First Day of School During COVID-19 Pandemic
Rosanne Fortier
News Correspondent
Some students went back to school on September 1 at Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools for the 2020/21 school year during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Several parents were asked what they thought of the School Re-entry Plan. Kim Stefiuk, who has a child who was starting Kindergarten, said she feels good about all the safety protocols the school has in place relating to social distancing, class sizes, and sanitization.
“My child is in Kindergarten so I am happy for her to be able to get the experience of being in school where it will be as normal as possible. It is not a typical year for someone who will be starting school for the first time so it is a little bit nerve-wrecking, but I am not nervous for her safety. I am just nervous for the experience not being how I pictured my child starting school. I feel a bit bad that the students don’t have the freedom that we had when we started school, but I am totally confident that the school system will keep the students safe. Actually, I am 110% confident of this,” added Stefiuk.
Roxy Weleschuk’s daughter, Sadie was also starting Kindergarten. “I feel okay about the students starting school as long as they are safe and stay home when they are sick; I believe everything will be okay. Sadie was really excited about her first day at school. For her, she doesn’t know any different. The class sizes are small. I think the teachers and staff will do their best to keep everyone safe.”
Christel Sen said she was optimistic about Elk Island Public Schools Re-entry Plan. “There aren’t many cases in Vegreville. We are very happy that we are not living in a large city centre where there are a whole bunch of cases of COVID-19.”
