There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has affected all of us at MV in different ways, true for both students and teachers trying to learn and work through this pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided everyone in education with a ton of obstacles to overcome this past quarter in order for it to run as smoothly as possible.

“It was a little bit annoying having to get used to wearing a mask every day,” stated Cristian Gonzalez, ‘22. “But that’s something I’ve gotten over now,” Gonzalez added.

Going from a small school on remote to the big high school was a little overwhelming said Reagan Bullard, ‘25

While masks continue to be annoying for both students and staff to wear, and for staff to nag students to wear, other problems and difficulties have arisen due to COVID-19.

“The most difficult part continued to be working around social distancing in lab activities and helping students who were working remotely get the equivalent amount and quality of instruction,” said Mr. Christopher McCann, Science Dept. Teacher.

Though COVID-19 has provided plenty of struggles, some have found ways to make things easier.

“Coming to school a full [five days a] week [instead of two] definitely helped,” said Gonzalez. “Knowing that everyone was stressed too helped a little,” stated Bullard.

With the pandemic, MV has also tried to make things a little easier for those on remote by incorporating weekly two o’clock dismissal days into the schedule through October.

“The 2:00 dismissals were very helpful when we had a higher number of students that had to work remotely,” Mr. McCann said. “They provided time for teachers to interact with and help those remote students,” Mr. McCann added.

With the number of students on remote decreasing in the month of October, MV administration decided to discontinue these dismissals.

“The two o’clock dismissal days were great,” said Gonzalez. “I’m a little disappointed about the discussion to discontinue them,” Gonzalez also said.

With all of the struggles and restrictions, some have changed their outlook in school, but some look like they have changed for the better. “It made me appreciate what we have a lot more,” said Gonzalez.

But for some, it didn’t change much. It didn’t change their views, it just added stress, added Bullard.

Teachers and staff think they have adapted well to the circumstances, but what do students think?

“I think they have adapted pretty well,” said Bullard. “I think they’ve done pretty well [considering the situation],” added Gonzalez.

Will next year be more ‘normal’?  Here’s what some thought.

“I think it will be more normal,” said Bullard.

“I do think masks will go away fairly soon and while we will still practice better hygiene and keeping our space, it will become less at the forefront of our thoughts,” Mr. McCann stated.

Though we don’t know what the days to come have in store for us, we can push through the struggles of the present and into a better, and hopefully maskless, future.