Elkhorn North High School opened for the first time this year and many are frustrated they got separated from close friends that stayed at Elkhorn High.
What Elkhorn High staff and students thought would be a two week extended spring break turned into no school for the rest of the year. This meant that students didn’t have a real chance to say goodbye to their peers and favorite teachers, and teachers didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to their fellow teachers and students.
Which teachers and students were switching schools was unknown for a while, and therefore, who they would be separated from was also unknown. Last year at
Elkhorn High, all the freshmen and sophomores were anxious to see the map for school division. The teachers were also unaware of the information on if they would be staying or saying goodbye.
For Elkhorn North students, it has been a first for many of them to move schools, away from some of their closest friends. Although, many students have made it work despite this. “We still make time to hang out on the weekends and I talk to them over snapchat almost every day,” Vitor Labegaline said.
A large portion of Elkhorn High freshmen and sophomores moved to Elkhorn North, so most students have friends that moved with them instead of staying at EHS.
There are difficult aspects to the split, such as challenging Elkhorn High in sports. “I’ve played sports with them up until last year and because I have to compete against them this year, it’s definitely an adjustment,” Joe Norman said.
Imagine getting to bond and form close friendships with your peers up until high school, then you are suddenly split and are encouraged to beat them at something you used to work together on. This would definitely be a challenging task for most students.
Although students may be the main group affected, teachers have also been split from their friends. “I miss my whole science department; we were a close knit group so it was hard to lose any of them,” Mrs. Myers, an Elkhorn High teacher, said.
Staff at Elkhorn High last year had worked together so long, they formed bonds and friendships just like students would. Mrs. Schlosser, previously Ms. Moore, and Mrs. Myers were very good friends in and outside of school, so they have made the effort to keep up with each other when they were separated.
For teachers, staying in touch looks a little different than a student’s idea . Although Mrs. Myers’ and Mrs. Schlosser’s snapchat streak is still going strong, like many students. Unlike students, teachers have met on zoom calls to catch up, or even hung out while wearing a mask to stay in touch.
When the opening of Elkhorn North High School was announced, students began to worry about splitting from their friends, and teachers began to wonder if they would stay or leave. “I wish I would’ve known before we were quarantined so that I could say a real goodbye to some friends I got separated from,” Labegaline said.
The split of friendships of both teachers and students was devastating but necessary in the end. Many sad things and struggles can come from a school being split, but stronger bonds and new traditions have formed.
