The Dolphins at Southern High School are swimming back home to Santa Rita today for the first day of in-person classes–after passing Public Health inspections Monday.

It's a significant milestone, as Southern High School is the only public high school serving the southern part of the island, according to Principal Michael Meno.

In an interview with KUAM, Meno reflected on the excitement of reaching this point as one of the last Guam Department of Education schools to pass Public Health inspections.

“I think that was the biggest biggest emotion that we enjoyed today–was seeing the smiles on the students. So all of that hard work–once we saw the smiling kids, it’s like everything that we struggled with went away,” said Meno.

Repairs continue at the Santa Rita campus, including roofing, bathroom renovations, electrical updates, and other necessary maintenance.

Meno also expressed his deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed to bringing the dolphins back into the classroom.