In their first class of the new school year, Cathedral students were prepared to learn in Mrs. Shikoski’s Language Arts Reading class.

NEW ULM — Wednesday was the first day of school for New Ulm Area Catholic Schools (NUACS).

St. Anthony and Cathedral High School welcomed back students after a five-month absence.

The students arrived by bus or were dropped off by their parents. Several parents took photos of their children’s first day back. Some parents were anxious about the return to school, but nearly all students were relieved to be back in class.

Sisters Emma and Ellie Hoffmann were both happy to be back in school. Distance learning had lost its appeal.

“We just like being back in class,” Emma said.

Before class, the St. Anthony students gathered on the playground. The playground was divided into grade sections to limit exposure between grades. Inside St. Anthony, tape arrows showed young students how to keep to the right side of the hallway. Hand sanitizer stations were located throughout the buildings and classroom desks and tables were kept six feet apart.

The Cathedral gym is doubling as a band room. Band teacher Tom Bierer set band podiums up in the gym before the first bell. The gym has enough space to keep students 12 feet apart while playing. He said the extra distance would change the sound of the band, but it was a great experience for the students as it would force them to listen to each other.

After the first bell of the school year rang, NUACS superintendent John Kimec said the start of the day went better than he thought possible. Students were able to get to their assigned class and there were no compliance issues with the new COVID guidelines.

Kimec is optimistic about the school year. Things will be different because of the health concerns but he said it was an opportunity to utilize all the campus.

“It is a beautiful campus,” he said. The need for physical distancing has forced some classes to move into other parts of the campus, like the church hall. The need to move students around will allow teachers to incorporate movement in class. Kimec said studies have shown movement is helpful in education.

Heading to a new year after a shutdown has given the school a greater appreciation for the use of technology. Kimec said it will play a role going forward to enhance classwork, but cannot be a replacement for in-person instruction.

“Community is part of our faith,” he said. “We’re meant to be together. As a community, we make up the body of the church and we are an extension of that. You can only encourage a person so much from behind a screen.”

NUACS were initially planning to open Monday, but a staff illness delayed the first day. On Sunday, a NUACS staff person had COVID symptoms and tested positive. Kimec said the symptoms only lasted 24 hours and the staff person now feels fine. The delayed opening was a precaution to make sure it had not spread further.

Going forward, Kimec said the struggle will be to not let COVID be the focus of the school year.

“This is a 100-year-old community that has seen adversity,” he said. “We are prepared to carry on our mission of educating knowledge and virtue.”