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And they’re off!
Jubilant city kids were able to behold the full faces of their smiling pals Monday for the first time in years.
“It was surprising to see my classmates without a mask,” said a Stuyvesant High School student named Tasnim. “You see them in a new light. When you see only the top of their face it becomes part of their personality.”
While some students chose to keep their facial coverings, others ripped them off after the city dropped a mask mandate for kindergarten through 12th graders.
Some kids cautiously split the different and tucked their masks under their chins.
“People have been gearing up for this for a while saying ‘What do you look like without your mask?’” said a Stuyvesant freshman. “It’s been a whole thing for the past two weeks.”
Students at PS 165 on the Upper West Side frolicked with fully exposed faces Monday under an unseasonably warm winter sun.
Noah Vera, 8, marveled at his unobscured friends. “It was nice to see each other’s faces again,” he said.
Another student said the mask removals vastly improved communication across the board.
“You can actually breathe when you’re playing in the playground and it’s much easier to talk to your friends and teachers,” observed Meison Horie, 8. “I started wearing a mask in first grade and I have been waiting for the rule to change ever since.”
Classmate Kalei Olaes, 9, said he was surprised how accustomed he had gotten to covering his face.
“Every now and then I’d think ‘Oh no, where’s my mask,’” he said. “But then I remembered I didn’t care because we don’t have to wear masks anymore.”
A survey of the PS 165 playground found that roughly 1 in 10 kids opted to keep their masks on.
Olaes said about three out of 12 kids kept their masks on in his class and that their choices were respected.
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