Seniors hoping for normal school year

By: Wes Tomlinson Staff Writer, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·2 min read

Aug. 5—Despite an ongoing pandemic, local high school seniors are ready to be back in class this school year, interacting with their classmates and teachers.

Many primary and secondary schools periodically sent students home last school year to participate in online schooling as exposure to the coronavirus forced quarantines and widespread infections occasionally closed schools.

West Limestone senior Noah Barnes is a drum major, and he and two of his band captains are thrilled that they got to have a band camp this year. West Limestone senior Marie McCay, a clarinet player, agreed.

"Being back and doing a band camp allows us to focus on our technicalities and our friendship-building and ... creating an atmosphere that we can all grow in, and being able to accomplish things that we used to in band," McCay said.

A productive atmosphere is just what band captains McCay and Mandie Sanders are working to build this school year. Sanders believes having the band meet in person last week will help.

"It's not about just coming to a classroom and just sitting there and playing an instrument," she said. "We get to do a bunch of different things at band camp."

Larissa Preuitt, a senior at Hartselle High, is ready to attend school in a traditional way again and looks forward to seeing her classmates and teachers.

"It was definitely hard at first to do everything online because we were not really used to that," she said, "But once we understood it, the virtual classroom has been really good for getting information out. It has also been good for bad weather days, because we can still have class online."

Online learning was a challenge, especially early on.

"In the beginning, I struggled a lot with math on the online courses and having to teach myself on the days that we didn't go to school," Preuitt said. "The teachers did (well) and they posted videos online; it was still hard for me to figure out how to do that."

Preuitt is looking forward to her final year and said she missed having events like pep rallies and homecoming, which they did not get to do at all last year.

Senior Natalie Cartee from Priceville High School is also glad to be back in the classroom. She said while the online courses gave her plenty of time to do her homework, she missed the one-on-one time with teachers.

"It is a lot easier when you are in the classroom," Cartee said.

—wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.