In the past month, over 2700 student and teacher absences have been reported, according to administrative assistant Maribel Sanchez.
“It takes more time for students to learn,” Sanchez said. “Students get behind, and it’s so hard to keep up with homework.”
Sophomore Katherine Shatokhin agreed.
“There was a lot of work that I missed, especially in math and in chemistry, because those are my toughest classes,” Shatokhin said.
Some teachers have also noticed the recent influx of student absences.
Diane Clark, who teaches Advanced Chemistry 1 and IB Chemistry 2 HL, said low attendance pushes not only students, but also teachers to put in extra work.
“It requires a lot of outside time to get the students back up to speed on what they missed,” she said.
Clark also said that learning missed content at home can be harder than learning in school.
“They definitely miss the nuances of the content that you usually get while sitting in class, as well as the extra practice that you usually get sitting in class with the teacher there to help catch mistakes immediately,” she said.
December also marks the start of winter sports and holiday arts performances. For orchestra director Catherine Bond, sickness can play a detrimental role for musicians.
“Students missing rehearsal makes it difficult because then the students have missed things that we might have rehearsed [like] cleaning up rhythms, changing bowings, and getting the ensemble part learned,” Bond said.
Bond said she advises sick students to stay home and rest.
“Unfortunately, in a music ensemble, when you miss a performance, you miss a performance,” she said. “But you know, it is what it is. Get lots of rest, drink plenty of good water, eat healthy. Just take care of your body.”