It is that time of the year again, when everyone is getting sick. Although most people are very cautious to avoid viruses, sometimes your luck runs out. Many students fall ill and have to miss school days. Then students face the dreaded task of catching up.
Some tips that you might find helpful if you are faced with this obstacle is to try and do all the homework that is assigned that night. Also, set up a plan when you return so you can tackle make up work while you try to keep pace. Emma Schiller states, “ I space out the work that I missed and do all that I can to catch up on the missed assignments before I start with that days new assignments.”
The key is to make up any missed assesments as soon as possible, during a study or by staying after school. Never push off assessments or leave them unfinished because the longer you delay the further that material is from your memory.
While you’re sick at home, do what you can to keep up by contacting teachers or staying up to date with the assignments you can access on the website. Sometimes you need to be home because you’re too sick to expose others, but you can spend some time reading or studying between rest periods. Don’t use sickness as an excuse to do nothing if you’re well enough to do some homework; putting off everything can increase your stress when you re-enter.
Know also that the Student Handbook specifies that each student is responsible to work with their teachers to make-up work as quickly as possible to help them keep pace. The Student Handbook states:
- A student who has been absent is responsible for obtaining all assignments and class notes.
- Regardless of other commitments, if a student is absent from a class the day prior to a test or quiz or the day of a test or quiz, she must make up the assessment the day following her return either after school or during the class period.
Staying healthy is the best way to avoid the catch-up dread, and the best advice for staying healthy includes:
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Wash your hands with warm water and soap throughout the day; use Purell if you cannot get to a sink.
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Stay hydrated, eat healthily and get enough rest. The more run down you are, the more vulnerable you are to infection.
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If you get sick, let yourself rest long enough so you do not undermine your recovery by trying to do too much.
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Don’t bring your germs to school, and wash your hands extra if you’ve been near someone sick.
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Don’t share food or drinks.
Be smart about protecting yourself from sickness, and take steps to heal if you do get sick. But if you do get sick, use your time at home wisely if you are well enough to do some work. Also, make a make-up plan with your teachers, and use the help of your advisor too. Catching up may be a challenge, but you have a whole team of people at Montrose to help you!