Tuesday, March 31, 2020

3/31/20 Jeslyn Mei PD1

Jeslyn Mei Blogger #21                                                           Modern Mythology PD1

Ms. Fusaro                                                                                                          3/31/20


Blog #3


  • What is it like working from home?


While working from home has been a difficult transition for me, I’ve gradually become accustomed to my new lifestyle and appreciated my newfound independence as a student. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was accustomed to waking up at six in the morning to arrive at school before the first-period bell. I left each class when the bell rang and walked to my next class before the late bell rang. My life on the weekdays had become a routine as I waited for the weekend to sleep in. On March 15, 2020, when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all schools were suspended until after spring break, I felt relieved because the number of cases was rapidly increasing and I didn’t have to decide whether I wanted to stay behind in my classes or make-up past exams. These past few weeks, I had to ensure my attendance was checked instead of my teachers taking on that responsibility. From time to time, I had to check my clock to see how much time was remaining before my next class started instead of depending on the regular bell. While it took me a few days to get settled with the new ways of learning such as utilizing Zoom, I enjoyed the freedom I had to work on lessons that were due my next session or prepare early for my next weekly reading mega-thread, similar to how it may be in college. I started appreciating all the technological devices I had as I became dependent on them to communicate with the outside world such as replying to my peer’s comments about the Interview with the Vampire readings. However, I miss going out with my friends, seeing my teachers, and learning from my classmates face-to-face daily. Some challenges that arose included leaving my work to do at a later time which led up to a build-up of assignments due the same day. Still, because I only had three classes per day of the cycle, I had an abundant amount of free time to practice my instrument and pursue a new hobby such as playing the piano. While researching new updates on COVID-19, I came across an interesting article that found employees worked more and quit less when they worked at home according to a 2016 study. While our situations are not necessarily the same, I found it relatable to hear that employees were overall more content with their job or responsibilities.

Article regarding the 2016 study: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-creating-huge-stressful-experiment-working-home/607945/


  • What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?


As of March 30th, 2020, a 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship is docked in Manhattan because of the lack of medical facilities to treat COVID-19 patients compared to the thousands of newly detected cases every hour. There are a total of 159, 680 confirmed cases in the United States and 2,932 deaths with New York leading compared to the other states of having the most number of cases. This is largely because New York is the most densely populated city in the United States and the slow early response coupled with packed trains allowed for New York to be the epicenter for COVID-19. According to the New York Times, President Trump is saying that the United States will be producing ventilators and other medical equipment to Europe, especially hard-hit regions such as Italy as a worldwide effort to contain the virus. Another historic event is the creation of a $2-trillion coronavirus stimulus bill which is the largest in United States history. The bill accounts for small businesses, $150 billion for local and state governments and $130 billion for hospitals, according to the Los Angeles Times. The bill also assists most adults by paying them directly $1200 or less, depending on their tax returns. While there have been reports of recovery by patients in Wuhan, China and as shown in the graph below where recoveries are increasing steadily, doctors are reporting that between 3 and 10% of cured patients become reinfected with the illness. For example, in a Fox News article, Tongji Hospital in Wuhan confirmed that five of 145 patients tested positive again in nucleic acid tests. Reading the current statistics reminds me and others to social distance and to wash your hands for twenty seconds during this unprecedented time.



84% of Chinese cases, 97% of critical cases and more than 96% of deaths are within the Hubei province.



The virus has infected over 764,800 people in at least 171 countries.

Los Angeles Times Article: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-03-24/congress-white-house-stimulus-deal-coronavirus

Fox News Article: https://www.foxnews.com/health/up-to-10-percent-of-recovered-coronavirus-patients-test-positive-again-report-says

Additional fascinating article about how the COVID-19 virus spread worldwide: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/22/world/coronavirus-spread.html?referringSource=articleShare


  • Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.


The epidemic that’s occurring right now seems surreal. In November, I had a discussion with my class in AP Biology about our speculations regarding the next pandemic. No one in my class had brought up the COVID-19 or any viruses that were even remotely similar to this virus. To personally experience a historic event is certainly something that I’m going to look back on ten years later and it will still be shocking. Things I’ve always done such as washing my hands are now my priority as what seemed natural to do is currently heavily stressed around the world. While the daily updates continue to show an increased number of cases and deaths, I remain hopeful that as we are the next generation of health care professionals, I will continue to remain informed about new medicine scientists are creating or missteps the world is making. In the case that something similar occurs in the future, history doesn't repeat itself and we prevent the numbers from increasing even further. I also know of people who are still working to treat patients and are risking their lives, which makes the virus even more of a threat to people that haven’t traveled to countries where the virus has taken a significant toll on. As supermarkets continue to shut down and streets are deserted on the news, I continue to recognize how detrimental this virus is and the hard work that has gone into eradicating the current pandemic and serving the people’s needs.

