NATCHEZ &8212; Only 13 second-grade evacuees remain in a Frazier Primary class created for them, because of them.

Already-crowded Frazier needed another class, pre-hurricane. Post-hurricane, the new class with a new teacher immediately filled with 26 evacuees.

Lori Anne Fuller moved up from West Primary, and in total taught 30 evacuees, but never more than 26 at once.

&8220;At first they would cry a lot during the day,&8221; Fuller said. &8220;They were just really tired and stressed out over what was going on.&8221;

But things have gotten better, she said.

&8220;Sometimes it comes up,&8221; Fuller said. &8220;They say, at my old school we used to do this. But it doesn&8217;t come up as frequently now.&8221;

Fuller never led a class discussion on the hurricane, choosing to steer clear of the bad memories, but took the comments as they came.

Mia Davis, 7, said her mom was thinking about moving back, but had to find a house close to Mia&8217;s old school.

&8220;My house is torn to pieces,&8221; she said. &8220;The TV is all the way down the hall. My mom and grandmom can&8217;t get to their rooms. My bed is slashed in half. My dresser is kind of sideways.&8221;

Mia said she liked Frazier, especially the playground, but had friends in New Orleans she misses.

&8220;It&8217;s not better here, but it&8217;s the same,&8221; she said.

Gulfport native Kira Smith, 7, lost an aunt during the storm.

&8220;She died in the hurricane,&8221; Smith said. &8220;I never saw her again. I remember she used to buy me everything I wanted.&8221;

For Kalin Norman, 8, being in Natchez has meant being away from his mother, who is still working in New Orleans.

&8220;Today we are just making a countdown to when she comes back,&8221; he said. &8220;Then I&8217;m going down with my mom for a few days.&8221;

Split families are common in the class, and Te&8217;Andria Hayes said her family won&8217;t be putting up a Christmas tree until her dad comes back from New Orleans this weekend.

Friday was Christmas party day at Frazier, and the students were decorating paper stockings and eating cookies. The 13 classmates have now been joined by four other students, non-evacuees.

Fuller said all of the students came to the class with different academic backgrounds, but she did the best should could to align the class with other Frazier second-grade rooms.

&8220;Some are further behind than they should be,&8221; she said. &8220;We kind of meet them where they are and keep going.&8221;

Of the students who have left, most have gone to other towns with family, and not back to the coast.

The evacuee count will probably be even lower after Christmas.

&8220;These are tough kids,&8221; Fuller said. &8220;They&8217;ve been through a lot, but they seem to be doing well.&8221;