Welcome back, Thunder Nation! It has been nearly the equivalent of an entire school year since we’ve attended in-person school. Now we’re officially into Week Two! On September 8th, 2020, the senior class attended school in person. For the rest of the week, one grade visited campus each day. The following week, all of the grades attended school with additional safety precautions that were made to accommodate more students and faculty. Each grade was informed on the selection of clubs, and for at least the first semester, each student can only partake in one club. These clubs will be meeting twice a week at lunchtime, a different model than last year.

The Student Council made a welcome back video for the student body which was projected to students during assembly, in the Thunderdome. The student leaders have been working on planning events that will be accessible for remote students. One example is the Thunder Cup events.  This inter-grade competition features multiple events where every grade chooses different students to participate in activities. This year, on the first day of school for each grade, four students participated in a Cornhole competition to start the Thunder Cup events for the year on Wednesday, September 9th.

But the real centerpiece of coming back was, well, coming back.

Savanna Fisher 

Savanna Fisher says she is “excited to see her friends in class.” Her favorite changes in school are the mask-policy and the enforcement of social distancing. While she does understand the reason for having no snack breaks, she cannot wait until they’re back. She also thinks that the use of outdoor classrooms will be a new and interesting experience.

Alexandra Morgan

Alexandra Morgan is also excited to see her friends this year.  “[She] likes how ODA has a mask policy and arrows on the ground.” Another thing Alexandra is “looking forward to in-person classes.” 

Lauren Sambursky 

This school year Lauren Sambursky is, “excited to have classes with her friends.” Her favorite safety precautions are “hand sanitizers and [directional] arrows.” One thing Lauren is happy about “is learning on campus.

Abbey Vollmer

Abbey Volmer is “happy to see her friends.” Her favorite safety protocols are “the mask policy and hand sanitizer booths.” Something Abbey looks forward to this year is “sitting with her friends at lunch.”

Abbey Perry

Abbey Perry chose in-person school because “[I] feel school is safe because of the enforcement of social distancing and how every student is wearing masks.” An additional reason she is glad to be on campus is that she is able to “see her friends and teachers” Abbey anticipates the day when students will “no longer need to wear maks.” She concludes that “she likes in-person learning over the online school.

Dr. Doody

From a teacher’s perspective, Dr. Doody, who teaches chemistry and physics, is “excited to teach her students in person and was stunned by how tall everyone got.” Her favorite precautions are the smaller classrooms, the outdoor lunches, and lastly, the mask policy. Something Dr. Doody is looking forward to is “the possibility of a vaccine coming in the next year.”

This school year is a new experience for everyone and many of the exciting things high school offers will be adjusted to make the student body safer. Hopefully this year ODA can still have major events such as dances, sporting events, theatrical events, and continue this year safely!