Homecoming week

By Michael Johnson: It was homecoming week at Washington High School, and that morning the school was getting ready for the homecoming assembly, where all of the king and queen candidates would be introduced to the entire school.

We had heard from one of our staff that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings. We turned on the news in the main office about the time that the second building was hit. We were not sure what was happening, so we went ahead with the assembly.

During the assembly, a staff member informed the administrative team that one of the buildings had fallen, and in his mind, we were at war. As the students returned to their rooms, we began getting calls from a few parents, asking for their students to be excused from school.

Many of the classrooms had the news on and were watching the events as they unfolded for the day. It was very quiet around school, and many of the students and staff were emotionally affected by the events. What was supposed to be a fun and carefree week turned into a week that had a bigger purpose for all.

I was very proud of the students and staff at Washington High School.