TUALATIN, Ore. — Now that the mask mandate has been dropped at a lot of Portland area schools, large assemblies have returned.
At Tualatin High School, students had the chance to participate in the first assembly in two years on Thursday morning. It was meant to celebrate the basketball team that won the state championship over the weekend.
Peter Burke is on the team and said he's just happy to be back with his peers.
"It's a little weird, have to get use to it again," Burke said. "It's good to finally be back and see people's faces again, laughing and smiling and having fun."
Principal Michael Dellerba said when the mask mandate was dropped, administrators spoke to students about their choice to continue wearing a mask if they did not feel comfortable. He said if students were not ready to attend a large assembly, they had other options.
"We had a space in the school for students that did not feel comfortable coming in here," Dellerba said.
Most students still seemed comfortable coming into the gym and celebrating the team's win with their peers. Senior basketball player Malik Ross said it was great to get a taste of normal life again.
"To have everyone else in here and to see how packed it is, it's great to look at," Ross said.
Burke said he was not worried at all about the risk of COVID-19 while being in a large assembly.
"I'm moving on," Burke said. "I'm vaccinated and moving on, ready to get back to normal life."