Covid Boarding Life

28 September 2020Emily P, Mackenzie ‘22; Photo by Sue Cheung

Once the thought of students piling through the Brentwood gates began, many new COVID standards were put into place. Now that the first two covid-free weeks have passed, everyone has managed to settle into their dorms and are adjusted to their new roommates, like a home away from home. Social distancing – which included no hugging or touching at all – was a hard one especially for returning students, but the importance soon became clear. There are now many different expectations – but house jobs and room inspections haven’t changed one bit.

On September 10th, the first night with everyone in their boarding house, the feeling was ecstatic. Each house was full of students new and old, excited to be with their new family. Mackenzie Houseparent, Ms Cheung explained: “I was very excited to see the students back in the house. They bring energy, enthusiasm, and life back to the building and the campus.” By 10pm, most of us were already tucked into our new beds for the night – but some were up wishing they’d brought a mattress topper. 😉

New regulations within the houses include masks within common areas while non-residential duty staff are in the house. We are also not permitted to be in each other’s rooms or in other boarding houses. Above all, we are expected to socially distance from others unless they are within our cohorts, although we do still need to be careful within our cohort to minimize contact.

Because cohorts are one of the major covid-mitigation strategies, they have a huge impact within the houses. In the early stages it was challenging, but as September is coming to a close, it has definitely been beneficial. “These regulations have allowed me to build strong relationships within the house before reaching out to other students” said Ginny C, Mackenzie ‘22. Cohorts have been rewarding as they have brought people together and have formed bonds between both the girls in our house and with our brother house, Ellis, that wouldn’t have been possible in a regular school year.

As we are currently compelled to stay within our cohorts, it is exceedingly hard to reach out and make new friends within the other houses. However, each weekend different school groups put on multiple activities to help the school come together as a whole. I asked a returning student, Will P, Whittall ‘22 to tell me how the events have helped him interact with others. He said, “The events that we have had so far have made me feel a lot more comfortable with the new ‘normal’ that we are adjusting to, and I am sure that we will have a great school year despite the changes.”

The changes are hard but so far they have been effective and appreciated, as we were all eager to stay back with our Brentwood family.

Emily P, Mackenzie ‘22.

Where Students Choose To Be