Teachers mark bitter-sweet ending to school year, pack up student belongings

Teachers across the region are back in their classrooms this week, looking in cubbies, trying to find matching shoes and gather belongings so families can pick them up next week. 

When they walked into their schools, the teachers stepped back in time: calendars are stuck on Friday, March 13, the last day of classes, back when kids left for what was then a two-week March Break before that was extended indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"It's unreal, walking in here," said Grade 8 teacher Lindsay Reycroft, who teaches at Louise Arbour French Immersion Public School. "Packing up for the year is always bittersweet, especially with Grade 8s, but even more so this year because I don't get to see them." 

All of the trappings of a school are present: half-empty water bottles on tables, desks stuffed with papers and books with bookmarks sticking out. Even the bell continues to ring, signalling to children who are no longer in the building that classes are switching. 

Teachers have been using virtual tools to teach since April, and this week, they're taking pictures of shoes or hats, backpacks or water bottles, holding them up during live video chats hoping that some student claims them. 

June is usually a high-energy time in schools like Louise Arbour, with 680 kids running through hallways, the promise of summer less than a month away and teachers planning wrap-up parties and year-end projects. 

"Normally, on a Tuesday in June, we'd be thinking about plans for the end of the year, talent shows, graduation, all that exciting stuff that happens at this time of year," said vice-principal Seta Moore-Bridge. 

Instead of the usual end-of-year plans, teachers are putting kids belongings in black garbage bags and labelling them. At Louise Arbour, families are asked to come next week to pick up their kids' stuff. It will be done alphabetically by last name throughout next week, and two different doors will be used to keep things as orderly as possible. 

Students will also be able to drop off musical instruments and library books they have at home with them. 

In between the packing up, which teachers started doing this Monday, there is some relief to be in familiar territory, even if it's mostly empty, and teachers are happy to see their colleagues, said Louise Arbour Principal Lisa Cianci. 

"We've had some tears, for sure," she said. "This is the place where teachers connect with their students, and there's a finality to this week. They'll never have this again; they'll never be in that classroom, teach that group of kids. Teachers are really exceptional about wrapping up the year and closing things up for students, and they'll do that remotely this year, but having to put student's belongings in a bag, that makes it more surreal."