Amesbury Elementary students return to traditional classes

Apr. 6—AMESBURY — They may have been a little understaffed but the teachers at Amesbury Elementary School welcomed their students back to the first day of traditional classes Monday morning.

Amesbury schoolchildren have been making use of a hybrid learning model ever since the 2020-21 school year began in the fall. But the state has mandated that now all elementary school students need to learn in an in-person model.

Monday marked the first time Amesbury Elementary School students were in the same building at the same time ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring.

Fourth-grader David Chirwa said he was "a little bit nervous" about his first day in school Monday but quickly found himself right at home.

"I'm seeing a lot more people who I normally don't see," David said. "I only saw these people remotely but I am happy to see everybody."

Social distancing requirements necessitated that students eat their lunches in the gymnasium.

David was eating lunch 6 feet apart from his classmates while facing forward but said he was getting used to the change.

"I'd rather be back in the cafeteria because it feels a little bit more normal," he said. "But this is better than nothing."

Kindergarten teacher Diane Naughton spent a good deal of Monday getting half of her students used to the other half (and vice versa.)

"They are really working hard and they are following all of their routines," Naughton said. "We have a couple of new faces who have not been in school before. But they are really getting the hang of it and it's great to see."

One of Naughton's students, Nora Crocker, said she was very happy to be in school Monday.

"We're all together," Nora said. "That's good."

Kindergartner Liam Folk said he was used to seeing half of his class on his computer and he was happy they were all together in one classroom Monday.

"This is exciting," Liam said. "I was a little bit nervous about this at first but then I wasn't."

Fellow kindergartner Sailor McCue said she was "really, really excited" to be in class.

"I'm happy because we get to have all of these kids here," she said.

Tyson O'Brien was also glad to be in class learning "how to spell stuff."

"Our teacher is really nice, too," he said.

Principal Shannon Nolan said many of her teachers received their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend, so some of them were taking Monday to recover.

"Everybody has stepped up," Nolan said. "It's great to have everybody back in the classroom."

School resource officer and Amesbury police Officer Troy Burrell found himself teaching kickball to a third-grade gym class Monday.

"I'm from Amesbury, so I'm helping out the community as best I can," Burrell said. "It's a great gig. It's great to have all the kids coming back and we're making the best of it that we can."

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.