OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – The bells are ringing again…for the first day of class that is.
Students across Fayette County made their return to a new school year. After a couple of years of battling strict Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines, among further changes that followed from the pandemic, it now seems everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.
“We are so excited,” one of the assistant principals at Oak Hill High School, Brandy Thomas says. “We are ready to start this school year much better than last year, no mask and all of our kids in person.”
“That’s a big weight off of everyone’s shoulders I feel like,” says an eleventh-grade student at OHHS, Katherine Dyer. “It feels good just to come to school and really be able to connect with my friends, sit beside them in class, it feels really nice.”
Last year, students and faculty had to come back to school with facemasks, as well as fear and uncertainty over the ongoing pandemic. While this year sees a much more normal return, it’s a normal of a new sort of variety.
“Of course, since Covid, and while Covid is still going around, we still have precautions in place, of course, a lot of hand washing, spacing if we can,” says Thomas.
Apart from the pandemic, other major concerns came into play as everyone navigates a new year.
Avoiding weapon violence was another hurdle the school system had to face as a result of the nationwide issue that it created. But, last year, Fayette County Schools was awarded new modern weapon technology that expects to change the game in school safety.
All in all, it seemed like spirits were high upon making the return.
“It feels really good to be starting the 11th grade, growing up school has always been a major part of my life, and knowing that I’m making those steps and Oak Hill High School has always provided good class and good education, so I’m really happy to be here,” Dyer says.
