Stanwood seniors return to school with a drive-by first day

STANWOOD — Students handed out sprinkled donuts, key chains and bottles of Sunny Delight to their classmates Thursday to celebrate the first day of their senior year at Stanwood High School.

Teachers waved signs and cheered as the incoming senior class drove through the parking lot near Bob Larson Stadium. Many honked as they drove away, while the school mascot, Spartacus, waved his arms in excitement.

Thursday was the first day of school in the Stanwood-Camano School District. About half of the school districts in Snohomish County began school this week, while the rest start after Labor Day.

Usually, Stanwood’s incoming senior class spends the first morning watching the sunrise from the football field, but the pandemic canceled those plans. Instead, seniors were invited to drive through to kick off their last year of high school. About 340 students are in the class.

The Snohomish Health District has recorded 181 cases of COVID-19 in Stanwood, one of the lower numbers of total infections of any city in the county. The health district reported 158 of the known cases recovered from the virus.

Cars started to line up near the stadium at 9 a.m Thursday. Virtual classes were scheduled to start just a couple of hours later, around 11 a.m.

Senior class secretary and treasurer Shailee Polnasek, 16, helped organize the gathering.

She looks forward to lessons she may learn this year, with the unusual challenges she and her peers will undoubtedly face.

“That’s pretty exciting to me,” she said. “And coming out stronger in the end, honestly.”

After high school, she hopes to attend college in Florida. Many universities across the country have made the SAT college admission test optional for applicants this year. But Polnasek plans to apply to schools that require exam scores.

When she signed up to take the test, most spots were filled. The earliest slot she could find was in November, a month before scores are sent out.

“There’s only one chance for me to get a good score, which is a little stressful,” she said.

On Thursday, Polnasek was handing out donuts with senior and student body president Cody Vail, 17.

Both were happy to be around classmates they hadn’t seen for a few months. Most of the summer was spent outside, hiking or at the beach, Vail said.

“I definitely will remember the time I spent with my friends,” he said. “I think it’s been a little more personal when you’re out in the woods and not sitting in a mall.”

He has also been spending lots of time with family, including his two older brothers, who came home from college.

“I don’t get to see them all the time,” Vail said. “They’re just kind of in lockdown with me, so they got to spend time with me whether they like it or not.”

For the upcoming school year, he’s excited to be in student leadership and for the new high school building to open. He helped break ground at the construction site during his freshman year.

It’s being built on the same property as the current high school, along 268th Street NW. Once completed, the old building will be demolished.

Staff are expected to move into the new building at the end of December, assistant principal Carolyn Coombs said. She hopes students can begin classes there in January.

She’s looking forward to the creativity of students and teachers in virtual classrooms. At the same time, it’s a difficult way to start the school year.

“You know, it’s sad,” she said. “It’s sad for us because all the traditional things we love to do with seniors and for seniors.”

Dozens of people lined up — six feet apart or more — to congratulate the senior class Thursday. The empty football stadium was just yards away. Students will miss crowding into the stands this fall, under bright Friday night lights.

Vail and Polnasek passed handfuls of donuts wrapped in cellophane through car windows to friends they haven’t seen in months, though masks made it so they could only see part of their faces. It didn’t matter much. They were happy.

Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.

Schools open

Public schools in Snohomish County are gearing up for a new year. Here’s when classes begin:

Tuesday, Sept. 1

• Arlington

• Darrington

Wednesday, Sept. 2

• Granite Falls

• Lake Stevens

• Mukilteo

• Northshore

Thursday, Sept. 3

• Stanwood

Tuesday, Sept. 8

• Lakewood

Wednesday, Sept. 9

• Edmonds

• Everett

• Index

• Marysville

• Monroe

• Snohomish

• Sultan