Another year has passed, marking the second year since the COVID-19 pandemic began and Wayland Public Schools are beginning to return to normal. The mask mandate was lifted on March 7 for students and staff at WPS. In this light, administrators and students at Loker Elementary School reflect on how these first three weeks mask-optional have gone.

Every day for the past two years, students and staff have been required to wear masks at school while they were indoors. After Governor Charlie Baker announced that masks would become optional in schools on Feb. 28. As an elementary school, some students at Loker have not experienced school maskless.

“I think the shift [to masks being optional] was in the middle, not super easy but not super hard,” fifth grade Loker Elementary School student Cameran D’Amico said. “The hardest thing is that people are still in the habit of wearing masks, so seeing them without [masks] is sort of weird.”

Along with adjusting to the new mask mandate within the Loker community, Loker School Principal Brian Jones is working to ensure that students respect the personal choices of other students.

“We were very proactive [in] talking to kids about the importance of not excessively celebrating on that first day without a mask because [students] could feel uncomfortable if they were still wearing a mask,” Jones said. “My biggest fear was that choices would not always be respected, but that’s been really good.”

Many reports have found that young students were affected the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was reflected in their social-emotional development at school and outside of school. A crucial time in their development, many believe elementary level students need the most attention as they learn basic reading, writing and computational skills.

“I think the biggest impact of this pandemic has been the social emotional growth of the students, and that’s what we need to prioritize right now to get us back to a place that feels normal,” Jones said.

Some staff members are choosing to continue wearing masks in their classrooms, out of respect for students who are not comfortable removing their masks in school.

“I’m not wearing a mask because they are annoying to my ears, and most of my friends are not [wearing masks too],” Loker School first-grader Carter D’Amico said. “But, most of my teachers are wearing masks.”

Wearing masks during school is something students have gotten used to, and the choice not to wear them is freeing for some, yet a bit daunting for others.

“For some students it has been kind of a feeling of relief that they don’t have to wear masks anymore,” Jones said. “Some students are wearing masks throughout the day, some are not, some are wearing them for portions of the day.”

There can be conflicting opinions on whether or not to wear masks at school, even within families. Unlike her brother, Cameran D’Amico is choosing to wear her mask.

“I like to put it down to breathe fresh air when I’m sitting at my desk, but I keep it on most of the time because I’m used to wearing a mask,” D’Amico said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into light the significance of being aware of the people around you and being respectful of their choices, because people may be fighting battles that others are not aware of.

“I also want to be respectful of people so if I’m in a room alone with someone who is wearing a mask, I tend to put a mask on out of respect, thinking about the perspective of others,” Jones said.

Students and staff are adjusting to the mask-optional mandate positively, and the majority find it relieving that one aspect of the pandemic is coming to a close.

“[Not wearing masks is] easier because you can hear people better, and it only felt strange for a little while,” Carter D’Amico said.

The pandemic has brought the Wayland community together, especially at Loker School, as families have rallied together to create an environment for their students to learn productively.

“I think Loker’s a place that has a really strong community to begin with, and the pandemic has strengthened it.” Jones said.