During the first few months of 2020, we watched as a new, localized virus rapidly spread throughout China, and then beyond.

A year later, the world was in the midst of the biggest pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918, many businesses shuttered and with a death toll of over 2 million, according to John Hopkins University. Four years later, and it’s over. Closed businesses have opened, boxes of face masks are collecting dust, and we have resumed, more or less, normal lives.

However, we are still surrounded by signs and traces of this major event, reminders of how the world looked like only a few years ago, even here at AISB. For example, look at the signs in the bathrooms about washing your hands and closing toilet lids before flushing: These appeared during the pandemic to stop the spread of an airborne virus. Here are other examples of remnants, or “ghost signs,” of this pandemic here at AISB.

Green and red lines designating the path of students social distancing during hybrid learning.

A large, sturdy tent used for social distancing during lunch lies empty behind the cafeteria.

A sign inside a secondary building bathroom urges students to practice more hygienic measures after using the bathroom.

Green and red lines designating the path of students social distancing during hybrid learning.

A pole, adopted to hold a wi-fi extender for online use, stands now unused outside the film trailer behind the secondary building. During hybrid learning many classes took place outside under large tents.

A sign outside the music lab asks students to social distance while waiting to enter an office.