With school opening up full time starting on April 5, many people are wondering how students are feeling. Read comments from WHS students here! 

“I think it’s a step in the right direction and it would be good to see and communicate with other kids. The social distancing has taken away from my social interactions and I’m excited for it to end.” 

• Andrew Silva, Class of 2024 

“I think that online learning is detrimental to students’ education so I do want to go back in person, but I don’t want to go back if it compromises my safety. I believe if all of the students properly follow the protocols then it will work.”

• Michael Gillis, Class of 2024 

“I am happy and kind of sad going back to school. I am happy because I will get to see my friends in the other cohort who I haven’t seen in a while. On the other hand I am a bit nervous to go back to school since it will be a big change. It will be hard to have to wake up every morning and go to school, but I do think that it will be good for my education because it will allow me to be in person all the time and ask questions which is a lot easier to do in class rather than at home.”

• Kaitlyn Holland, Class of 2024

“I think going back to school  is good in terms of keeping up with motivation for school, as well as mental health because there will be less isolation at home, but it is risky. Although the vaccine is now out, I think it’s still important to be restrictive in terms of COVID-19 because it is still very serious and only teachers are being vaccinated at the moment. “

• Brooke Buckley, Class of 2023 

“I think it will be nice to be back together and get a sense of normalcy again. Also, I know many are weary of the idea considering their health and social distancing down to 3 feet, but I think the school has done a good job monitoring exposure and close contact protocol. I appreciate their effort to make it feel normal and it seems like the staff is really trying their best to make everyone comfortable. Given the worries of COVID-19, I think going back into school full time will be beneficial to each student’s mental health and learning. With the hybrid schedule, I think many of us find it harder to focus at home and connect with the people in school. However, I believe going back into school with the whole class might rekindle that connection and make it easier for students to focus and participate in class. Even though many will be extra cautious with more kids in the building, I look forward to seeing everyone, especially my classmates in the other cohort. I think we should view this transition as a positive, as things are looking up and starting to get back to normal.”

• Sydney Taylor, Class of 2022 

“Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea to go back to school but it might help other students. Many students and their families have health conditions that could possibly worsen their symptoms if they were to get COVID-19 (such as asthma, obesity, etc). In my household my step dad had previously gone through chemotherapy which weakened his immune system, not only that, but he also has high blood pressure and what not so if one of us within the house were to get COVID-19, he would be affected by it most. Although I also believe going back to school could benefit other students, there has been an immense amount of pressure put on students to not only take care of themselves during this pandemic but to also succeed in their academics despite students having to basically teach ourselves at home. Going back to school all in person would lift the pressure put on students to do well at home, a place where you are meant to relax, not a work environment. I think that instead of having everyone go back to school we should have most go back to school and for students who don’t feel safe to go back to school they should continue to do hybrid or fully remote.”

• Sofia Santiago, Class of 2022 

“I’m excited to go to a full in-person schedule because it will be great to see more of my friends everyday. I also think having everyone in back in-person will improve the general vibe in the building which will make the end of the year more fun. Also, it’s a return to some sense of normalcy in our lives which is what we’re all looking for right now.”

• Grace Manzo, Class of 2021 

“I’m glad that we are going back full time so that I can actually be in class with people that I haven’t seen except for online since over a year ago. It is a little disappointing because we don’t have remote Wednesdays anymore but overall I’m mostly happy that we are going back full time.”

• Andrew Hendricks, Class of 2021