Ready for back-to-school? Preparations are underway across London

It’s crunch time for Londoners who haven’t finished back-to-school preparations yet.

Students across the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board start classes on Tuesday after this Labour Day long weekend, while orientation week begins Tuesday for those heading to post-secondary school.

“It’s hectic,” said Christine Pell, who spent Friday morning crossing some final things off the back-to-school checklist with her three young children.

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Her daughter, Lunna, starts Grads 2 this year.

While she isn’t thrilled about “more math equations and stuff,” Lunna is thrilled about some of her school supplies.

“I even have erasers that are donuts,” she exclaimed.

While some kids and parents might have mixed feelings about the start of the school year, Lisa Pacheco isn’t one of them.

She and Norman Pacheco were out buying indoor shoes for their kids, Ethan and Aria.

“They drive me nuts,” Lisa laughed. “I wish they went back the first of August.”

Between Western University and Fanshawe College, there’ll be more than 50,000 students welcomed back to London next week. That means commutes near both schools’ main campuses will be slow this weekend, with many moving into residences or student housing.

Over at Western, student leaders — also known as “sophs” — are ready to meet first years.

“When you’re transitioning into university, things can be very difficult,” explained “Camo.” She’s a residence soph at Western’s Saugeen-Maitland Hall, and is taking part in a soph-wide tradition of using code names or “soph names” during orientation week.

Western University says it’s welcoming back 33,000 students this fall, while Fanshawe College says it has 19,000 full-time students enrolled.