Samantha Mitchell '25
Although most restrictions on the school Wi-Fi are needed, some of the restrictions are unnecessary.
These restrictions go so far that even websites that are school related are blocked.
Castle Learning – which is a website that many girls in the school used to study for tests or help them review lessons – is not able to be accessed on school Wi-Fi.
Francesca Surace ‘25, when asked about the Wi-Fi, explained that she was frustrated that she could not use Castle Learning while in school. She said that it helped her better understand the material that she was learning in class. If she had lunch or a resource the period before a test, she would go on Castle Learning and study. Now she is unable to do so.
Furthermore, while in school students cannot open any PDFs that they do not own. So if they were in class and a teacher told them to open a PDF that was posted for an assignment, they would not be able to see it until they got home.
“It is aggravating trying to open assignments in class,” said Maria DiMaggio ‘25.
Maria further explained that if you need to use a PDF for an assignment in class, you have to turn the PDF into a Google Document in order to view it. However, this doesn’t work with all PDFs - others she can not open at all.
For some classes, the textbooks are posted as a PDF on Google Classroom. Because of the limits on the Wi-Fi, these textbooks are unable to be used while in the school building. This includes during resources, lunch and any other free time where students would want to get this work done.
This could be bothersome during resources due to the fact that most students try to get most of their work done during these periods.
“I like to get most of my homework done in school because I’m so busy after school,” said Toni Fichter ‘25.
Spotify is another blocked website. Clearly, Spotify is not as important as Castle Learning or PDFs. However, many students like to listen to music in resources or during independent work in class, if the teacher allows it.
According to a study by the New York Post, ⅔ of people are able to focus better while listening to music.
Restrictions on school Wi-Fi are definitely necessary, but there should be exceptions.
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