Samo: in-person and back in business
By Grace Gyepes, Staff Writer
On Apr. 19, Samo students hustled through the Michigan gate, flashing their green screens to the security guards while eagerly searching for friends and teachers they hadn’t seen since last March. After a school year of distance learning, students were back on campus for a week of hybrid learning, and a full return the week of Apr. 26. Samo’s full return allows all students to attend in-person school five days a week, unless they choose to continue with distance learning.
Teachers and students alike reported that the first day back for a full schedule was very emotional, as some teachers were filled with joy being able to see their students in person for the first time, while others struggled with balancing the students on zoom and in-person. Some students were very excited to be back, while others were more reluctant to return to campus.
“My parents forced me to go. I don’t want to go because this is my junior year, it’s difficult and I already have so much going on. It was nice being at school, but walking through the Michigan gates felt funny. It was a bit of deja vu mixed with bitter nostalgia,” Susan Slavonia (‘22) said.
Despite a few tweaks, the class schedule remains mostly intact with the same start time. The biggest change was made to the lunch period. In order to minimize possible exposure to COVID-19, Samo administration decided to create two lunches, a strategy used at overcrowded schools to prevent students from overwhelming the cafeteria.
After three weeks, Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton feels that the return has been a relatively smooth and positive experience.
“We've got about 1,200 students coming each day. So, that's about half, you know, this week [May 3-7] we had about 1,350. We haven’t had a COVID-19 case, so that is also a positive, I think it speaks to our students adhering to the guidelines and safety protocols,” Shelton said.
The school has implemented a number of safety precautions, the first being accessible testing. There are PCR COVID-19 testing sites located around the district: on Mondays and Thursdays students can find testing at John Adams Middle School (JAMS) and on Tuesdays testing is offered at Malibu Elementary School. SMMUSD has also designated a district-wide COVID-19 Compliance Team that is responsible for establishing and enforcing all COVID-19 safety protocols and ensuring that staff and students receive education about how to maximize their safety on campus. Beyond the district-level COVID-19 Compliance Team, each school has their own team to ensure that each campus is following the district plan.
For the rest of the school year, the district plan entails that under no circumstances are students to have fewer than three feet between them. Additionally, the plan states that health screenings- surveys students must complete to see if they have been exposed to COVID-19- must be conducted before students, visitors and staff enter the school.
With all of these regulations in place, some students have been able to see the campus for the very first time. The freshmen class has who, until this point, experienced high school from the comfort of their own home, now they have officially entered a high school classroom and campus for the first time.
“School is so strange, I don’t know if this is what Samo is normally like, but I like it thus far!” Maxine Grossman (’24) said.
