Lakeland High School has experienced quite a few changes since the covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. 

As of March 18, 217 cases in Kootenai County were recorded that day. 

Kootenai County’s cases are categorized as low compared to other counties around the area. 

Students at LHS were not expecting the long break from school headed their way in 2020. 

Shelby Larcher, a freshman at the time, was more relieved about the break that the pandemic would bring. 

“I was sitting with my parents in the living room watching a movie when we got the email. I was excited that I didn’t have to go to school because I had a bunch of homework that I didn’t finish,” Larcher said. “I just didn’t expect to be out of school for so long.”

Another student, Kenna Simon, was also relieved about the sudden pause in school. 

“I was at a friend’s house when I heard about the lockdown,” Simon said. “I was excited because we had a track meet, so I didn’t have to go to that.” 

Some students have not seen a major difference in the school since returning from the lockdown. 

“Lakeland hasn’t changed much. We are like the only school around this area that did not change much. They shortened our school day, but other than that, there hasn’t been much of a change,” Larcher said. 

Coming back to school took a while for some students to get adjusted to again. 

“It was really weird coming back and seeing everyone after so long,” Simon said. 

Even after LHS was able to have in-school classes, some activities were canceled due to the pandemic. 

“I didn’t get a full year of my first year of high school, which kind of sucked. It was my first year to do anything, and they took away my second year of Battle for the Paddle, which stunk,” Larcher mentioned. 

Other students at LHS were not as upset about missing out on the rest of their freshman year. 

“I think as a freshman, I didn’t miss out on very much because we still had a lot of high school left, but I think the biggest high school experience that I missed out on was getting to enjoy the end of the school year with everyone,” Simon mentioned. 

In the 2020-2021 school year, homecoming was also canceled due to the number of cases. 

However, masks were never mandated at LHS, and not many kids chose to wear them.

“I just wish masks never became a thing because I always hated to wear them,” Simon said. 

LHS came back strong and is now almost back to normal despite the pandemic that no one was expecting.