Students returned to school today, Sept. 28, for the first time since March 13. Earlier this month, the school board voted to enforce Plan B, which allows students to return to school on a limited schedule. 

Students in the school building come with many precautions in order to keep everyone safe. The student body is split into two groups: A-Day, students with last names A-K, and B-Day, students with last names L-Z. Students who fall under A-Day attend school on Mondays and Thursdays while B-Day is virtual, and students who fall under B-Day attend school on Tuesdays and Fridays while A-Day is virtual. Wednesdays are virtual days for all students. Smaller groups allow for more space to social distance.

All students are required to wear masks for the entirety of the school day and temperatures are taken as students walk into school. Senior Kennedy Fletcher finds that wearing a mask for hours in a row takes some adjustment. 

“Sometimes the mask would make it hard to hear and fully understand what somebody was saying, but I’m sure I will get used to it,” Fletcher said. “I just appreciate the safety precautions that are being taken.”

Junior Noah Krauss contrasts the difference of what school has previously been like versus how it is now. 

“The differences included getting a temperature check when I got out of the car, staying on different sides of the hallway and trying to stay distanced from the people around me, not really sitting next to anyone in classes, and sanitizing at the end of each period,” Krauss said. “Overall, the first day of school was pretty good, it was a lot different than before obviously, but I felt very safe with the protocols and actions put in place.” 

However, while half of the students were in-person, the other half were still attending school virtually from home. This split population meant that teachers had to figure out how to teach both virtually and in-person simultaneously. Fletcher said that teachers did a great job of accommodating this change and filling the needs of both groups of students. 

“Teachers were very good about accommodating to in-person and virtual needs,” Fletcher said. “Some of my teachers would take turns with the virtual and in-person student’s ideas, that way everybody could get a say. They gave all students an equal opportunity.”

After being out of school and learning virtually for over six months, being back at school is a big change. Krauss speaks on seeing the people that he used to be around so often, for the first time in over half a year.

“My favorite part of today was by far seeing my classmates and teachers, some of which I had never met in person, and some that I have not seen in six months,” Krauss said. “It was really the highlight of my day.”

By: Amanda Jane Whiting, Feature Writer