On March 17, 2020, many students were saying “See you after the 2 week shut down!” or were taking bets on how long remote learning would last. Little did they know, they would not see each in classes for 5 months, if at all.
Remote learning was a good solution to the current problem, but most students were very happy to hear that we were returning to in-person classes. Even with the delay of in-person instruction, most students were excited to see one another. When the students returned at the start of the 2020-2021 school year, it was unlike any school year ever before. Walking into the building, every student was required to have their temperature checked, and of course were required to wear a mask. Many friend groups were still separated from each other, due to social distancing rules and the split schedule. Walking through the halls that are normally full of students, now half empty, brought sadness to many of the students. Sitting in partially empty classrooms caused many to look at one another realizing that this is the new normal. Many students of the class of 2021 realized that March of 2020 could be the last time they all were brought together before graduation.
One member of the class of 2021 told me the following. “The first day was crazy. I felt that we should have been back in 2 months ago. Everything felt off. Not just off, totally unreal. I would have never pictured the first day of senior year to go the way it did.”
Overall, the first day of this school year was eye-opening. Every grade realized that they lost something with COVID-19. Gone were the days of full classes, jostling in the hallways, and the carefree days of not worrying about potential contamination. The realization that things might be the same seems to be echoing back at me like my voice through the empty halls.