Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, students now sit at one of the socially-distanced tables during lunch. Photo by Rayne Welser
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually everything at school, lunch included. What used to be a relaxing time for students and the facility has now transformed into an entirely different experience. Affected by social distancing guidelines and virtual learning, lunch on campus is nowhere near the same as prior years.
Originally, students were able to sit in multiple areas on campus, such as the cafeteria, the courtyard benches, the garden and the media center. Individuals could participate in multiple lunch events as well, including Kefford’s Kitchen, pep rallies and yoga sessions.
In November 2019, High School Nation surprised MSD students with a pop-up pep rally during lunch. Video by Darian Williams
MSD students used to be able to visit the Wellness Center or pet the therapy dogs sitting in the courtyard to relax and de-stress in between classes. The Wellness Center offered therapists, social workers and psychologists to aid students in whatever they needed. On the other hand, multiple therapy dogs could be found on campus, usually located right outside the cafeteria or inside the Wellness Center for the convenience of staff and students. These pets offered comfort throughout the school day.
“The pandemic has changed our lunch structure significantly. Students must socially distance themselves from one another and our long cafeteria tables have been temporarily replaced by individual student desks,” Principal Michelle Kefford said. “Additionally, our outdoor picnic tables can only accommodate two students, on opposite ends of the table.”
However, in order to follow COVID-19 protocols, students can now only sit in two locations: the cafeteria and the courtyard. Available seating areas include the socially-distanced desks in the cafeteria or the four-person tables placed outside in the courtyard, marked with green X’s.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, in-person students must wear their masks at all times, unless they are actively eating or drinking sitting down at one of the indicated locations.
Additionally, therapy dogs are no longer provided on campus. The Media Center is now being used as an overflow space to make sure classrooms do not exceed their COVID-19 capacity limits. Therefore, students are not able to eat in the library during lunch anymore.
Nonetheless, any student can still bring their lunch from home or order one in the cafeteria by going through the socially-distanced lunch lines. At MSD, high school experiences, especially lunch, have been changed in every form due to the ongoing pandemic.