After Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that all schools would close for the remainder of the school year, students and families already heartbroken by the loss of a month of second semester saw their worst fears confirmed.

On April 5, Principal Mrs. Julie Barthel emailed the student body expressing her sentiments about the school year’s early end; however, she reassured students by writing, “But, we are Cathedral, and we know we never go through anything alone.”

Her email also outlined a plan for the remainder of the year. She provided a calendar with the schedule for each day school would be in session.

Every Wednesday, as previously planned, will now be a Holy Cross Day. The day off acts as a break in the middle of the week for all students and teachers as we work through eLearning. No class will take place or assignments given on those days.

Finals also have been canceled, meaning both third and fourth quarter grades will be the only factors for final grades. Seniors will finish school on May 8 and freshmen, sophomores and juniors will finish on May 15.

Although campus is closed, learning will continue as students and teachers try to adjust to the new lifestyle of online classes. It may seem difficult to learn and study at this stage in the game, but we must continue to stay on a schedule, and we commend the administration for building a sustainable plan for the rest of the year.

As many punches as this coronavirus has delivered, it is understandable to feel like giving up, to feel as though everything is hopeless. School is closed, sports teams have stopped practicing, clubs cannot meet, most families are stuck in their homes. Throwing in the towel seems easier at this point, but we urge you, Cathedral, to stay strong and be resilient.

We, as Barthel said in her email, are not alone in this time of great hardship. We are a community of supporters and have to rally around one another, at an appropriate six-foot social distance, of course, but most of all, we need to look forward together. We need to have hope for the future and know that the skies will clear, the masks will come off, and the world will reopen.

For the seniors, we know it seems especially tough to say goodbye to your last year of high school so soon, without any sense of closure.

Senior Class president Marcelle Blanchet wrote in a text, “When I first heard the news that schools were closing, I was definitely in shock and in disbelief. It’s something that our generation hasn’t truly experienced and it took a while for me to process. It also made me realize the value of just the simple person-to-person interaction we get from attending school.”

Not only did school closing mean the end of everyday campus activities, but it meant an uncertain future for events such as graduation, prom, Irish 500, wall painting and pants signing on the last day of school, among many other events that seniors typically experience.

Barthel, acknowledging the effects of the cancellation of school on the Class of 2020, wrote in another email to the seniors, “We want to celebrate and honor you. We want to make sure you have everything you need to finish this year strong and to be prepared to do whatever you want to do after Cathedral. You are our top priority right now, seniors. I will be meeting with my administration and senior teachers to share ideas to keep you engaged academically, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.”

In an email from Barthel on April 14, it was announced that graduation for seniors will now take place on July 26 at Old National Centre. She also added that there will be a future graduation celebration on campus, but the date for that event still is pending.

It is clear the administration is working tirelessly to have those special events for seniors before they venture off to college.

Blanchet wrote that she was happy the administration was working to give seniors a graduation. “While I am sad the Class of 2020 has to end the school year differently than we all had expected, I am thrilled with the idea of trying to pursue a live graduation. I feel the effort put behind this is something that is worth every penny, because it can give us, the seniors, a day of celebration of what we have accomplished and more importantly something we have all been looking forward to these past four years,” Blanchet said.

Remember to keep checking the Megaphone for updates about future events and what is going on during quarantine. You are still working, and so are we. It is our goal to keep everyone as informed as possible. We hope everyone continues to stay safe while the country deals with the coronavirus.

Thank you to all our readers and to the Cathedral faculty, staff and students for all your hard work.