After the unforeseen pause in life, due to Covid-19, the 2022-23 school year started out the most normal since 2019. With most of the restrictions lifted, everyone has continued in their modified version of life, including school. With this year being the first semi-normal year back in high school, this means the senior class are the only students who know what it’s like to have a normal year of high school. Here’s a look into what has already happened this year. 

In August of this year, many sports began their seasons with little to no restrictions. Teams like golf, cross country, volleyball, football, and many others either began their season or began preparations for the coming months. Football and volleyball, who began summer workouts at the end of last school year, began their seasons like normal. 

Senior Bryce Smith says it was great to have a normal football season this year, “having the community to experience it and see everyone come together again was really nice. The support everyone gave was a big help to our season.” 

After the return from summer break, the next best thing students looked forward to in September was homecoming! Homecoming gave many students an event to break up the two month period of school where the only thing going on was sports. While CHS did host a Homecoming last year, it was still very different. This year HOCO was able to be held indoors, with coronation on the big stage in the auditorium. 

Senior Katelynn Waller said “it’s good to have the same experiences as we did freshman year. I’m really happy to have a more normal senior year.” Students like Waller are glad to see what a normal year of high school is like. 

October was a very busy month for a majority of the student body. With the new Fall Break, lots was expected to happen before this week off. And while school may have been out, sports certainly were not. Practices and games continued throughout the week. At the end of Fall Break, the first Senior Night of the year occurred. Seniors from all Fall sports were recognized for their sport. In addition, the football team held the first round of the IHSA Playoffs against Geneseo, and Cross Country ran at the state competition. 

After a very busy and successful month of October, November began to calm down a bit. November concluded many seasons for Fall sports and began several others. Teams like girls and boys basketball, wrestling, and bowling all began preparing for their seasons. In the previous years, these sports were faced with challenges like social distancing and wearing masks. Since these sports are up close and personal, sports like wrestling did not have much of a season. 

The month of December has been a fairly chill month as well. While students have been preparing for their upcoming semester finals, many theatrical students have also been preparing for their upcoming shows. December hosted the annual Fall Play, Clue, and the CHS Choir’s Madrigal. Many of the Winter sports teams have also begun and are continuing their season into the new year. 

Many other seniors feel the way Olivia Godwin feels about being able to have a normal year, “watching things go from having everything to having nothing and then to having a lot of the things we did before really set my senior year up for success. I can barely even remember my sophomore year, so it’s nice to have a somewhat normal year again.” 

Things are finally looking up and Covid-19 has finally died down enough to allow for students at CHS to experience a normal year of high school. While some are still bummed about things that have been missed, many are excited for the next semester and all the events to come with it!