Throughout the spring and summer, a large percentage of students in the San Mateo Union High School District got vaccinated against COVID-19. With high vaccination rates, school events for the 2021-22 school year have returned after a year of loss.
Along with the return of fully in-person classes, all fall sports have resumed practices and competitions. On Sept. 9 and Sept. 23, the SMUHSD Board met to discuss vaccination policies for the upcoming school year. Future board meetings will decide whether athletes need to be vaccinated to participate.
“We’re playing our normal schedule,” said Athletic Director Steve Sell. “I’m hopeful that the numbers will settle down and people [will] get vaccinated on their own.”
In 2021, all sports, including those with low risk of spreading COVID-19, such as cross country, were limited. For this upcoming season, seven cross country meets will take place at the same locations and with the same number of runners as pre-pandemic meets.
“The rest of the meets [will] be very familiar because we’re not stuck on campuses,” said cross country coach Frank Hunt. “Running on cross country courses will … be a benefit for everybody.”
In last year’s sports seasons, masks, social distancing and temperature checks were enforced. Many players were discouraged from playing because of the strict guidelines and chance of exposure to the virus.
“We’re going to start regular time in the fall,” said girls soccer coach Michael Flynn. “We’re not going to wear masks to play which will make things a little bit easier, and I expect that we’re going to have more players.”
Another sector of Aragon extracurriculars impacted in the 2020-21 school year was visual and performing arts, as all concerts performed by the Aragon band and orchestras were held virtually. The first in-person music event was the 2021 Summer Symposium.
“It’s great to have people back again,” said orchestra teacher John Chen. “Musicians are so excited to rehearse again. The things that used to feel like a lot of hard work [are] now what we really miss and enjoy.”
Aragon Drama recently announced its fall play, “And Then There Were None” and spring musical “Legally Blonde.” Though regular rehearsals have been taking place, the permitted audience size has been reduced to 25% capacity, or a maximum of 157 filled seats in the auditorium.
“I’ll encourage [the audience] to be as enthusiastic as they can,” said drama teacher and director Shane Smuin. “They’ve really got to go wild. Zoom was just wretched, so I’m glad we’re back.”
The revival of in-person school events provides new opportunities for students to explore their interests.
“I think it’s a valuable part of high school, whether it’s sports, drama [or] music,” Flynn said. “The more you get involved in school, the more fun school is, the more memories you have. I’m just glad to see sports back in action.”
The Aragon Community is hopeful that with time, events will return to normal. In the meantime, several have already been planned for the upcoming months.
