At Clayton Valley, the beginning of a normal school year is characterized by a warm and exciting atmosphere filled with school spirit. Students acclimate to their classes, join various clubs, participate in sports, and look forward to football games on Friday nights. Whether it’s playing in the game, marching in the band, cheering in the student section, or having fun at rallies, students always find a way to involve themselves and enjoy this vibrant time of the year. Of course, this year has been anything but normal, and many students’ outlooks for homecoming and other school activities have become quite grim.
In particular, numerous student athletes have been hit hard by the pandemic. Although some sports such as football have continued practice and hope to play games without an audience present, other sports such as cheer have been postponed altogether. Mia Barberio, a senior on the varsity cheer team, explains, “Our team started in-person practice in July, but we later stopped because COVID got worse. Now we’re aiming to start online practices in October and hopefully work up to in-person.” Mia is disappointed her team hasn’t been able to practice or attend their annual summer cheer camp. However, she understands the severity of the pandemic and says, “I wish [school and cheer] were in-person, but I’m fine with online because I don’t want to catch COVID.”
Frieda Nemon, another senior on varsity cheer, shared similar sentiments and described her thoughts on returning to school online. “School isn’t just about the lessons and homework,” she notes. “Most of the learning we do in and outside of the classroom comes from our friends and peers; friendships that stay inside the classroom, and the people we see in the hall. Even these simple everyday friendships add to our high school experience, and everyone is going to miss the people they happen to have math with every year or their lab partner.”
Nationwide, most people agree that the return to school this year has been less than ideal, but I believe that the students at CV, especially the cheerleaders (who are well-versed in bringing enthusiasm to our community), will find a way to engage in school spirit and continue to create long-lasting memories.
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