5 years ago today, our world changed. What started as a normal day of school turned into an extended spring break, which then turned into a totally different “new normal.” The Paw Print staff spent today reminiscing about that day, March 13, 2020.
Junior Casey Bertsch recalls getting told by a friend of his that “We wouldn’t get sent home” and that “COVID was only for the dinosaurs.” He called the same guy that next day and told him how wrong he was. After that, Casey did absolutely nothing school related until seventh grade started, which was the greatest school year of all time.
For senior Ashlyn Fuhrmann, she looks back on this day with a nostalgic melancholy feeling. Being in seventh grade, she didn’t realize what exactly this meant. On one hand, she was glad to have a few extra days of spring break. She got to do an open note take home test for Algebra One because of the spring break extension, which she was very grateful for, but she was also scared because that meant that COVID was a real thing that was actually affecting the lives of people in their area. At first, she enjoyed the relaxing time at home, but as time went on she realized that it was much more serious than that. The show she was in at the time, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, soon got cancelled, her favorite teacher, Mrs. Haas, retired with a car parade, and more and more events she had been looking forward to got cancelled as the year went on. Fuhrmann remembers going back to the school a few weeks later once virtual classes had started to pick up supplies for a scrapbook they were making, and it felt eerie and void of life, far different from the bustling Jr. High she was so used to. “I still remember the months of Zoom classes and being isolated in my house,” Fuhrmann says, “my mom always tried to make it the best for me, adding fun music and art classes into my virtual schedule, but it could never overcome the anxiety and isolation of that time in our lives. It’s crazy to think that was now half a decade ago.”
Current sophomores Brooklynn and Julia relive their time at Oakdale Elementary when they left for what was thought to be spring break but ended up being their last day stepping foot in the building they spent 6 years of their lives in. They never got their last field day, elementary field trips, or the chance to say goodbye to their teachers and friends. Julia says, “I never got the chance to walk in our graduating parade while everyone clapped like the kids before me. Instead they handed my supplies back in a trash bag and our ‘graduation’ was a drive through.” Sophomore Lola Eiler also says she was devastated to find out about the extended break because that meant she wouldn’t be able to participate in the fifth grade celebration.
Senior Sydney Womack recalls the excitement she felt when she didn’t have to go to school, thinking it would be a one week break then back to business. The excitement turned to confusion when the break continued and the threat of COVID rose. At the time, not much was known about COVID and there was a lot of fear surrounding potential long-term effects of the virus. She did not like the adjustment of online classes, and missed the face-to-face interaction every day. “Going outside was a rare event, and when you did go outside it was empty and quiet,” Sydney says. “Most of my day was spent online, isolated from my friends.”
Senior Trishey Doyle remembers feeling excited for getting an extended spring break. She was in the 7th grade and was having a difficult time with one of her teachers so she finally felt like she could get a break. After hearing about how bad covid was and that many stores didn’t even have toilet paper, that’s when she knew it was more serious than she thought. She remembers being stuck inside and not being able to see any of her friends. Of course she didn’t want to go to school but being stuck inside her house made her miss school just a little. Eventually she had to get on zoom calls and make sure her camera was on so her teacher knew she was engaged in the learning. Summer ws extra long and lasted longer than normal. She remembers not going back until September and having to wear a mask on her first day back to school.
Senior Cayden Kincer remembers how excited he was to be off school even longer but once he realized how long it actually was he started to miss school and his friends. Not to mention due to the lock down everyone went online, but Cayden did none of the online classes which tanked his school work ethic and it still affects him to this day.
Sophomore Henry Walker was in fifth grade when the pandemic began. He recalls his dad being shocked that the library was closing, who didn’t realize how serious the lockdown really was. Walker also remembers receiving 3 extra hours of recess. According to him, “Nobody really questioned it at first, everyone was so excited that they didn’t have to do work!” However, he later realized that this time was for teachers to plan for the impending menace of COVID 19. His mom had been out of town, and was just coming home the weekend when everything shut down. What Walker remembers best is the confusion and stress felt by all the adults, the result of the stupefying events on March 13, 2020. Reflecting on the quarantine, Walker commented, “The pandemic changed our lives in a massive way. It would take three years before I stopped wearing masks in public.”
When Sophomore Sergio Hernandez reflects on the events of this day, 5 years ago, he feels a mix of emotions; nostalgia, joy, and also sadness. He was in 5th grade when the virus struck, he says that 5th grade was the best year he’s ever had and it was cut short because of COVID; he vividly remembers the fun recesses after lunch in which he would play until he was exhausted, and the fun projects that were assigned throughout the year, he specifically remembers the science project in which he, and his friends Yamileth and Jackelyn made a song to help them remember the planets, he says “We basically just copied Havana by Camila Cabello and replaced her lyrics with lyrics about planets” He was sitting down in his math class, when the teacher, Ms. Stafford, was telling the class what they would do in case the school shut down, she passed around a piece of paper with some general information, and then school was dismissed. He arrived at his house and a couple of hours later, he came into the kitchen while his mother was cooking, she looked at him and told him that spring break was going to be extended, he remembers feeling “ecstatic” that he could have a longer break, after the weeks passed by, he realized that he wouldn’t be going back, he was being dramatic and thought that he’d never see his friends again. He also remembers not leaving the house for months. It was a dark time and he says that “He’d never want to relive another pandemic at that scale EVER again.” Another thing that he feels deeply livid about is the 5th grade graduation, he was so excited for it, but then when that time of year rolled around, he discovered it would be a drive-thru graduation so he skipped it, he still hates the fact that he never got a proper goodbye from elementary school. Looking back on it all, he wishes he had appreciated the time he had before March 13, 2020.
Freshman Teagen Greene and Sam Julian vividly remember the boredom they experienced during the break from school due to COVID. Of course, the break from school was more like getting out of jail, but being prevented from going anywhere else was a problem both of them had as well. The two agree that Zoom calls with the cameras required to be on at all times was the worst aspect of the whole ordeal. Another aspect of the situation was homework packets, and sophomore Donovan Duncan remembers the hard homework packet he had to get from school when COVID closed schools down. “And we never even had to turn them in! Why did we do them!” Sophomore Lola Eiler also remembers the long packets, she completed all of them and never even got credit!
Senior William Simpson III remembers going home very confused, not really knowing what the future held on the horizon. Everyone had different initial reactions, believing in its legitimacy or not. The thing that stuck out to him was the differences in things said. Some said we would be back in a week and some said we would never go back to school again. The world was divided and no one knew what was going to happen to us, especially 7th grade him.
Journalism advisor Tricia Evanson was part of the high school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and she heard the announcement over the PA as she was prepping for rehearsal to begin. “Everyone should go straight home after school. All extracurriculars have been cancelled.” Some students trickled into the AC after school anyway, and Evanson remembers their faces wondering what was going to happen about the show. “I didn’t have any answers,” Evanson said. “Not for the kids, and not for myself. I had just purchased all the fabric to sew the dreamcoat for the play, but I didn’t know if I should start the process. I still have that fabric.” One student, Courtney Reckelhoff, sensing that something big was coming, laid down on the floor of the stage with her arms spread out, saying goodbye to a space that was really important to her. “The show was cancelled. The year was cancelled, other than a few packets, Zoom meetings, and at home AP tests, the year was done. I still have lots of feelings about that.”
