High School Question:

Dear Mike and Abby,

Q: Since volunteer hours are mandatory in high school and we really can’t do that right now because we are in a pandemic, what are some alternatives?
Sincerely,
Confused 9th grader

A: Dear Confused 9th grader, a

Although volunteer hours seem harder to do since we are in a quarantine, they are actually easier to do now than ever! There are actually opportunities to volunteer at SEA as a tutor and there are even some clubs that can count for volunteer hours. You can also try to volunteer for a charity in San Diego or at your local church, just make sure to check the age requirement and for when and where they will require you to volunteer. Most importantly I would ask your advisory teacher about any of these choices before you do them especially if you choose to virtually volunteer from volunteermatch.org.

Sincerely,
Mike and Abby

Middle School Question:

Dear Mike and Abby,

Q: Since we are in remote learning and it’s our first year at Preuss how can we make friends?

Sincerely,
Friendless 6th grader

A: Dear Friendless 6th grader,

I’m glad you asked us this question. It may seem extremely difficult, especially in times like these, to make friends. The biggest thing you can do which is often really difficult for most people is be open to talking to others. What I mean by this is if you’re in a breakout room with your peers try your best to talk to them while you’re there. The best class to try and make friends is in your UP class because you’re going to be with each other, in the same class, for many years. If you are finding it hard to find things to talk about some easy topics are things like your favorite video games or tv shows. Once you’ve made one friend it should be a little easier to try and at least one more. In the end what really matters is being able to break out of your bubble even if it takes a while because in the end you might get friends out of it.

Sincerely,
Mike and Abby
Dear Mike and Abby,

Q: I keep emailing my teacher about an assignment and she isn’t emailing me back. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Worried Student

A: Dear Worried Student,

If your teacher isn’t responding back to your email about an assignment, the first thing to consider is if your email was polite and didn’t sound demanding or informal. Even if the email was polite there’s no need to worry. They also possibly didn’t get it but an alternative that works even better is asking in the Zoom chat if they can to talk to you after class. By doing this you can ask about the assignment and if they don’t have time you can make time to meet again and talk about it later.

Sincerely,
Mike and Abby