By Mia Khan, Staff Writer
With Covid restrictions easing up and school starting again, Mills High School is transitioning back to in-person events. Last year, students missed out on in-person Proms, dances, and rallies. Students are now excited to be able to attend these events in person and safely.
Principal Duszynski and the Leadership class are working to plan fun events while still prioritizing safety for Mills students. Masks are encouraged and vaccinations are recommended for all outdoor events. Masks will be required for indoor events, but most large events, like dances, and rallies will be outside.
Homecoming this October will take place outside, with the dance in center court. Since the August rally was successful, the leadership class will again try to add outdoor activities and other events to make it fun like the past rally.
When asked about what students are looking forward to this year, Ms. Dove, the leadership activities director, says “I think the Mills students are looking forward to a sense of normalcy and community this year.” Homecoming, dances, and rallies will give students a chance to socialize and have fun while still keeping safety a top priority. We’ll be able to resume some of the normal activities from before COVID. Ms. Dove added, ¨Safety is the biggest priority to get out of the global pandemic. We want to encourage masking and having events outside will give us more room to spread out.”
During distance learning, virtual events just weren’t the same for students. Even the highlight of fall semester, Mills Mania, had to go online. Everything else was cancelled, even prom. We’ve been suffering without in-person socialization for almost two years. So, being able to have big events this year is an amazing opportunity for students to get back into the normalcy of pre-covid activities.
The SMUHSD board had a meeting to propose a potential student vaccination requirement for participation in extracurricular activities. This means that only vaccinated students will be able to attend dances, sports, drama performances, and clubs outside the school day. The Board explains that this policy will keep our community safer and encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. In the end, the board was not able to reach a decision and will discuss at a later date.
The Mills community is confident and hopeful for this year’s in person events. Principal Duszynski wants to thank the student community and encourage everyone to have a great year exclaiming, ¨Let’s have a great year and re-engage and rebuild that sense of community that we have at Mills.¨ We’ve been suffering without in-person socialization for almost two years.¨
