By Virginia Angle

The COVID-19 pandemic has consumed the news and media, with the number of affected individuals skyrocketing since the first case in the US. Across the world, governments and individuals have been taking many precautions to try and curb the spread of the virus. 

On March 23, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) made an announcement to close all Virginia private and public schools for the rest of the academic year. This announcement is a part of a series of business and school closures across the nation due to the COVID-19 virus. At the time of the announcement, the number of coronavirus cases in Virginia was over 600. Today, it’s closer to 5,274. Closing schools and businesses are just a few of the precautions that have been taken in the US to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many cities and states across the country have enforced shelter-in-place orders and curfews. 

While the students at Collegiate recognize the grave situation that the COVID-19 virus brings and the importance of closing Collegiate to help flatten the curve, many students are distraught about not being able to finish out the school year together at school. Quite suddenly, students lost sports seasons, the spring play, Sweet Sixteen, and many other traditions that they had prepared for all year. In particular, the class of 2020 has expressed grief and anguish that they won’t be returning to Collegiate to finish out their last year. 

From Bring Your Dog To School day to the graduation ceremony, there are so many things to look forward to during the second semester of senior year at Collegiate. Sadly, the seniors will not get to experience many of these traditions and celebrations. “I’m really sad about missing the last part of senior year because I feel like we’ve been working for 13 years all the way up until this point, and the best part of our entire high school has just been stripped away from us for months,” says Lilly Hall (‘20). While there has been speculation about some sort of online Dog Day and a postponed graduation ceremony, these things will certainly not be the same as in person. 

Spring sports seasons were just getting started when the closure of school was announced. Many seniors had just come home early from their Spring Break vacations for sports practices when the announcements came out about the transition to online learning. JD Spotts (‘20), a senior on the men’s varsity lacrosse team, expressed his feelings, saying, “to think that all the work we put in as a team before the season wouldn’t get a chance to show itself on the field really hurts. I hate that the whole situation is out of our control. I know for us seniors this hurts the most, because we had been preparing really hard to go out in our last season repping the green and gold the way we wanted to.” The spring athletic seasons being cut short has been very disappointing for all athletes, but especially for the seniors. 

For other events, such as the spring play and the dance concert, the school closure has been a disappointment for performing arts students. V Brooks (‘20), an experienced dancer at Collegiate, said, “I am so devastated. I have looked forward to this concert since I was in 3rd grade and first saw the seniors get to make remarks at the end of the concert about the dance teachers. After spending all of first semester working on amazing pieces, it is heartbreaking that those might never be seen. This is one of the things I am most sad about, because it’s my last opportunity to dance with this group ever.” 

While the situation is very frustrating, teachers and administrators have done an amazing job of reaching out to students and empathizing with them. In a recent email to the senior class, Head of Upper School Patrick Loach acknowledged the heartache, saying “I cannot find the words that will make you feel better about what you have lost. I can only imagine your sadness and disappointment about not being able to finish your senior year as you have imagined.” The support that the teachers and administrators have given students is extremely encouraging in this time of uncertainty.