After four months of distance learning, MHS students returned to campus on select days starting Friday, Nov. 13, MHS principal Shannon Fierro said. This change is just one of the many ways that MHS has allowed for students to have some face-to-face interactions with one another.
“Under the guidelines for small stable cohorts, we have been able to create a structure, inviting MHS students back by grade level,” Fierro said. “We were able to invite our freshmen to come to campus [Nov. 13].”
Most of the freshman class has never been to the MHS campus before, as most of them come from outside PUSD, Fierro said. Out of eleven students in the freshman class, ten chose to return to campus.
“I was able to learn more about everyone in my class,” MHS freshman Adia Lee said. “I didn’t know a lot about my classmates [prior to returning to campus].”
For two and a half hours on-campus, they went on a tour of the school, participated in activities to get to know one another, made sure each of the students’ technology was functional, and practiced writing professional emails. They were supervised by Fierro and paraeducator support as well as a small number of staff, according to the MHS weekly bulletin.
“Unlike PUSD students who often have been hanging out together since kindergarten, MHS is more of a mix of kids from different places,” Fierro said. “So we have to work a little more conscientiously on community building.”
MHS repeated the same procedure for the sophomore class on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Fierro said. However, due to Alameda County’s recent shift into the Purple Tier, the return of the junior and senior class will have to be put on hold, according to a video put out by the MHS administration on Thursday, Nov. 19.
“I’ve missed the in-person, day to day interactions with everyone,” Adia said. “But at the same time, I’ve spent six months doing online school, so it’s a hard adjustment.”
In accordance with Alameda County guidelines, strict COVID-19 procedures are being followed, Fierro said. All students have to complete a health screening prior to coming to campus, and all students wear masks. Tape is used to enforce six-feet of social distancing. Families have the choice to send their children back to campus, and for the students who choose to attend, they come to campus for office hours and the first period of the day.
“Some students are opting not to come, and if they decide not to, they still have [online] office hours and [either second or first period],” Fierro said. “So they aren’t missing anything academically.”
In addition to students returning to campus, MHS ASB has been planning and coordinating events that will allow for MHS students to safely interact with their classmates and peers, MHS Senior and ASB President Blaise Harrison said. These events included a virtual Halloween party on Friday, Oct. 30, accompanied by a drive-through where MHS students could pick up candy bags after school.
“We are trying on a level to recreate what we typically have here in non-COVID times,” Fierro said. “It reminds us that we are part of a community.”
On Friday, Nov. 20, up to fifteen freshmen and sophomores were invited by MHS ASB to hang out in Piedmont Park, Harrison said. The event was canceled due to COVID-19 developments and timing. While events like these are not official school events, it encourages students who don’t know each other to have some face-to-face interaction, Fierro said.
“I think it’s really important for the underclassmen to see who they go to school with,” MHS senior Ang Lee said. Ang is the liaison between the PHS and MHS ASB classes. “I think it is really beneficial for [the student’s] mental health.”
MHS ASB has to follow lots of COVID-19 regulations when planning in-person events, Harrison said. This makes brainstorming ideas for new events a challenge.
“It’s a lot of innovation,” Harrison said. “It’s hectic planning these [events], and it requires a lot of planning.”
The reason that MHS has been allowed to hold these events and return to campus is due to MHS’s small class size, Ang said.
“Because our school is very small, and there are a lot less students, working with the Piedmont police and the [PUSD] administration is a lot easier,” said Ang.
MHS ASB is planning more in-person events for the upcoming month, Harrison said. However, the recent shift into the purple tier has resulted in the cancellation of an outside Movie Night for up to twelve students of all grade levels, which was planned for after Thanksgiving break. Another event they are hoping to host is some sort of community service, whether it be a drive or a volunteer opportunity that students could attend.
“I was talking to an underclassmen, and they were talking about how isolated and alone they felt,” Harrison said. “Imagine virtually transferring to a new school. I think that these in-person events are really, really important.”
