SCRANTON, Pa. — West Scranton High School seniors won't start in-person classes until next Monday. This week is reserved for the freshmen who have never set foot in the building on Luzerne Street.
The seniors were there to help show the freshmen around.
"It's so wonderful just to be here, and we really want to communicate that to the freshman because they didn't have that sense of school pride throughout the year just because they're all virtual," said senior Molly Dougherty.
The Scranton School District started bringing students back at the beginning of the month, starting with the youngest students. Though officials at West Scranton High School say more than half of the school's students are sticking with virtual classes.
The classrooms and cafeteria were not nearly as busy on this first day back, but still, students are asked to social distance. The school placed "W" stickers on cafeteria benches to mark spaced-out seats.
It's not the senior year they imagined, but these students are excited to be going back.
"Keeping up with the classwork was really, really hard," said senior Marytere Quintana. "It was very demanding at times, but I think overall, with the help of my teachers, they were just very understanding."
"I've seen the same kids throughout the last year, so seeing people, and seeing how everyone's changed, and seeing plans for the future, just to talk to people, I just kind of miss it, the social aspect of it," senior Zach Anderson said.
The students are hoping for more normalcy to return as the spring semester continues.
"Just to try to get any activities we can. Anything we can get at this point, I'd be very happy since we've lost so much. Anything we could get would be really nice," senior John Sinclair said.
Rites of passage like prom and graduation are still up in the air.