Starting high school can be such an exciting yet nerve wracking experience. With COVID-19, it’s come to a new level of nerves. The class of 2025 spent a year and a half out of the two years of middle school, sitting at their computers learning via blackboard collaborate. Then, in 2021, they came into a side of the building they barely knew with many students and teachers they had never met before. Hayfield has new rules this year; masks on at all times, changes in the dress code and changes in the grading system. 

Most students expect to have a fun freshman year full of football games, school dances, extracurriculars, and so much more. Expectations were definitely not met. 

“When I got here, I was very stressed. There were so many people and I wasn’t able to use my locker for the first couple of weeks because it took me that long to find it,” freshmen Annie Mccauley said. 

In response to the same question, Taylor felt very similarly to Mccauley. She said 

“I barely knew my way around the middle school so I felt even more lost on the high school side. It felt like we were kind of just thrown in,” freshmen Ava Taylor said. 

The biggest difference between middle school and high school is that your classes are all about preparing you for college/ post high school plans. Taylor felt that the workload was harder but easier at the same time. 

“I feel like now, I am actually learning so it kind of balances it all out,” Taylor said.

Being in person meant having teachers and even classmates to hold you accountable. 

“There is definitely more work that’s harder but now I’m more on top of my work and understanding what I’m learning,” Mccauley said. 

No doubt, some 9th grade teachers think their students are doing great.  

“I have heard from other teachers that their students aren’t working hard but my students are doing great. They always do their work and participate in class,” Biology teacher Maria Cuevas-Mehra said.

During the virtual school year, students didn’t use their teacher’s support as much as they could have. Teacher’s had office hours for students to come and ask questions but not many students used them. They were afraid of being one on one with the teacher. Now that we are in person, they can get more help from the teachers along with the rest of their classmates.

Although there have been many changes, overall, students and teachers have felt that the return to school has had a positive impact on their learning. There are definitely adjustments that need to be made and routines that need getting used to but this school year is off to a great start.