2020 has been such a wild year; we have encountered a global pandemic, a hurricane, and now the beginning of school for the first time since March. With the return to school, many students have had to learn how to adjust to the “new normal” that comes with wearing masks and social distancing, as well as recouping from Hurricane Laura. 

At the beginning of the year, students were given the choice to attend school in-person or virtually. Senior Katie Courmier chose to attend in-person and said at first she was a bit worried that school was going to move to virtual learning only, similar to what happened last spring when schools shut down for the first time.

After Hurricane Laura hit earlier this month and devastated parts of Orange County, LCM schools were out for three weeks while the district regrouped and worked on damages. According to sophomore Angelina Mulvaney, one of her biggest worries about returning to school after those three weeks was seeing people and hearing their stories about the storm.

“I feared it would be hard to communicate with someone personally affected when I didn’t really feel its affects myself,” Mulvaney said. “I was also afraid when I returned to school, I would entirely forget everything I had previously learned.” 

Over the past several months, students have had to adapt to the inability to see their friends due to social distancing, as well as the new block schedule and 90-minute class length. These changes have proven to be challenging for some, however some students are finding the positives to a longer class period, such as junior Laurrie McBride who enjoys having more time in culinary arts. Courmier also said she likes spending the extra time with her favorite teachers.

“I like the fact that I get more time to complete assignments, ” Mulvaney said of the longer class time. “I feel a bit more at ease about the work I have to do. It’s less stress.”