JOPLIN, MO -- The May tornado destroyed five of the city's schools, including Joplin High School.

The school year started just as planned for Joplin High School Seniors Rachel Berryhill and Yainer Oviedo.

"It gives us our normal lives again," said Berryhill. "It helps us go on and move on."

However, the new Joplin High School and the first day of classes were anything but normal.

"You didn't know what to do," said Oviedo. "There was a lot of news cameras around."

"I didn't think it was going to be like this at all," said Berryhill.

The eleventh and twelfth grade campus now sits inside a vacant big box store at the Joplin Mall. It was designed and remodeled in just two months.

Principal Kerry Sachetta learned the high school was in the center of the devastation zone minutes after the tornado.

"We had to find a place that had 100,000 square feet," said Sachetta. "There were not many left in town."

The store turned school houses 1,100 students and features the latest technology. It's outfitted with computer centers in hallways, laptops for books, and think tanks for projects.

Beyond the classrooms, the Joplin School District has hired counselors to give students any extra help they might need.

Oviedo has been forced to balance school work and a life in temporary housing. His family barely survived the May storm by huddling in a small closet.

"I was holding a mattress," said Oviedo, "but it was being, like, pulled away from me, and then I looked up, and I saw a roof being taken away. So it was just like I was prepared for the end."

The family's home was destroyed, but Oviedo, like many others teens, immediately joined search and rescue efforts. He helped by trying to find survivors and recover bodies.

"It's one of those things that you wish you don't have to go through," said Oviedo.

Berryhill's home was severely damaged, but spared from a direct hit. For her, the toughest part has been watching classmates struggle.

However, it's been the return to school that has brought the students together.

"I went through a big thing of like depression where I didn't talk to anyone," said Oviedo. "Being around, like, all my good friends and seeing everyone, like, I've opened up."

Both Oviedo and Berryhill can't wait for graduation, which marks one year since the storm.

"It will be really cool," said Berryhill. "We all made it. It shows that just because we had a tornado, we still went on.

The Joplin School District wants to borrow $62 million to pay for construction projects. School leaders hope to break ground on a new Joplin High School in May.