Walking around the hallways of LM, one might find loud chatter in the classrooms, teachers weaving through crowds of students, or a jam-packed DAWG pound on a Friday night in the Kobe Gym. This was not the case for students or faculty who attended LM last year. The hybrid structure that was seen as “normal” last year has been completely abolished, now, aside from students taking the LMVA route, all students
attend school in-person, similar to how it was pre-COVID-19, with the exception of mask mandates. As a result of having all students in one classroom, teachers are able to construct better lessons and utilize their Wacom Tablet efficiently, allowing for better learning. Exchanging ideas also comes easier through the interactive form of discussions and presentations, which were hard to conduct on Zoom. Students have been given the
opportunity to attend Lunch and Learn this year which was not available last year. This time allows for students to visit any teacher’s classroom to catch up on work or ask questions. In-person learning has been beneficial to both students and teachers in a classroom setting. Not only was the efficiency of classroom learning improved with the adjustment to a fully in-person school, but clubs were also positively affected. Last year, many clubs were forced to meet virtually or only communicate through social media because of COVID-19 restrictions. Clubs at LM are now able to make use of Lunch and Learn to have meetings, something that rarely happened last year due to the split lunch schedule. Clubs that have competitions against other schools such as TSA were not able to attend in-person meetings to work on projects, making it difficult for contestants to master their events. Many clubs attend trips or competitions where students showcase the hard work and effort that they put in throughout the year. Last year however, most competitions and trips were suspended or made virtual due to COVID-19. For freshmen, sophomores, and new students, clubs will seem more appealing in person with hands-on activities as opposed to virtual clubs. The reinstatement of in-person learning has proved paramount to social interactions within LM. For starters, the lunch plan has completely changed from last year when it consisted of four different lunches, preventing students from seeing all of their friends. Now, students can be seen working together in hallways or collaborative spaces during lunch. A popular tradition at LM is loading up a full Dawg Pound crowd to chant endlessly throughout a basketball or football game. However, due to COVID-19 guidelines last year, only a limited number of spectators were allowed to attend each game, eliminating the possibility of a classic game that everyone enjoys. LM plans to host full crowds in the Kobe Bryant Gymnasium this year for the basketball season and is already taking advantage of this through the fall sports season. In comparison to last year, the future looks bright for this all in-person school year!
