Each year the first day of school is met with a variety of responses from students ranging from anxiety to excitement to dread. But regardless of an individual’s feelings toward school, the most exciting part of a new school year for most students is reuniting with friends and teachers after a summer apart. However, for the 2020-21 school year students will participate in comprehensive distance learning: a combination of online school and, if safe, the hybrid model consisting of a few days in school and a few online each week.

The first quarter of classes has been designated as solely online, so on September 8th Wilsonville High School Students logged onto their first zoom classes of the year. In other words, in place of joyous reunions in the Pointe parking lot and chatter of the first football game floating through hallways, students could merely smile through a computer screen in their own home as the teacher screen-shared the syllabus. 

Such a drastically different experience would surely elicit varied responses from students. Senior Lily Wright shared that the first day “made me a little sad because I wish I was in school with everyone… however, online school was good.” She ends on a positive note by elaborating that “It wasn’t that awkward on zoom either. Overall a fun first day of senior year, given the circumstances.” In contrast, junior Jenna Weiss began her day on a good note but in the end was not a fan of zoom. She emphasized that it was much more difficult to understand on zoom and summarized that “it felt a lot harder and I would want to go back to school in person as soon as it’s safe so that I can learn better and see my friends.” 

Despite the obvious challenges of a virtual school year, students have done well adapting to the new system. With the help of teachers who have dedicated significant amounts of time toward preparing for online teaching, hopefully all students can find success through the new model.