Back to school: Emotional challenges ahead for refugee and Fort McMurray students
The first day of school has been looming on the calendar, all summer long. Tomorrow is a hard day for some kids.
The Current checks in on Syrian refugees starting a new grade and Fort McMurray students who had to flee before the end of the school year.
After their school year came to a dramatic end, students prepare to return to class in Fort McMurray
In May of this year, while wildfires ripped through the urban centre forcing more than 90,000 people to evacuate, elementary school principal Lisa Hilsenteger and 15 children escaped the smoke and flames on a yellow school bus. The wild and scary ride lasted the night.
Now at the cusp of a new school year, Hilsenteger tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti that she expects tomorrow to be an emotional day.
"The most emotion I think will be that reconnection between the students and the teachers. I think that's going to be tearful but because it's a joyful moment"
Hilsenteger says it's emotional for her too and is anxious to see how tomorrow will play out.
"It's like an emotional roller coaster because you are very excited to start the school year but you're very worried about the students coming back — how they're going to feel and how they are going to react."
Back-to-school has deep significance for many Syrian refugee students
Calgary Board of Education's Christine Oliver tells Tremonti that a lof of the emotions Hilsenteger expressed resonates with the work she does in Calgary with refugee students.
The Calgary Board of Education has a program geared towards students with refugee backgrounds in Grade 4-12. The class sizes are small, 15 students with a teacher and an assistant. Teachers are specially-trained to meet the sensitive needs of refugee students.
[Teachers] use a number of different strategies and activities to help students feel calm in the classroom, to build strong connections with the students, and to show empathy and support," says Oliver.
For refugee students, school in Canada is a different place than in their country. Oliver points to the many things that refugee students have adjust to such as, noisy hallways, lockers banging, bells ringing, new routines, riding a bus, — even a teacher being away for a day can be jarring.
"A teacher who uses a calm voice, who is someone that students can approach easily that you know seeks to build that trusting relationship — those are the first steps and it's so important."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins and Calgary network producer, Michael O'Halloran.