Government officials have announced that as of May 11, the COVID-19 pandemic emergency is officially over, yet most RCMS students and staff don’t believe that we will ever return to pre-COVID times. 

“We had a sense of comfort, but now we’re always on edge,” said Arnav Nair, a seventh-grade student on the Mavericks team.

On the plus side, Arnav said we are always going to be more prepared now for everything that life throws at us.

According to a survey, 33% of Americans say that their lives are completely back to normal, whereas 47% say that they feel that they will never have their lives back. 

Most students lost their social skills and abilities to interact with others outside of their families. Before we went into lockdown people were more extroverted but now students are more introverted and less likely to talk to new people.

The pandemic’s slower pace of life did offer some positives, said Ms. Amy Allen, seventh-grade Legacy English teacher.

Malia Krause, a seventh-grade Dream team student, said she enjoyed spending extra time with her family.

“Me and my family are pretty close so it was good to spend a lot of time together during quarantine,” she said.

Looking back

When schools closed due to COVID on March 13, 2020, most students and faculty were excited because they thought they were just getting an early and extended spring break.

Roman Moreno-Hines, an eighth-grade Voyagers student, thought he was going to be able to hang out with his friends and basically just have a break from school. 

Yet he said, “I had lost a lot of friends and free time.” 

Although he lost some of his friends, Roman said he had gained a new interest in many hobbies.

Ms. Kelly Cosgrove, one of our administrators, was one of few staff members who was anxious about the schools shutting down.

She was also worried about her own children who were also doing school at home. She was going through a lot trying to support them and trying to support the RCMS students who were struggling or maybe didn’t have the resources they needed.

“I wasn’t sure how I could best support students while they were at home,” she said.

Once schools returned back to in-person learning, students and teachers had different reactions.

Ms. Allen said, “I was very anxious.” 

She said that she started to see her therapist more because she was starting to get anxiety attacks.

She said, “I think it was just the unknowingness of it all.”

Ms. Cosgrove said she was glad schools have reopened.

“I feel that students learn best when in school and teachers teach best when in school,” she said.

Roman was glad to see people in person.

“It was so cool to meet my teachers who I had only ever seen behind a screen,” said Roman.

The effects of the pandemic may never go away.

“I feel like COVID was such a big event that we will never go back to pre-COVID,” Ms. Allen said. “It kind of started a new timeline for everyone.”