3/30/20 Mark Gerges PD 5


Mark Gerges
03/30/20
Period 5
Blog #11
What is it like working from home?

Working from home is something I have never done before as a student. It has its pros and its cons, but overall I do not think working from home is bad. The only real issue working from home brings is that it can sometimes be a challenge to keep constant communication with all my teachers. Yes there’s emailing, but nothing beats face-to-face communication. The good things about working from home is that there’s a lot more time going around. On a regular school day, I would need to wake up early for school, and then commute for an hour to get there, plus an hour back home. When working from home, I save a lot more time since I don’t need to commute to and from school. Also, having only three classes a day lightens the workload as opposed to nine periods of classwork, and sometimes homework, per day. I also work in a more relaxed fashion as I can choose at what time, and in what order I do my work for that specific day. Overall, working from home isn’t bad at all. 

What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?

Although this pandemic is obviously horrible, and has taken the lives of many people globally, it has had some positive side effects on the world and in different communities. For example, in Venice, the waters have cleared so much that locals were able to see fish swimming through the city. Another example is China, where before the COVID-19, had seen much nitrogen dioxide emissions in its atmosphere. Since early January, the emissions have decreased drastically. In addition the outbreak has shown that during tough times, people will be unselfish to help fix problems. In New York City, entertainer Kelly Ripa, and NBA talent Kyrie Irving, have both donated thousands of dollars to help New York City with the Coronavirus. 


Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.

At first I thought quarantining in my house for a month would be fun, but to my surprise it's been mediocre. I hope the situation lightens up within the next few weeks. Realistically, and not to jinx anything but I think we will be clear by early June. In China, Coronavirus became a major issue in early January and they are now slowly returning to their normal lifestyles as cases decrease daily. In New York it became an issue near mid-March so based on China’s information, that would mean New York would be good by early June. I personally feel that the government should enforce stricter laws to prevent people from leaving their homes for unnecessary reasons so that the pandemic can have a shorter and smaller toll on our community and the world. 


3/31/30 Kelly Chan PD 7

3/31/30
Kelly Chan
PD 7

Write about your thoughts regarding the reading.
Interview with the Vampire is not necessarily scary, but the descriptions when one of thevampires
feast on their prey can get very graphic and disturbing. Claudia just freaks me out because she’s
basically a woman in a little girl’s body. I’m using the audiobook to listen to as I read, and the
narrator really makes the characters come to life. So when I’m reading about Claudia gashing
Lestat’s throat, drinking his blood, I literally hear Lestat’s gasps for “Louis… Louis…” 

I use the Libby App to borrow a copy of the audiobook. It requires a library card, but you can
apply to get a card through the Simply E app here: https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/ebookcentral/simplye

On a more serious note, I actually really enjoy the book so far because it really goes beyond the
Halloween-costume-not-meant-to-be-taken-seriously vampire, and really asks the question:
“What is a vampire?” I see Lestat, Louis, and Claudia as evolutions of what a vampire can really
be. Lestat is the original vampire but the one who understands the least about himself and his
true vampire nature. Louis is in the middle, he struggles to find a compromise between his human
past while also trying to understand his vampire existence. Claudia is inherently the most like a
vampire out of the 3 characters, but she’s the most frustrated for not understanding herself and
struggles to find more people like her. But these three characters all have one thing in common:
They have no idea what it means to be a vampire. (at least for now)

Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.

When will we understand that the longer people don’t adhere to social distancing, the more
we will have to do it? 

(I get so mad at people who are going outside and not keeping 6 feet apart from each other.)

While the coronavirus is out there, I’m just chilling at home. I celebrated my 18th birthday
yesterday and called it “Quarantined 18” just for fun. College acceptances came out. I’m still
studying for my APs. My mom is a paraprofessional at my old elementary school, and she’s
still teaching children how to read over Google Meet.  The world is facing a huge setback
right now, but life goes on. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

Working from home takes discipline like nothing I’ve had to do before. I’ve been able to maintain
a relatively normal sleep schedule which really helps. If I wake up early, it’s like my body thinks
it’s waking up for school, and I’m more likely to do work. What I like about working from home
is the flexibility of my schedule because as long as I get it done by the due date, it doesn’t matter
how many breaks I take doing it. What I’ve realized is how much time school takes away from
doing other things! I’ve enrolled in an ASL course online and learn how to embroider since
I have so much free time now. It’s really a nice opportunity to practice some self-discipline
while also having fun at your own pace. 


