with friends or family doing something enjoyable. This year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic plans can differ from past years. Students Jonathan Breihof and Cynthia DePersio share their past plans and what they hope to accomplish this February break. Including English teacher, Ms. Chelsea Freda’s goals during the days off.
 

On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person learning, and schools shut down indefinitely across the globe . Throughout the country and even worldwide, students were forced to learn virtually from their own homes and this made many things difficult. After six month of isolation, the 2020-2021 school year began. Schools tried to their best extent to give students some type of in person experience.

The longstanding crisis of police violence and systemic racism in America hit a flashpoint on May 25, 2020 as Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man. Floyd’s death prompted a surge of demonstrations associated with the Black Lives Matter movement that quickly spread from Minneapolis to the rest of the country. 

Snowdays are very nostalgic for many current and past students all over the globe. Due to Covid-19, students of all ages have been learning virtually for the past ten months. Now that most people know how to use technology to access this at-home learning environment, it seems that snow days may be a thing of the pasts.

NHS freshmen, Christian Estrella and Jizelle Dancel have been observing the lack of representation regarding the deaf community for a long time. They now set out to make change. While just halfway through their first year in high school, the friends have petitioned and begun, the first-ever American Sign Language club at NHS. 

After 2020, many people came into the new year with high hopes and felt a relief leaving that the year behind. Many people chose to set their New Year's resolutions to focus on  health, eating well or exercising. Often, however, by February these resolutions have lessen and old habits increased. 

Every year, many celebrate the holidays with their families. Due to the COVID-19, things have been different and people have made changes to their plans this year. Some families are strict about Covid, and others have celebrated as they would every other year because there was a small group of people. NHS freshmen Audrey Helms, Mckenzee Annibal, and Angela and Jessica DeVito all celebrated the holidays differently and explained the restrictions of their family gatherings. 

School districts all over the country have been taking different approaches to getting back to a normal school life. Nutley Public Schools have officially begun reopening schools again starting in February for teachers and in March for students at all levels. As opinions arise on whether or not returning to in person school is a good idea; Vice Principal Joseph Materia, history teacher Mrs.

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, many students across the nation have continued to learn remotely and adapt to the virtual environment. Attending Google Meets, submitting assignments on time, and interacting with peers and teachers online has become the new norm for American students. Thus, maintaining grades, learning new material, and finding motivation can be difficult.

On July 1, 2020, Mr. David DiPisa began his role as Nutley’s new Business Administrator in the Central Office. Six months into the job, the Maroon & Gray caught up with Mr. DiPisa to learn about his his responsibilities as he works hard to prioritize the wellbeing of students and staff in the town.

Signora D’Angio has been a part of Nutley’s language department for countless years. . After many years teaching, D'Angio decided to retire in October, leaving Nutley High School with an opening for an Italian professor. The high school hired Italian teacher, Steven LaPeruta. LaPeruta, who is new to Nutley, discusses his love for Italian, how he enjoys teaching it to younger generations, and what he hopes to accomplish this upcoming year at Nutley High School. 

NHS demographics for 2018-2019 school year show that 20.3% of the student body was of Latinx descent. Through the years, the Latinx population in the Nutley Public Schools has grown.

The term Latinx is a growingly popular way of refer to the Latino community while remaining gender-neutral. 

The worldwide Coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed normal life. With more holidays coming up and Thanksgiving recently passing, there have been changes made to how people all over the world are celebrating. A Nutley High School culinary teacher, Mr.

This year has made a big impact on the world and its people. Due to COVID-19, each holiday has been impacted up to this point. As the economy “opens up,” it was still relevant that Americans take extra precautions while feasting. Marianne Killen and Angela Iannitelli, previous  hosts of Thanksgiving, explain what safety measures they put in place to keep guests and themselves healthy and safe.  

“It's been challenging," says Mrs. Jessica Coppola, NHS English teacher. “I feel like I’m learning about who I am as a teacher.” Coppola has been teaching at NHS since November  2014 and finds teaching virtually one of the biggest challenges of her career. 

Essential workers including nurses and doctors are especially crucial at a time like this while public amenities, schools, restaurants, and stores are opening back up during a pandemic. For many school districts across the country, whether all the students are back or not, schools are reopening for the first time in months. School nurses, like NHS’ school nurse Mrs. Rose Cioffi, have helped along with the school administration to allow students to come back into the schools safely regarding precautions. 

Thanksgiving night is a night that many look forward to as it is the so-called kick-off to the Holiday season, also known as “Black Friday.” “Black Friday” usually fills up malls across the country with people looking for the holiday sales and deals. The continuation of COVID has caused many traditions to look different this year and as American head into the holiday season many traditions are prolonged.

It has been eight months of virtual instruction since the Friday of March 13.

Summer 2020 will be one for the books. Although it wasn’t the only huge occurrence of this year, COVID-19 definitely had a huge effect on all of our everyday lives and seemed to overtake the country. Despite the fact that there were many restrictions and changes that had to be made to the “normal” summer plans and activities, this summer, for New Jersey at least, is when life slowly started to open back up again. 

NHS senior, Raj Paghdal, isn’t going to let the coronavirus ruin his summer plans. Instead, he will follow safety guidelines such as washing his hands, wearing a mask and making sure to keep a distance between others. “My family has decided that for safety reasons, there won't be vacation for us this year. Most of the summer will be spent in New Jersey,” says Paghdal.