Parents keen for routine, concerned about risk as Edmonton public schools open
Paige Parsons | CBC News | Posted: September 3, 2020 6:16 PM | Last Updated: September 3, 2020
Students practise distancing and safety protocols during orientation
The principal at D.S. MacKenzie Junior High School in south Edmonton has never seen a school year quite like this.
"It keeps us on our toes, but we're up for the challenge," Larry Payne said Thursday. "The energy of a school is students, and so we're thrilled to have them back."
Edmonton Public Schools students ventured into classrooms for the first time this school year on Thursday. The division said last week that close to 64,000 students were expected to return to in-person learning, accounting for 70 per cent of all enrolled students. Another 26,000 or so had opted for online classes.
D.S. MacKenzie's 550 students are off to a staggered start. Grade 7 students arrived Thursday morning for orientation, and Grade 8 students expected in the afternoon. Grade 9s will have orientation Friday morning. Students in all grades will arrive for their first full days on Tuesday after the long weekend.
Payne, who has been at the school five years, said staff put a lot of time and effort into trying to follow guidelines from both the province and school division.
"We really feel that we've got this and we're going to be able make this work and be successful, and mitigate risk as much as possible," he said.
Dressed in navy jackets, Payne and his staff were out on the school's front lawn early Thursday marshalling students into distanced lines based on home rooms.
The principal said they'll practise lining up a few times during the orientation morning as well as work on other protocols, including how to move through the school safely while observing distancing requirements.
He said about 100 students have opted for online learning for the first eight weeks of the school year. The junior high will operate under a quarterly semester system for 2020-21.
Arriving for her first day at D.S. MacKenzie, Grade 7 student Haydynn Murray said she doesn't know a lot of people at the school, and she's looking forward to making friends.
"I'm feeling pretty excited," she said.
Her mom, Jamie Popowich, was a little more apprehensive, saying she worries about kids being able to wear masks properly all day.
"I think she's doing better than I am," Popowich said. "What we can't control is a little bit nerve-racking, but at the same time some normalcy will be good, some routine is going to be good."
Mohammad Rajamul said he's not feeling great about his son Mohammad Faizan returning to school but said that getting a routine for him was important. The family is stocked up on hand sanitizer and masks.
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"We are a little bit worried," Rajamul said.
Ali Jafari echoed concerns about issues around COVID-19 as he dropped off his daughter.
"I guess that's something we [have to] get used to, at least for the time being," he said.
Jafari said he's talked to his daughter about the importance of physical distancing. He said she's excited about getting back to school. He said he thinks the school has done a good job of helping getting parents and kids get ready to come back.
When it was time to go inside, Payne stood on a picnic table and gave a quick principal's welcome speech from behind a mask. As staff started ushering students inside through different doors, they reminded them to go slowly and maintain distance.
"We're going to try to get that routine going, so by next Tuesday we can be really slick and smooth," Payne said.