A junior's perspective on last days of school

by Blaise Runyon, News Editor

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

Last year, we all spent the whole last grading period in online classes, persuaded by the fact that our grades couldn’t dip below our third quarter scores. The class of 2022’s sophomore year was cut short, and now we will be seniors at 2:32pm Friday. Junior year was a blur of switching between online, hybrid, and all in. There was a plethora of Twitter fights, announcements in class reminding us of the rules, and yearning for normalcy.

This past year may have been a blur, but it wasn’t all bad. Maggie Shaffer (11) commented, “I think it was different in a good way because it made me realize a lot of stuff I took for granted.” Coming back next year, it’s likely the junior class will be more grateful for the in class instruction of our teachers. Maggie added that she is looking forward to “new fun and exciting memories I’m going to have this summer and starting to have more plans for college.” After having such a limited year, most incoming seniors will be looking to make the most of their last year of high school. Having a real prom, (our last ever) homecoming, football games, spirit days, and especially free cookie day, are all things that are going to have a whole new meaning. It’s a fresh year with a new principal and ideally it’ll be the best yet. Olivia Seiler (11) is looking forward to “having football games again because I've always loved going.” There may be a higher turnout at school events as students try to make up for lost time.

Seniors lost plenty, and in no way is this meant to seem like the juniors had it any worse, but at the end of this year we’re left wondering where we will be in 3 months. Masks mandates are being lifted, vaccines are being administered, but yet there’s no set guidelines for next year. 2022 seniors may be able to visit campuses and make our college decisions with much more information than many in the class of 2021 were able to. Frankie Divincenzo (11) is hopeful for next year since “we also got some normalcy towards the end of the year with concerts, prom, plays, etc.,” and this outlook is one the junior class seems to share. Maggie Shaffer (11) agrees, “I’m thinking of all the new fun and exciting memories I’m going to have this summer and start having more plans for college.” While people may feel that they were cheated out of this year, hopes remain high.

Looking into the 21-22 school year, we’re all ready for a fresh start. A blank grade book and teachers we see everyday are sorely needed by many. So, take these next 3 months to relax in your last summer as a high schooler, and in August we may be back to the normalcy that was taken at the end of sophomore year.