Tina Gibson lecturing about the powerhouse of the cell, students going on field trips to various parts of the state, and athletes running from soccer to the cafeteria in order to get the best food are all part of MSMS culture. However, over the past two years, many parts of MSMS have been either restricted or taken away all together. Furthermore, this year, many experiences were given back to the students due to the drop in COVID-19 cases relative to last year. In a normal year, juniors are mentored by their seniors in MSMS traditions, hobbies and “hacks”, etc., but this year, it is a little different.

It all started with junior move-in day. Juniors rush to separate parts of the MSMS campus, put up decorations in their dorm, go through orientation events, and socialize with their fellow peers happen all in one day here. While this is a day full of unique experiences and opportunities, all juniors share a vital first experience at MSMS on move-in day: roommates. One junior, Brianna Riordan, feels that the new roommate experience reminds her of older times and is an amazing experience for her.

“It reminds me a lot of when I was 4, and I’d share a room with my sibling,” Riordan said. “You know, it’s an experience; it’s fun. You get to really bond with your roommate and all of your suitemates.”

While this boarding school aspect of MSMS seems natural for seniors in previous years, many current seniors encountered the roommate experience for the first time during the senior move-in day as they were not able to room with one another last year. One senior, Dylan Griffith, said he feels that it’s a great experience, but it is definitely different from last year.

“Having roommates for the first time is fun, though also stressful,” Griffith said. “You have to find ways to find time to socialize because your roommate may be doing things other than studying, so I’ve had to go to the library a lot more.”

After both move-in days come to an end, academic days are next. MSMS is known for its harder, and many juniors are experiencing this difficulty for the first time. Junior George Utz is overall excited for what MSMS has to bring them.

“The classes seem fun so far,” Utz said. “Especially being here, like in the dorms. It’s a lot easier for me to get up and be like ‘I need to do my work’ since there are other people around me. Having the more challenging classes will be fun.” 

New classroom experiences weren’t only a change for the juniors. For the seniors, the new period schedule has allowed some relief compared with the block schedule from last year. Due to the rough courses along with shortened yearly class length (year-long classes to semester classes), many seniors complained about the last year. One senior, Jacob McGee, said he believes the new schedule is a major improvement.

“I really prefer the new schedule to the old one,” McGee said. “I feel a lot more refreshed not having the full eight hours of work a day. I think it’s a better chance because it’s a lot more flexible to our needs and wants. I know we don’t have academic support day, but that was not as useful as it could have been. I feel like having breaks throughout the day is better than just having an entire day off.”

While COVID-19 rules and restrictions have evolved at MSMS since last year, many have experienced new rules that they are not accustomed to, such as masks, due to MSMS’s pro-mask and pro-vaccination policies. This is different from the students’ home schools, and it is receiving positive and negative responses so far. While some, like McGee, said he feels confident in the new rules, others like Griffith said that the new rules come at a strange time.

“I feel like the rules are kind of a delicate balance between trying to make sure you have the best experience possible while being cold and conscientious,” McGee said. “I feel they’re more appropriate in this setting because we’ve already been through so much. I feel we’re overall safer. The new loosening to me isn’t I would say necessary, but I feel confident and it is complemented by the vaccination of many of the students.”

“I definitely like the extended freedom,” Griffith said. “However, I don’t know. I want to know why it comes now when the [Delta] variant is running rampant.” 

At the end of the day, both juniors and seniors are experiencing a unique moment in history during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the students have been prepared for these rules for over a year now, many seniors still feel heartbroken that their MSMS experience was taken away from them due to the pandemic; however, to most, it makes it a little better that they get to be a part of making their juniors’ experience at MSMS better than their previous one.

“Being off-campus, you really didn’t get to meet a lot of people in your core classes; however, being on campus [as a] senior, [it] is a lot more refreshing seeing the [juniors] that I can mentor myself,” McGee said.