Changing your study setting can improve your performance and maybe even your grade. According to rethinkstudying.com, “By changing your study environment, you create more cues to remember the information; your knowledge becomes increasingly independent of your surroundings…Changing environments works well with the short, spaced study sessions…”

Westerville South is now on a hybrid schedule with many students rotating between remote learning at home and learning at school. This is one of the many ways COVID-19 has impacted students in the district. 

Since the lockdown, many have been forced to study at home where there may be many distractions, which could have led to repetitive loss of focus, increased stress, and disorganization. 

“I am often distracted and it is hard to focus, even when I manage to buckle down and do my work it is still hard to get work done quickly and I take many breaks,” Natalie Shah, a senior at Westerville South high school said.

Researchers at the University of Gujrat, from Gujrat, Pakistan, have discovered that environmental factors such as lighting, air quality, acoustics, and the setting have a tremendous impact on the quality of performance of both students and teachers.

With the pandemic, many of Westerville’s students may not have a setting that could potentially improve their study habits and ultimately their grades.

No need to panic, a nearby metropolitan library, is offering students a chance to change their setting by coming there for public browsing and computer access. Thomas Sharpe, an administrative assistant from the marketing department of the library, stated, “If you would like to stay outside during your visits, the library’s Wi-Fi is still free to use.” 

The Westerville Public Library closed along with many other businesses at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are once again opening back up now that Franklin county has been declared a level 2.

As of Oct.12, 2020  the library is open for walk-through browsing, which allows the general public to browse through collections of books, use the computer labs, visit the history center and museum, and borrow and return items while wearing a face covering, i.e face mask.

 Drive thru and returns are available from Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Museum visits may be made by appointment only; the museum houses antiques and collectibles that are not for sale. 

The Westerville history center houses information about the Underground Railroad activity, the Westerville Whiskey Wars and the printing headquarters of the well-known Anti-Saloon League of America.

Health guidelines have been implemented to ensure your safety; this includes wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing, and disinfecting common areas as stated on the coronavirus.ohio.gov. website.

Students will have to schedule appointments for computer access for the one hour increments of 3-4 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. School deliveries are also available, which allows students to ask for books to be delivered from the Westerville public library to Westerville South high school and can pick up their items from the library at South.