As difficult and perplexing as the 2020-2021 school year was, it came with some unexpected pros due to Covid-19 measures that have made a significant impact on the lives of students.  Some pros are now hard to imagine our school functioning without when looking at the future of Millard South.

Juniors being given an open campus lunch was well-received and much appreciated. It is something that without a doubt should be the norm moving forward since it has been proven to successfully work for students. For excited upcoming juniors, not receiving the same open-campus lunch will surely be a letdown. Besides the open campus lunch, many students also took a liking to going outside for lunch, which is something that should always be offered when the weather is nice after being cramped inside all day.

  Although they may appear a bit ugly, the lunch tables scattered throughout the halls ended up being useful. It was much easier to hear your friends and feel safe eating socially distanced rather than being in the previously crowded and noisy lunchroom. In general, it is safe to say that the changes made for lunch this year were beneficial and welcomed.

Because of remote students, teachers were forced to update their Google Classrooms more frequently with lesson plans, digital copies of assignments, and more helpful information. This ended up benefiting all students, whether they were remote or in-person. Having teachers simply post what to do and when to do it helped many students feel organized and have a better grip on their grades or missing work.

Students who weren’t able to come to school in person were able to zoom in, which was also helpful. One of the worst aspects of missing school is the dread of having to catch up on work and notes, but being able to join your class online eliminated that dread. Students should always have an easily accessible place to check which assignments they have to do.

On the subject of classroom maintenance, having our desks cleaned at least semi-regularly would be a nice touch moving forward. Having cleaner classrooms is never going to be a bad thing, and solid cleaning precautions should be taken to continue to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

All in all, a lot of the new ideas that were implemented this year make perfect sense to keep for future classes. A school that prioritizes cleanliness and organization ultimately makes for a better learning experience, and leaving some well-received modifications for next year and onward is most definitely worthwhile.