As Chapman students return to their classrooms, many are questioning what the 2021-2022 school year is going to look like.
Will there be mask requirements? Will there be Plexiglass? Will I have to quarantine? Will I have to get vaccinated? Will we go hybrid? Will we go virtual?
For Principal Andrew McMillan, moving forward and positivity are key.
“Our word(s) for our faculty and staff this year (are) moving forward,”
McMillan said. “We can easily pout, or be sad and mad, but we just have to choose to be positive and make the best out of a bad situation.”
Chapman media specialist Amy Ballentine is excited to bring a sense of normalcy back to the media center.
“I want to be able to do all of the things that we’ve always been able to do,” Ballentine said. “I want our programs back, and our classes back, and our students back. I’m ecstatic that everybody’s back on campus.”

Chapman students are also excited about the prospect of a normal school year. Student body president Sara Bryant, a senior, is especially enthusiastic about the fun activities senior year will bring.
“I am most excited for the senior festivities that this year will hold because this is a normal year, and we get to have all that,” Bryant said.
Of course, no school year comes without challenges, and this year especially brings new obstacles. Ballentine believes her biggest challenge will be reminding people of what a normal school year — and library — looks like.
“I think (the hardest part will be) just helping everybody remember what normal life is, what it looks like post-COVID, what it was pre-COVID,” Ballentine said. “Being able to remind them of the normal operations of the library, and trying to get people back into reading and being a part of all of our different programs.”
Despite the unique circumstances this school year brings, McMillan is confident that Chapman High School will rise to the challenge. When asked about his message to the student body, he had one word: “persevere.”
“This will all pass, and if it doesn’t pass, then we’ll adapt and do new things,” McMillan said. “Let’s enjoy what school is about, and let’s just be great every day because that’s our choice.”