Ella Finger (9), Anna Phillips (9), Imran Kareem (10) and others walk toward the main entrance along with other in-person students. Masks are mandatory to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Students and staff can temporarily put their mask off in an open area where they are alone to drink, switch masks or take a breather.
(Photo by Aliyah Pratomo)
Ella Finger (9), Anna Phillips (9), Imran Kareem (10) and others walk toward the main entrance along with other in-person students. Masks are mandatory to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Students and staff can temporarily put their mask off in an open area where they are alone to drink, switch masks or take a breather.
After almost a year of online learning, East Lansing High School finally opened its doors for face-to-face learning for those who chose to do so. With the school shifting to hybrid learning, students and staff adapt to a new routine.
Principal Andrew Wells greets students who arrived with an air fist-bump on March 11. Due to COVID, Wells can’t do his usual on-contact fist-bump that he used to do before the pandemic. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Since Wells can’t do his usual on-contact fist-bump due to COVID, he gives students an air fist-bump as they walk into the main entrance on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Ella Finger (9), Anna Phillips (9), Imran Kareem (10) and other in-person students walk toward the main entrance while wearing masks to prevent the spread of virus on March 10. Students can also enter through either the night activity entrance or through the door at the end of the art and technology wing. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Associate Principal Matthew Morales greets students in front of the main entrance on March 17 and directs them to which of the two ways they should be entering to limit long lines. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Social worker Heather Findley checks the temperature of Devin Porter (9) on March 12. Upon entering, each student gets their temperature checked by a staff member. Students with temperatures of 100 degrees fahrenheit or higher will be sent home. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
To avoid gatherings that can lead to a higher chance of spreading the virus, locker commons are closed. Barriers are in place on each opening to the locker commons to prevent students from entering. Students are expected to carry all their belongings in their bag. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Adrien Lafaive (10), Jonah Hicks (12) and other in-person students walk to their classes in the morning of March 16. Students have 15-minutes window between 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. to enter the building. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
RJ Carson (12) cleans his hands with a hand sanitizer provided upon entry in english teacher Cody Harrell’s classroom during second hour Portrait Workshop class on March 16. Emma Waldo (10) and Nolan Fletcher (12) line up to enter the classroom to do the same. Each student is expected to sanitize their hands before entering the classroom. Hand sanitizers are provided upon entry of every classroom. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Air purifier and a bag of wipes in social studies Ross Gorman’s classroom. Air purifiers are available in every classroom for circulation and to improve air quality. Wipes are also provided in each classroom to be used for sanitation. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Gorman’s class setup. Gorman is teaching about dictators in his sixth hour World History class on March 12. Clear plexiglas are placed in each desk to limit spread of virus. From left: Patrick Layman (10), Gorman, Sophia Stiles (10), Kareem, Beckett Henderson (10). Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Gorman is teaching his class about Joseph Stalin and is talking to both his online students on his computer and in-person students in the classroom on March 12. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Layman paying attention in his sixth hour World History class with a laptop in front of him on March 12. Each student is expected to bring their own device to limit shared materials. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Science teacher John Heinrich’s classroom setup. Desks are set up in a way that students can be six feet apart from each other. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Heinrich teaching his fourth hour Life Science class about antibiotic resistance on March 10. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Leyton Kenyon (10) doing his work on his laptop in his fourth hour Life Science class on March 10. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Jack McGuire (10) doing his work on his laptop during Heinrich’s fourth hour Life Science class. On his desk, he has a water bottle given from the school. The school gives each student a free water bottle that they can have so that they won’t have to use the water fountain to drink. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
