MATTAWA — Students in the Wahluke School District set foot in classrooms for the first time in months after Christmas break.

“It was good to see kids back on campus,” said Andy Harlow, interim superintendent for the Wahluke School District, during a virtual Wahluke School District Board meeting Jan. 12.

Karl Edie, principal at Morris Schott STEAM Elementary, told the board the first week of hybrid was challenging, “but exciting and great to be back.”

Kurt Hoffman, principal at Saddle Mountain Elementary, bragged on his staff and students for the way they handled the new protocols that have been instituted, thanks to COVID-19.

“There is a whole new way of coming on and off campus,” Hoffman said. “They did a super job making sure the protocols were followed. It was fun to have a little hustle and bustle and have staff and students in our buildings again.”

Mattawa Elementary Principal Brandy Ross said for her kindergarteners who can’t yet read, finding the right buses was a challenge. Within 24 hours of this problem being identified, buses were given animal pictures to help students find the correct buses.

“It created a more organized way for students to head to buses,” Ross said.

At Wahluke Junior High, the sixth grade students who had never had classes in the building took a bit of time to find their them, but quickly got into the groove of the new building, according to Principal Art Lopez.

“The sixth-graders were not sure where their class was,” Lopez said of the first day back. “It was a bit hectic the first 25 minutes of the morning. For their second class, they did the transition and started to pick up and become smoother.”

Lopez said some seventh and eighth grade students had to refamiliarize themselves with the building and how classes work.

“We had some seventh and eighth graders seem like it was their first day there,” Lopez said. “They were like, ‘Where’s my class? Who are my teachers?’ I think the sixth graders did better.”

But Lopez said the first day of classes went better than his teachers thought it would.

“The teachers are happy to be back,” said Nolan Maggs, vice principal at Wahluke Junior High. “I think most of the kids were happy to be back.”

Wahluke High School students will return to school Feb. 11, at the beginning of second semester.