Junior Kareena Patel eagerly walks toward the building, excited for her third “first day” of school. After waking up to birds chirping outside her window and the bright, yellow sun rising out from the stormy clouds, she truly felt that this beautiful morning represented exactly what it was supposed to- a new beginning.

Typically, high school students do not look forward to waking up early at 6 a.m. in the morning to participate in classes for eight hours a day. However, these times were different, and every single student this morning was buzzing with excitement. 

“I am excited to finally see everyone back,” Patel said. 

With hallways full of students and classrooms full of occupied seats, today felt the most normal it has ever been for this school year. For the past year, students have been struggling with decreased social interaction along with the many other challenges that come from education through a computer screen. Several students feel as if their focus and concentration skills have significantly reduced due to remote learning and have been waiting for a day with just a little of normalcy.

However, full in-person learning five days a week may come at a price. With a larger amount of students in schools comes a larger risk of COVID cases. 

“Honestly, I’m not as concerned because all of my parents and grandparents are vaccinated,” Patel said. 

Although this may be the case for Patel, numerous students are afraid, and they have a right to be. While the school insisted they would keep social distancing rules, seats are now located three feet apart instead of six feet in order to accommodate the increased student population. 

Furthermore, large crowds of students cluster together in the hallways and during lunch hours. Yet, the greatest risk of all comes during the morning time as students enter the building through the parking lot. Lines containing about 50 students block the entrances of schools, preventing people from staying socially distanced.

While this was the first day of school and the Huntley staff are still adjusting to the new in-person system, Huntley must do a better job of keeping students safe yet satisfied throughout this transition to normal school, or there may be another pandemic on the horizon.