The front desk is no longer providing masks to students who forget them. If a student walks in without one, they will be sent home. 

“The reasoning was that we had students daily that were getting a mask,” principal Joey McQueen said. “We had handed out over 1,000 masks.”

Students who get sent home will not get an excused absence.

“We have made it clear to all students that they are responsible for their own mask,” McQueen said. “If all students take care of their responsibility toward bringing and wearing their mask, this will not be a problem.”

The students who continually show up to school without a mask will get the same outcome each time.

“The students will continually be sent home,” McQueen said. “Our students need to be accountable.”

Most students have been bringing their own masks every day. It’s gotten to the point where lots have their own mask collection.

“I have about 5 masks that I wear regularly,” junior Taran Garnett said. “My favorite one is probably the one my grandma brought back from Mexico. It has these really pretty hand stitched flowers on them.”

Although the office will no longer be providing masks to anyone who walks in without one, they do understand that accidents happen and some masks get ripped or damaged, making them unwearable. The office will provide masks for those cases of emergency.

“We want our students at the school, but at the same time, we want them responsible for their own mask,” McQueen said. 

Students have become accustomed to wearing masks everywhere, especially school.

“It’s like a second skin at this point,” Garnett said. “I’m always wearing my mask everywhere, so it’s pretty hard to forget it.”