The 2021-2022 school year has just started and classrooms are starting to fill up again. Students who were 8th graders at the beginning of the pandemic are now sophomores and sophomores then are now seniors. For most students, their learning environment took place in their own home in front of a computer screen and for others in an empty classroom. But now every student is in school, some for the first time in almost two years. 

“It was weird coming back to school for the first time since sophomore year, but I adjusted pretty quickly and it felt normal,” stated senior Josh Flum, who decided to go all virtual last school year due to health reasons. Since there is not a virtual learning option this school year, every student must attend school in person. 

Senior Joe Yonga, who attended in-person school last year, said “I remember being the only student in person last year in my AP statistics class, it was only me and the teacher. She was forced to focus on the students online so it was a very tough learning environment for me. Now every class I am in is almost full and I have completely different emotions.” 

Classes like graphic design, fabrication technologies, and foods were especially hard to teach and learn remotely. Students were not able to have the full on-hand learning experience needed for these types of classes, “Foods last year was a struggle because we weren’t able to use important learning resources needed for the topic,” said junior Thepparit Sysounthone. 

Going from online to in-person learning seems like a big step for students. Students can see their teachers and teachers can see a full classroom. Classmates are now interacting with each other and their teachers in person which allows for much better communication. Some students online struggled to understand their teachers virtually, but in person, they can discuss with their peers and teachers very well.

“Trying to understand my teachers through a computer was a struggle at times, but talking to them in person is a completely different experience,” said senior Alex Gilman, who had not been in school since October 2020.

Overall, students have positive thoughts on the first day of school and it seems Wayne Hills is off to a good start. Most if not all students are adjusting fairly well from not being in school last year. With filled-up classrooms and being able to see our friends again, it seems we will have a successful year ahead of us.