What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?
As of March 31, there is a confirmed case of a 12 year old contracting the coronavirus disease,
making her the youngest case of COVID-19 in Europe. Back at home in NYC, more than 1200
people have died of the coronavirus so far, and 1200 police officers or 15% of the police force
is out sick. Governor Cuomo has stressed once again that we are preparing for the peak of the
outbreak and to PLEASE practice social distancing and to stay clean. On a more positive note,
German scientists have found a way to test for coronavirus so that it can increase the test capacity
tenfold! And as of today, Governor Cuomo said “We had a doubling of cases every two days,
then a doubling every three days and a doubling every four days, then every five. We now have
a doubling of cases every six days.”  And Cornell University has launched an effort to make
masks to send to New York City hospitals. 

Also, please participate in KCC’s #WeAreThankful Social Media Campaign! Use any
type of media, whether it be a TikTok, Instagram story or a Twitter post, to express gratitude to
all the amazing and brave heroes who are fighting against COVID-19. Use the hashtag
#WeAreThankful and #SeagullNation and be sure to tag 3 other friends to do the same! 

 Sources:
A Coronavirus map that updates by the hour:
Global and Local Updates: 

3/31/20 Jayden Huang PD 5

Jayden Huang
3/31/20
Period 5
Blogger #10



What are you learning about your world based on the reactions?

Based on the reactions to this pandemic, I have learned that trouble brings out the best or the worst in people. We've all seen the viral videos of people trying to hoard toilet paper, or trying to raise the prices of ordinary items to try to make a quick buck. In addition to the hoarding and the price gouging, we see how little people can care about spreading the virus. I've seen videos of beaches packed with people, who seem to have little regard about possibly spreading the virus to someone at risk. While many bad things like this have happened, this pandemic has also brought out the best of people. Due to the dire need of hospital beds to care for the infected, people have banded together to form emergency hospitals, like in the Javits Center. (https://archpaper.com/2020/03/new-york-javits-center-coronavirus-emergency-hospital/) We can also learn from this pandemic how companies are treating not only their customers, but their workers. Right here in Staten Island, an Amazon worker was fired for leading a strike for more coronavirus protection. (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/amazon-fires-staten-island-coronavirus-strike-leader-chris-smalls.html) Luckily, there are still many examples of companies doing good, as seen in this article: https://justcapital.com/news/capitalism-meets-coronavirus-how-companies-are-responding/

What is it like working from home?

Working from home is extremely relaxed. I can complete my work at my own pace, with no stressful deadlines. I get to sleep for much longer, and I don't have to commute, which is definitely one of, if not the best, parts. I can use anything I need to better understand the material, whether it be the Internet, or discussing it with a friend. Due to its relaxed-nature, I feel like I get distracted much more easily than if I were in an actual classroom. Sometimes, during a class, I get distracted chatting with a friend, or watching a video, making it more difficult to retain information. Also, the three-day cycles, while they make it easier as a whole, make specific classes more difficult. In classes where you have to remember previous information, like in Russian, the three-day gap between classes makes it more difficult. Staying at home has been pretty monotonous, and the work I've been receiving helps to keep me engaged.

Write about your thoughts regarding the reading.

 This section of the reading has shown me just how deep the enforcement of Ingsoc is in Oceania. I thought that Mr. Charrington's shop was just an ordinary shop, run by an old man. Instead, it turns out it was a trap for heretics, and Mr. Charrington is a member of the Thought Police. This turn of events took me completely off guard, especially after the long excerpt of Goldstein's "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism". In addition, we get to see how much control the Party has over its citizens' minds. Memories of Winston's childhood had been buried within his subconscious, not remembering it until he dreamt it. The Party has been able to manipulate people and suppress their emotion to the point where the citizens become lifeless shells, believing anything they hear. The reading also shows the strong connection between Winston and Julia, who both knew they would likely be caught renting Mr. Charrington's room, but stayed because of their love.

Monday, March 30, 2020

3/27/20 Janny Cai PD 7

Monday, March 30th, 2020 
Janny Cai, Period 7 
My Thoughts on the Reading

After reading the first chapter of the novel, Interview With The Vampire, there were a lot
of things that I realized surrounding how vampires are created and how they would act
and whatnot. It was very eye-opening for me, to say the very least. 

