A smile is defined as an expression of happiness, and smiles were the theme Wednesday in schools around New York as the state's school mask mandate came to an end.

Excitement was in the air at schools across the state, and among second graders at the Liverpool Central School District.

“Can you share why we think it might be a special day, a little different than other days?" a classroom teacher asked students. "We don’t have to wear our masks today? That's right.”

Colleen Hall, a second-grade teacher at Willowfield Elementary School, said, waking up Wednesday felt better and more exciting than the very first day of school.

New York's mask mandate for schools outside of New York City ended Wednesday. Educators said they were already seeing an impact.

“Today seemed like a new day of learning," Hall said. "Quite honestly, the students are more engaged. We had more conversations. They were more interactive. I felt a new level of excitement just knowing that I could express myself better.”

Despite the smiles, laughter and increased connection, educators were prepared for other feelings today, too.

Lindsay Colello, a guidance counselor at the elementary school, said, “Some might feel a little anxious and nervous. Some friends are still wearing masks. Some are not.”

Hall reassured students in her class.

“It's a choice that we all had to make in order to feel safe,” she said.

Attending school without a mask can help with education gaps and learning losses that teachers and students are working on, some said.

“It's so much easier for the teachers to be able to watch a student's oral motor manipulation," said Mary Kay Spaulding, Willowfield Elementary School psychologist. "So what they’re able to actually do with their mouths, use those articulators to make specific sounds. Without having that mask, it's much clearer for the teacher to be able to actually see how they're making those sounds, and then move forward in terms of their fluency."