Travel resumes for February break

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Senior Aiden Rogers drives to the hoop. – Courtesy MVRHS

By Theo Fairchild-Coppoletti and Ruby Reimann

This Friday will mark one year since students and teachers at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) first entered quarantine. Since then, the MVRHS community has dealt with the numerous challenges of online and hybrid learning, as well as the health of students stuck within the confines of their homes for months at a time. Slowly but surely, however, students and teachers alike are growing accustomed to life in a new world.

For many students and teachers, February break was the first time they left the island since the beginning of the pandemic. “It was the first time I’ve been anywhere since last February,” said sophomore Rauiri Mullin, who went skiing at Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts. “It was nice to just get out and see something different, other than the same four walls.”

Sophomore Juliet Morse and her family also spent February vacation at Jiminy Peak. Juliet said that even though her original vacation plans were modified to safeguard the health of her family and the Island community, it was still a fun, and most importantly, safe experience, “Most years we would be hopping on a plane and heading to warm blue waters. Yet with the risky and dangerous state of the world that didn’t sit right with my family,” said Juliet.

Senior Mia Jeffers, who went to Florida, sees a return to traveling on the horizon. “I can definitely see people starting to travel more,” said Mia. “After you go once, I think you’re more likely to do it again.”

Spanish teacher Erin Slossberg and her family went skiing in Maine. “The trip itself felt safe, and it felt really great; we went as a family, we stayed as a family, and we came back as a family,” said Erin Slossberg. “It’s outside, and it’s safe. You can’t ride a liftshare with anybody outside of your family, and you’re wearing masks and gloves.”

Ms. Slossberg emphasized how important it was to get tested at the right time.  “You really need 72 hours to pick up a viral load if you came in contact with any COVID,” said Ms. Slossberg.

Last Saturday, superintendent Matt D’Andrea announced over email that all Mirimus tests for the week had come back negative, a promising sign following uncertainty around the impact break might have on COVID cases.

“I think [MVRHS] is doing all they can do. They can’t really tell us not to travel, but they’ve been really good about giving us information and making sure we have access to the testing sites.” said Mia.

Molly Houghton, Program Manager of Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools COVID-19 Surveillance Testing, thinks that a change in perspective around COVID is important as people start to travel more. “I think that, to an extent, you can travel and you can be safe if you’re following the precautions put out there by the state and by the board of health,” said Molly. “I think that the general mindset should shift to think more about other people and how [COVID] might impact someone else.”

“A lot of it comes down to individual responsibility. You have to understand the consequences even if they’re not personal,” said Molly.