As of Monday, March 7, Wayne Schools has officially lifted the mask mandate.

Earlier this year, Governor Murphy announced his plan to allow school districts to make a decision on whether or not masks should be required in school. With numbers heading in the right direction, the Wayne Board of Education voted to remove the mask mandate. 

After a long year of nonstop mask-wearing, a majority of students are choosing not to wear masks in classrooms anymore. However, there are still multiple students who are continuing to wear masks. Similarly, there is a mix amongst the teachers. Some have decided to continue wearing masks while others have decided to stop.

When asked about the new policy, Wayne Hills senior Luke Hulbert said, “It feels nice to breathe again and feel comfortable. We have a sense of freedom.” He is one of many students who have took this opportunity to no longer wear a mask. Similarly, senior Harris LiPuma said, “It finally feels like everything is starting to become normal.”

Another  student who has chosen to take his mask off, Jared Mintz said, “It lightens the overall mood of the entire school.” 

On the other hand, senior Eunho Jung began the week wearing her mask but later took it off. When asked on Monday, she said she was waiting for her booster shot. After receiving her shot later in the week, she now feels comfortable taking her mask off. Many students are in a similar position or are waiting to see how this effects cases in school. Other students say it makes them feel safer and some students are doing it because they live with someone who is at a higher risk.

Mr. Bosma, a Wayne Hills teacher said the reason he continues to wear a mask is that he “wants to see whether things are going around.” He then went on to say, “After two years, everybody wants to take their mask off its just a matter of when we feel safe.”

The majority of students and teachers have chosen to finally begin to get back to normal and take their masks off. Approximately 94% of students here at Wayne Hills have made the switch to no masks. With some students continuing to wear masks, some worried that there may be some negative comments. Fortunately, when talking to kids who are wearing masks, there has not been any disrespectful or unnecessary comments.

After just one week, everything appears to be moving along well. Students and teachers are both happy with being able to make their own decisions on whether or not to wear masks. With cases still moving in the right direction, students are hopeful that they are ready to move past masks.