A Year in Review

By: Nicole Li (283) and Angelina Ouk (283)

A year to remember. Since the 2018-2019 academic school year, students were able to return to a whole year of in-person instruction. Many memories and traditions were created, while understanding how to adapt to unknown situations. 

To start, who can forget the ongoing pandemic? As students were just starting to settle into in-person classes, the Omicron variant rattled Central. The rising cases had everyone questioning the safety of Central’s students, faculty, and building. However, Central persevered, and after a few months, the district was able to lift mask mandates and improve testing. 

A  year of impactful events; of course, the departure of the 14th president, Timothy McKenna. Soon, the fifteenth president of Central, Katharine Davis, a Central alumni from the graduating class of 264, will arrive, making history as the first woman and person of color, to become a Central president. Students and teachers were able to utilize several Social Emotional Learning days, better known as SEL days, to relax, catch up and/or make up for any missing work – or even work ahead. The satisfactory feedback from students suppose the Student’s Association will continue to implement SEL days at least once a month, in upcoming years. With that, there were two successful blood drives, run by the graduating class of 281. Combined, qualified students were able to donate well over 150 pints in total!

As the year progressed and open advisory returned, students began to fill the hallways, auditorium, and cafeteria to socialize with their friends. In addition, advisory was not only used for finishing up last minute work and meeting with teachers, but to display the multiple showcases of Central’s rich culture and diversity. The auditorium has been back in use to shine a light on Central’s talented student body, from International Week to Shrek the Musical. The excitement extends to trips coming back to Central’s agenda, including small trips for certain courses and class trips getting students talking. New challenges await, with a new administration starting July 1, but the durability shown this year by students, teachers, and the Central community as a whole have proved their strength and adaptability.