Faith Gomez-Molina, Sophomore
“To ‘see’ our therapists we have to call or video chat, I have to call mine. And although I am talking to my therapist over the phone, it is difficult to do so because it is an added anxiety to account for. I feel that in my home I do not have nearly close enough to the amount of privacy that I did when I would go visit personally. Even though I enjoy my therapist and speaking to her, it is challenging because I feel that I have lost all progress that I have made with her and it has been extremely frustrating. There are just so many stressors right now that have been increasingly difficult for me to deal with. I have been struggling a lot with handling school as well as handling myself. Regardless, I’m still very grateful that I can at least speak with my therapist because I know that there are many other people who are facing much more difficult circumstances.“
Adriana Lopez, Teacher
“I was aware of about 10 students who did not have WiFi at their house. Working with Xfinity and getting them into a program for more affordable prices has been key to getting these kids to be able to do their school work. Students were extremely worried about their grades, and navigating applications for WiFi, set up and payment can be very confusing.
I reached out to my San Marin Science Team to ask for ideas. The one thing that this pandemic has done is bring teachers from all departments together. I have never worked so much with English, Math and History to help our students succeed! Ms. Laabs was kind enough to offer an old iPhone for a student. So this student could be more connected. Ms. LeMieux and I have talked a lot about getting ELD (English language development) students their work and how to best help them with history. Additionally, Ms. Bedford, Mr. Spinrad, myself and the Student Equity club has been working to help ELD students with their work.
I know this has been a difficult time, but I am so proud that I have the Mustang Staff to help our kids in times of need.“
Marie Fehring, Sophomore
“With this crazy situation where everything just stopped I didn’t really know what to do with myself. At first I did what I think everyone did: slept until I couldn’t, made way too many cakes, and basically watched every show on Netflix. However, one morning my dad came back with a 3-D printer that he had gotten from the school and asked if anybody wanted to help. At first I said that I wasn’t really interested but after a few days of seeing how cool it was and how it actually makes a big impact I decided that it was time to actually do something. My dad did the programming, but he showed me how to use the printer and how to adjust all the settings and such. I think it’s really cool to be able to help people who are working so hard to keep our community safe and healthy and learn a new skill while I’m at it!“
Melissa Havel, Teacher
“I miss being in the classroom. I enjoy interacting with students and teaching about science. This experience we are now going through shows us just how important science is and how important school is, not just for the learning that goes on but for the community that we create. I cannot wait until we can return to San Marin and I can teach students in person, but until then, know that we are still here for you and look forward to seeing you in Zoom or getting e-mails or comments in Google Classroom.“
Madella Tai, Sophomore
“Before the COVID-19 breakout, my Dad managed a primary care clinic in SF, but since, it has been turned into an Urgent Care facility for possible Coronavirus patients and testing. He goes into work like normal, but with shifted hours sometimes so he can stay late to help get the night shift started. I get reports of how the clinic is doing, and am always surprised to hear that for weeks, it has yet to be really busy. They have had some patients that tested positive, but some days he has so little to do that he works on his home projects from work.“
