Students, staff and teachers at elementary and secondary schools in Sault Ste. Marie were clearly happy to be back inside conventional brick and mortar school buildings and speaking with each other face-to-face (while keeping COVID-19 precautions in mind) as Thursday marked the first day of the 2021-22 school year.
Entire school communities at both elementary and secondary levels have been sent home for online learning and teaching more than once, for extended periods of time, since the COVID-19 pandemic first struck in March 2020.
For some students, Thursday marked the first day of high school, a day traditionally marked by excitement and nervousness.
However, Link Crew members, who are senior high school students, were on hand at secondary schools to welcome and assist Grade 9 students in adjusting to their new environment.
“It feels different being in a new school, but it’s going to be fun,” said Abby Tackney, speaking to SooToday as she started her first day in Grade 9 at St. Mary’s College, describing the support offered by Link Crew students as “really cool.”
“We’re just giving back. When we were in Grade 9 we had Link Crew leaders who helped us,” said Ava Evans, St. Mary’s College Grade 12 student and Link Crew member.
“We’re here to make them feel comfortable in their first year of high school. If they have any questions we’re here to help them, just to give them the experience we had when we were in Grade 9,” said Sydney Czop, St. Mary’s College Grade 12 student and Link Crew member.
“It’s very exciting. I hope we have a great year ahead of us and everything goes well,” Czop said.
“It feels really good to see all my friends again, in person. I like school, and learning. It (learning from home) was okay but I prefer being at school more than online school. I get to see my friends. I’m a social person,” said Chloe, a St. Basil Elementary School Grade 3 student.
“I think, as an educator, I speak for staff and students alike that we’re all excited that we’re able to come back in person. The pandemic has definitely given us a lot of challenges. Not all students are virtual learners. Being back in person is going to be great for overall student mental health and learning,” said Christopher Czop, St. Mary’s College vice principal.
“We’re happy to return. Our students are really happy to return and you can see their enthusiasm as they come through the door. We’ve been working all summer to prepare for them, and we’re looking forward to a great year,” said Colleen Hannah, St. Mary’s College principal.
“We’re hoping to stay in school face to face for the entire year. That would be wonderful,” Hannah added as Ontario is in a fourth wave of COVID-19 and concerns over the Delta variant remain.
“It is so exciting to be back,” said a clearly enthusiastic Krista Lappage, Parkland Public School principal.
“Everybody’s ready. The kids are really happy, families are happy, staff is really happy. You’re going in excited about the freshness of a regular back to school year, but also knowing that we’re keeping kids as safe as we can.”
“All my staff is hoping we’re back to bricks and mortar for good, but we are ready to pivot (if COVID cases should surge again and send students and teachers back to remote learning). This school pivoted really easily last year, but it’s good to see kids playing outside and at school learning with their friends, inside and outside school,” Lappage said.
“It feels great to be back in school, in person, and to be welcoming the students back to the building. It’s been a long time to be away from the normalcy of the everyday schedule and the routine,” said Kara Provenzano, White Pines Collegiate principal.
White Pines students were back to a full day of school, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“We just felt like we didn’t want to delay it any longer. The kids have been back and forth between learning remotely and learning in person, and with the lockdowns and the loss of time, we were eager to get them back in the building and get started right away,” Provenzano said.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can keep kids at school.”
“I know our entire school community is very excited to come together. We pride ourselves here on being a ‘family,’ said Fil Lettieri, St. Basil Elementary School principal.
Teaching children leadership skills, under the banner of ‘the leader in me,’ is key at St. Basil.
“There’s a whole curriculum dedicated to teaching these kids leadership. In the classroom they have distinct leadership roles such as being a greeter in the morning, or being someone who speaks about their goals. There’s so much there that we’re proud of and we connect that back to our faith, that Jesus is the example of leadership that we want to follow...everything we do, we connect it back to that theme,” Lettieri said.
With passport vaccines becoming mandatory in more places in Ontario beginning Sept. 22, where do school boards stand at this point?
“School boards have been asked to implement a mandatory immunization disclosure policy, which means staff must disclose their vaccination status, but it does not mean there is mandatory vaccinations for staff,” wrote Lucia Reece, Algoma District School Board (ADSB) director of education in an email to SooToday.
“Our board does not have a policy mandating vaccinations for students or staff. That said, all Ontario school boards are required to have a protocol or guideline related to mandatory disclosure of vaccination status. Since we are still waiting on some details from the province, we have distributed only a draft version of this guideline to our staff,” said Rose Burton Spohn, Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB) director of education.
A document from the Ministry of Education, updated Sept. 1, states “as announced on August 17, 2021, an immunization disclosure policy will be required for all publicly-funded school board employees, staff in private schools and licensed child care settings and other individuals frequently in these settings who may have direct contact with students and/or staff, for the 2021-22 school year.”
“Regular rapid antigen testing requirements will be in place for staff who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Individuals who do not intend to be vaccinated, without a documented medical reason, will be required to participate in an educational session about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination,” the Ministry document states.