Students ready to return

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Scheduling classrooms and activities made school life hectic. Classrooms in the middle school that were occasionally vacant during a school day were used, and office space was converted into 10 classrooms. The libraries and auditoriums at the elementary schools were used as supplemental classrooms.

High School science teacher Rebecca Isseroff said she was glad to be back, because conducting class in the middle school was not easy. “Although the middle school faculty and students were gracious hosts,” Isseroff said, “we have been extremely challenged in continuing our high level of instruction to our students under conditions that have not been constructed for high school education. My research students have had to conduct experiments in a chemistry storage closet, or in prep rooms on the other side of the building. We’ve had to go to the library to use the computers, and I’ve had to constantly run through the halls to supervise my students who are dispersed all over the building. My last two months of school, in the high school building, are going to feel like a vacation.”

Charles Smith, a high school junior, is thankful to be back. “It means a lot to finish this school year in the high school, because going to the middle school was like an abrupt, unwanted vacation,” the Inwood resident said. “It feels amazing and satisfying to be back home.”

Lawrence High School guidance counselor Veronica Ortiz said the students have been wonderful through a difficult time. “They have been through so much this year and have been amazing through it all,” she said. “I am hopeful that things will go back to normal, which is especially important to high school seniors. They really are a resilient class!”

Ellen Park, a senior who lives in Woodmere, said the district has truly changed her. “I am so thankful for all the dedicated teachers and friends I met here,” she said. “I will cherish these memories forever as I move on to the next chapter of my life.”

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