But first, while he was telling the story, Louis is very articulate and his ability to express
comfort, empathy, through his words and actions while sharing his story to a kid who
was obviously super anxious about interviewing a real vampire. On top of that being
able to describe indescribable feelings in such a way that humans could understand.
Kudos to the author, Anne Rice, for her writing. Anyways, while reading his story, we
see a man experience many events during his life and we also follow along his
rollercoaster of emotions. 

First off, I thought vampires were a solid concept. So I thought people would just die
right after being bitten by a vampire and they feed on blood because they needed
blood to keep themselves alive. And then you have the usual; stake through heart,
garlic, cross, holy water, and sun allergies. 

I just thought they were just blood-sucking beings that were just there. None of the
transitional parts from transforming from human to being a vampire crossed my mind,
and how painful and confusing it might be for an individual. I just thought that was the
case since I never really explored other media relating to vampires. (Like Twilight? Or
Dracula?) I had a mild interest in vampires so… just my thoughts. 

My Experiences Working From Home

People have so much more free time now by working from home, (whether that’s a
good or a bad thing, that's up for your interpretation,) either they are out of work, or
they don’t have to take long commutes to get to work anymore, or for any other reason.
People can use this free time however they want, if they want to be productive, they
can, if they don’t want to, they can’t also do that too. 

I am the type of person who would spend 12 hours in a day on something that piques
my interest, which is good but also very bad at the same time. This means I can
use my free time very well and use it to be very productive, but then I have my bed,
and the bed is very dangerous. 

Most people probably understand what this means… sleep or lying around all day
as dead as a log scrolling through your instagram feed all day. 

If I can’t find my motivation to drag myself out of bed, it would be really hard for me
to be productive unless there is some pressing issue that needs to be immediately
fixed. Even though I absolutely despise the commute to and from school each day of
the week, I can’t help but to miss the feeling of being in school a lot
Especially when you have to share your cramped living quarters with many others and
everywhere and everything you see is associated with “comfort.” Thus, making you
less willing to do anything, and it drives me nuts. 

But then once I get into focus mode, everything just falls into place easier. 



My Two-Cents:
Right now, the United States is leading in world coronavirus cases. Currently, there are
over 164,000 cases in the United States and about 786,000 cases worldwide. A little
under half of all of the US cases are in New York State, and the majority of that is coming
from New York City. There are 3,164 deaths in the US and 37, 814 worldwide, that is scary. 
I feel like if the United States did some more drastic things to avoid community spread
locally, we would have way less people infected than we do now, especially in urban areas.
I feel like the decision to close schools later was a mistake and that should have happened the instant we got our first case in January. 

That way we could avoid the crisis hospitals in other countries like Italy are having.
Despite other people downplaying the virus a lot by comparing it to the flu and other
things, I believed the virus wasn’t going to be like the flu because of my parents who
have contacts with relatives near areas of high infection in China. They’ve been
updating us daily since the end of January about the severity of the virus so, I guess
this is the reason why I have such beliefs. 

As a result, I started limiting my activities in places other than school. My parents
started
stock up on food early and did other things to prepare for the worst. 

No one wants permanent lung scarring if they can avoid it right? 

3/30/20 Henry Cao PD 7

3/30/20
Henry Cao Period 7
Modern Mythology 2020

Updates around the world/community regarding the virus:
As of 3/30/20, President Trump has promised that the United States would soon send
supplies such as ventilators to Europe after speaking highly of the number of ventilators
American companies were now producing. State governors continue to point out the lack of s
upplies to the president, prompting his “leadership, assistance and quick action.”
Despite this, many government officials have requested more resources as the virus continues
to spread. The FDA has granted emergency approval of the use of two malaria drugs to
treat severely ill patients. However, there has yet to be conclusive evidence on whether or
not the drugs work. Although there have been massive donations of the drugs, they have
already gone into shortage. There are a total of over 140,000 cases in the United States and
2,400 deaths in the country, making the U.S. the leading nation in confirmed cases.
According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York has reported
38,000 of these cases. Around the globe, there have been nearly 800,000 cases with a
death toll approaching 40,000. 

What it’s like working from home:
Honestly, I find working from home quite enjoyable. It eliminates the need for a
dreadful commute from my home to school, allowing me to sleep in. Along the
lines of sleep, my sleep schedule has become a liability. Since the remote learning
experience has started, I’ve been getting to bed later and waking up later. This along,
with my lost sense of time, has made it a little challenging keeping on track with my
assignments. A lot of my classes such as Modern Mythology and AP Government easily
transitioned with remote learning. With a later start time and a break between each period,
I find myself feeling less stressed due to the openness in my schedule. On the other hand,
since all the teachers are communicating through emails and Google Classroom, instructions
on how to proceed with the assignments can get confusing. For instance, I woke up
and nearly had a heart attack thinking I missed my AP Calculus Zoom meeting. My
biggest challenge with remote learning is having to deal with my slow and old computer.
My unreliable computer has made completing all my assignments and attending Zoom
meetings troublesome. 

