As a friend and I arrived on the first day of school during COVID-19, we were expecting to notice some distinct changes. I usually arrive at school around 7:20 in the morning, classes start at 8:20. When I had arrived I had come to learn, the hard way, that they weren’t opening the doors till 7:45. 

After aimlessly moping, we got into the school. The first thing we noticed were the arrows on the floor, dictating what directions you could walk. And the implementation of social distancing in the classrooms. Desks were all 6 feet apart, and our class sizes were significantly smaller than average.

Senior Mohammad Afia liked everything regarding the COVID-19 precautions. “It’s been pretty normal, I enjoy the fact that the hallways are less crowded, but it does get pretty hard to speak with a mask on,” said Afia.  

Constant reminders from staff to sanitize and wash your hands were heard throughout the day for the students returning after a long quarantine.

Sophomore Abby Crain felt like everything was weird, but respected its purpose. “It was really weird, especially in the lunchroom to be so spaced apart and it was hard to hear each other with the masks on,” said Crain.

Masks, thankfully, were mandatory for students and staff at all times during the day while in the building. I noticed some students not wearing their masks properly, not much was done about this though from the staff members. 

Overall, the experience was very odd and surreal to see social distancing and COVID-19 preventions in such drastic conditions.