Administrators 

   March 13 is a day that will be remembered by GCHS staff and students for years to come.      

   For many students this marks the last regular school day of 2020. What started as an initial two week quarantine turned into a five month hiatus from in-person school.

   Almost a year later, life has still yet to return to complete normalcy. 

   While students first viewed COVID-19 as an extra two weeks of spring break, administrators knew they were facing far greater issues.

   “My initial reaction to the quarantine was I told somebody this is going to be longer than two weeks,” said Principal Sid Taylor.

   Nurse Jodi Sumrall also suspected the quarantine would last longer than expected. 

   “I knew we would be out longer, I didn’t think it would be the whole year, but I knew it wouldn’t be two weeks,” said Sumrall.

   COVID brought about many changes, from worrying about remembering a mask whenever you leave the house to avoiding eating out and trying to social distance.

   “At home I never go to WalMart, I only do grocery pickup, and I haven’t been to Mobile or Hattiesburg in probably a year,” said Sumrall.

   Taylor has also adopted extra precautions in the past year. 

   “When I leave the house or my office, I have to remember to grab a mask and every time I get in the vehicle, I have to use my hand sanitizer and just do the little things that I’ve never had to do before,” said Taylor. 

   On the other hand, COVID also allowed people the free time to find new hobbies and develop new skills. 

   Over the five month quarantine, Taylor developed an interest in furniture painting.

   “Out of boredom, I just found an item in my house and got some chalk paint and just experimented with it and it turned out pretty good and now it’s something that I really enjoy,” said Taylor. 

   For administrator Morgan Dean who moved to G.C.H.S. just a few weeks before the quarantine, COVID offered him time to settle into his new home and to get acquainted with George County. 

   “I could do stuff from Cleveland where my family was, while we were quarantined here and I think that made things a little bit easier,” said Dean. 

   While G.C.H.S. has yet to make a complete return to pre-COVID life, cases are currently down as students and administrators hope to finish out a quarantine-free year.

Teachers

GCHS along with the rest of the world is coming up on the anniversary of the arrival of a very long and hard year. 

March 13, 2020 was the beginning of a two week quarantine that led to an extensive break from school and most gregarious interactions.

“Since COVID I have hardly left home, ”English teacher David Wachsman said.

Many people feel as though their lives have been flipped upside down in the past year, while others have only noticed slight changes.

“It hasn’t really changed a whole lot, just having to constantly wear masks in restaurants is the biggest thing i’ve noticed. Kinda trying to be more conscientious about going to see family,” first-year teacher Stuart Dickerson said.

Many have picked up new hobbies to keep them occupied during quarentine.

“I’ve picked up breadmaking, sourdough bread,” Wachsman said.

“I didn’t really pick up any new skills, but I did start doing puzzles as a way of passing the time and giving me something to keep me active,” Dickerson said. 

As a result of COVID-19, teachers have had to resort to technologically inclined methods of teaching.

Students

COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic for almost a year. The entire world has been affected drastically. 

   “ I have to wear a mask everywhere,” freshman Andrew Hicks said. “I feel like my education was compromised because I just got over covid a month ago and I fell behind on all my school work.”

“ Personally, not much has changed,” sophomore Joseph Colburn said. “Me and my friends all started skateboarding over quarantine.”

“COVID-19 really shut down all spring sports that I was part of and I hope that doesn’t happen again,” junior Jayce Pater said. 

   “My life has changed a lot, definitely personality wise pretty much,” senior Jesse Gordon said. “When I first heard we would be getting quarantined I was like crap there goes my school year.”

   Students at G.C.H.S. are still feeling the affects of the pandemic as life has yet to return to normalcy.