School year gets underway

It might look different but the start of the school year still brings excitement. On the campuses of the Clay County School system, the number of students or lack thereof is immediately noticeable. However, Superintendent Dale Cole says it’s a vast improvement from the silence that blanketed the campus in the spring.

“We worked hard during the summer to come up with a plan that we feel benefits the students as much as possible. Cole admitted there is no perfect plan but he thinks his team’s approach to the school year will give students the opportunity to be successful.

With class sizes cut in half or even smaller, social distancing is more practical. Primary school classes moving around campus turn sideways, extend both arms to ensure a proper distance then proceed to their destination, smiling under their masks.

Anyone entering a school building is greeted with temperature checks and sanitizing stations. Outside the entry to Hayesville High School, a list of regulations and guidelines that must be adhered to before entering the building. “It’s obviously not the way we want school to be, but it’s the way it has to be for now,” Cole said.

Inside the halls, markers on the floor indicate proper distancing and create two distinct lanes for hall traffic to use. Teachers stood in front of their classes lecturing as normal, but to a smaller audience.

At the middle school, seventh grade classes took turns exiting the building to enter the courtyard for mask breaks. Students were able to enjoy conversations but no one was leaning in to whisper a secret.

Even with all the changes from normal, spirits seemed high. Across the board, anyone who was asked about first days of students returning had positive replies. From pre-school to high school, Yellow Jacket students, teachers and staff appear to be making the best of the situation by approaching the challenges as a team.

In next week’s issue, get details on the state of the art disinfecting system being used in Clay County Schools