Most students are so glad to be back in the classrooms this year, especially since many say that they had a tough time trying to focus during online schooling.

“COVID affected me a lot,” said Desert Pines student Jocelyn Cruz. “I got less motivated to do things and I got more lazy.”

Ms. Smith, the theatre teacher at Desert Pines, actually started teaching here during the pandemic. 

“It actually does feel kind of weird to have all of my seats filled in my classroom and see actual faces,” she said. “It was most definitely harder to teach online because I couldn’t see all of my students perform face to face.”