English teacher Sheri Seyka’s classroom setup. In front of the class, english intern Cullen Menke is preparing materials before class starts on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Seyka doing her work in her dual-monitor desk setup during her first hour Pre-AP English II class on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Menke checking up on the online students during first hour Pre-AP English II class on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Left: Willa Cornillie (10) paying attention to Seyka and Menke’s teaching. Right: Ella Walters (10) doing her work on her laptop during Seyka’s first hour Pre-AP English II class on March 12. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Elena Cull (9) walking in the hallways along with others during five-minutes passing time on March 12. Hallways are divided into two to control the traffic of students walking during passing times. Students are expected to stay on one lane depending on the direction that they’re going. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Math teacher Jeff Burgess shows his third hour Pre-AP Algebra II class how to solve a jumpstart problem on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Junhwan Ahn (9) and Nijiko Nomura (9) working on math problems during Burgess’s third hour Pre-AP Algebra II class on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Harrell’s second hour Portrait Workshop class on March 11. Online students on Zoom were shown on the board so that in-person and online students can interact with each other. From left: Fletcher, Anaiis Rios-Kasoga (12) and Harrell. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Although all teachers are expected to return, there are some exceptions for those who are high risk. French teacher Marcy Sheldon, who is unable to return due to her compromised immune system, is one of them. Fletcher Wasnich (9) and Allen McGrew (9), two of Sheldon’s in-person students, wear their headphones and log into Google Meet during their fifth hour French III class while Sheldon teaches from her home on March 10. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
With Sheldon not being able to be in the room, a staff member substitutes and supervises her class on her behalf. During her fifth hour French III class on March 10, Burgess is the staff member who fills in the substitute position. From the front: Burgess, Khaled Taifour (9), Jorge Loaisiga Jarquin (9). Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
To ensure social distancing, the band classes move to the auditorium where there is more space. Students are spread out to have maximum physical distancing. Photo taken during second hour Concert Band class on March 11. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Band teacher David Larzelere talks to both his online and in-person students accompanied by band intern Cameron Halls on March 16. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Raphael Gold (10) plays his trombone during his second hour Concert Band class on March 16. According to Larzelere, all students are provided with special musician masks which allow them to put their instruments up to their mouth while mitigating aerosol spread and a special “bell cover” that traps aerosol as it leaves the instrument. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Symphonic Orchestra class during fourth hour on March 17. The orchestra moves to the student union to enforce social distancing. Online students on Google Meet are displayed on the screen that is placed on the back wall of the student union. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Full orchestra joins in the Symphonic Orchestra at the end of the hour on March 17. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Orchestra teacher David Rosin conducts his students playing “The Real Hero (from Avengers: Endgame)” composed by Alan Silvestri. Photo taken during fourth hour Symphonic Orchestra class on March 17. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Iniya Umachandran (11) plays her violin during fourth hour Symphonic Orchestra on March 17. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Harrell gives Cornillie a wipe at the end of the class during Harrell’s second hour Portrait Workshop class on March 16. Before class ends, teachers give each student in their class a wipe and every student is expected to sanitize their workspace before leaving to kill the germs and avoid spreading it to others. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Kareem cleaning up his desk and plexiglas with wipes during Gorman’s World History class on March 12. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Demani Ruiz (11) cleans his workspace during Gorman’s sixth hour World History class on March 10. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Morales handing out weekend lunches to students as they exit the building after school on March 12. Lunches are available for students to pick up after school. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Morales handing out weekend lunch to Kate McAndrews (10) after school on March 12. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Chartwells employee Maria Bernard waiting for students to pick up lunches after school on March 10. Students in the back check out their lunch bag to see what they got. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Math teacher Maggie Moore hugs her daughter, Ginger Johnston (9), after school on March 11. From left: Moore, Johnston, Sarah Bergdolt (9). Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Antonio Rojas (9) and other students exiting the building after school on March 16. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Students walk out of the building while carrying the lunches that they got from school on March 17. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
In-person students leave the building at the end of the day on March 17. Photo by Aliyah Pratomo
Aliyah Pratomo is a member of the Class of 2023 and is on the Visual Team for Portrait. This is her first year on staff as a sophomore. Aliyah’s favorite...
This piece exemplifies how images convey so much that words cannot. I appreciate the variety of emotion and experience conveyed in spite of not being able to see people’s faces. I see dedication, love, concern, engagement, caring, nurturing, worry, and commitment in these photos. Thank you.
Kristin McIlhagga • Mar 24, 2021 at 9:51 am
This piece exemplifies how images convey so much that words cannot. I appreciate the variety of emotion and experience conveyed in spite of not being able to see people’s faces. I see dedication, love, concern, engagement, caring, nurturing, worry, and commitment in these photos. Thank you.