THUNDER BAY – With only days until students return to classrooms across Thunder Bay, teachers were busy Friday readying classrooms and meeting with new students.
At St. Thomas Aquinas elementary school, kindergarten teacher Jennifer Wiseman was in her second day of intake meetings with families.
Normally, the meetings would be an occasion for students to explore their new learning environment. This year, they were held in a gazebo just outside the school, allowing students to see their teachers’ faces before masks go on indoors.
While the COVID-19 pandemic will make this a unique school year, Wiseman reported the families she spoke with seemed mostly at ease with the new rules and measures in place.
“They seem very comfortable – they do have some questions, but still mostly the same questions they’ve been asking us in previous years,” she said. “Hopefully that means we’ve done a good job in informing families what this year’s going to look like.”
A significant number of parents had opted children into online learning, leaving Wiseman and an Early Childhood Educator with 20 students in their classroom.
Inside nearby St. Vincent elementary, some of the changes inspired by COVID-19 were immediately obvious in Rebecca Piccinato’s Grade 2 classroom: mask hooks were affixed to the side of each desk, while floor tape marked a square around each desk to maintain distance between students.
“I’m a firm believer in flexible seating and allowing kids to move or stand, so I had to make sure they still had their own area they’re aware of that they can move around,” she explained.
Newly-installed floor decals indicated traffic flow and safe distancing in the school hallways, while bulletin boards and classroom doors were plastered with signs using humour and familiar pop culture figures like Batman and Dr. “Bones” McCoy to remind students about hand-washing, distancing, and mask wearing.
Piccinato hoped the omnipresent visual cues would make it easy for even the youngest children to remember those fundamentals without constant reminders.
The long-time teacher expressed confidence in the return to school, underlining its importance for children’s mental health.
“I’m excited to be back and I’m excited to have our kids back,” she said. “I think it’s important our kids are in class. I’m happy to be in Thunder Bay – our numbers are low and I think our kids are going to be great.”
Initially expecting 18 students, her class now stood at 15 after a few more had opted for online learning.
While wearing a mask could be an adjustment for some, she felt even children in lower grades would adjust quickly if supported by parents. Her own children, entering grades 2 and 6, had been practicing regular mask use over the summer.
“I think if they’ve been prepared at home before coming to school, there’s no reason they can’t wear masks,” she said.
At St. Thomas Aquinas, Wiseman echoed Piccinato’s confidence, with a similar emphasis on the importance of parental support.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been with our children, since March, and we really missed our families,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting started back up, and we’re confident we’ll be able to have a great program with the support of everyone around you and our families.”
Students will return to school throughout next week at both the public and Catholic boards, as part of a staggered re-entry.