Thoughts and Personal Feelings:
When it was announced that schools would be closing up to April 20th, I found the
entire situation very surreal, believing it was some sort of dream. It was chilling
thinking about how that Friday may have been the last day of high school for me. It’s
become a meme on how the Class of 2020 may not have a proper graduation. As
humorous as some may be, it’s also a little disheartening knowing our high school career
has been cut short. I think one of the first thoughts in everyone’s head was how schools were
going to approach teaching. It’s been quite an adventure seeing Mr. Brunetti’s face on a
screen as he balances half-reactions and plays with his dog, Ginger. Overall, I think the
school’s ability to quickly adapt this digital route is quite impressive given the immediacy
of the situation. Even during this epidemic, my friends and I continue to remain positive
and spend time with each other over the Internet. 

Sources:


3/26/20 Yaying Zhao PD 7

March 27, 2020
Yaying Zhao
Period 7
Modern Mythology 2020, Blog #2
How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/
the world around you?
Mythologies, folklores, and legends are a reflection of a culture’s history.
The creation stories reflect their beliefs and each story after that reflects their
principles. Any changes to these stories tells us that something happened in
their history that suddenly changed their beliefs. For example, Norse Mythology
saw an increase in references in baptism and additions of certain deities after they
converted to Christianity around the 11th and 12th centuries. We also see this
happen when Alexander the Great conquered the Middle-East, Central Asia,
and India. His empire eventually led to the creation of Hellenism, which refers to
the study of imitation of Greek Culture. 
Gods, Monsters, and the Apocalypse teaches us to analyze certain parts of
the global past that no amount of AP history courses could touch upon. 
What is it like working from home?
While I miss seeing my friends and my daily routine, I’ve come to realize that
I enjoy this experience of working from home. This setting allows me to work
at my own pace and set my own schedule. I am also more motivated to get things
done because there is simply nothing else to do. The school’s new 3 cycle
schedule with 75 minute blocks significantly lightens the workload. The 45
minute breaks in between each block allows the students to take a breather and
refocus their attention for when the next class is in session. Another plus to
remote learning is being able to work from bed, in your pajamas. However, being able to set my own schedule has its determinants as well. On days where I start late or have classes that don’t require zoom, I only wake up to do my attendance. I’ve grown accustomed to a daily schedule that might not be the best for me. On a typical day, I go to bed when I hear birds outside my window and coffee or milk-tea holds me over until I eat breakfast after my classes are over for the day. When I’m not doing my assignments or talking to my friends, I’m napping. I also only leave my room to get food, so I see my family once a day. Which, honestly might be better for everyone because there’s already more people in the house than usual.

What are you learning about your world / community
based on the reactions?
Even before the first case of the COVID-19 was discovered outside China,
the media had begun to report an increase in numbers of hate crimes against
people of Chinese or East-Asian descent. (https://mothership.sg/2020/03/new-york-city-asian-man-coronavirus/ ) This situation has taught me that racial discrimination is still, very much, a part of our global society. From San Francisco, an elderly chinese man who collects plastic bottles for a living was mocked and chased out of a fellow minority neighborhood ( https://abc7news.com/calls-for-hate-crime-investigation-after-sf-elderly-man-attacked/5967782/ ). It’s shocking because people claim that minorities should
always stick together. Some of the other crimes from the same root include the

These hate crimes, however, are not the only thing on the rise. All over
social media, I’ve been seeing alot of well known actors, comedians, writers,
influencers (etc…) step up to give their thoughts on this situation and encourage
unity during this global pandemic. Even more recent, a video of a man defending a Chinese woman on the NYC subway floated around the internet (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/video-shows-passenger-defending-asian-woman-facing-racism-new-york-n1162296 ). Emily Chen, the victim, had been mindful of social distancing when a man approached her to begin his verbal assault. Witnessing this, a fellow subway rider stepped in to fend the attacker off. From this I’ve learned that there are still some good people in the world who would willingly step up and help even if the rest of the world has gone blind by paranoia. 

Benjamin Cavallaro, Period 6, 03/25/24

  Benjamin Cavallaro, Period 6, 3/25/24 Modern Mythology 2024 Blog #3      Something that’s stuck with me since the start of the school year...