When thousands of students head back to class on Tuesday, they will find everything in place, ready for them to learn. This is the result of a lot of hard work by teachers, administrators and staff in both city schools and remote towns alike.
Laurie Mudd is the new principal at Chemong Public School in Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough. She has come to the village school from a downtown Peterborough school and has spent the last few weeks hiring teachers, getting the curriculum set up and assigning classrooms. She says she will not be alone in facing first day jitters.
“We know that a lot of students will have anxiety about coming to school for the first time, or even just returning to school, and who is my teacher going to be, and who else will be in my classroom,” says principal Mudd.
Teachers like Renee Shearer are getting their classrooms set up. Shearer has taught Grade 1 for several years and says all-day kindergarten has made her job a little easier, as the children entering Grade 1 already have a sense of the way a classroom operates.
“They’ve been at school here for two years now, all day, every day, which is exciting. They have a large group of friends, they know the routines of the school, they’re familiar with the building, with the yard,” Shearer said.
Custodial staff have been busy with maintenance and upgrades at the school, taking advantage of the fact the halls and rooms are empty — but that will all change on Tuesday.