New Brunswick students will soon be returning to the classroom and while some are excited to reunite with their classmates, others may be feeling apprehensive about returning, full time amid a pandemic.
The Anglophone East School District has put additional mental health resources in place to help students make the transition back to regular class sizes said Kim Oakley, the acting director education and support services.
“We are doing a staggered entry that first week of school so teachers can get to know their students a little bit better,” she said.
Oakley said individual schools will develop their own staggered entry schedule based on student populations. She said the staggered entry will allow staff to identify students who may be feeling anxious about returning to class amid a pandemic and are those who are in need of additional supports.
The district has also hired eight additional behaviour intervention mentors.
“To help support with some of the feelings and emotions of students in the classroom,” she said.
Child and youth teams are in place to offer supports, but the district continues to struggle to find full-time psychologists, said Oakley, which has been an ongoing problem for a few years.
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“We have a posting up at this point in time we are still looking for some school psychologists,” she said that five positions have yet to be filled.
In the meantime, the district’s community response coordinator, Heather Stordy, said the district has partnered with community youth mental health support agencies such as Kids Help Phone, Atlantic Wellness and the Canadian Mental Health Association which will work directly with schools.
“Our youth agencies are there and ready and willing to support us this year and we will be connecting with them regularly and they will be in our schools,” said Stordy.
The district said additional mental health supports are also in place for staff. Parents who have concerns about how their child is adjusting to full-time studies are encouraged to reach out to school counsellors, said Stordy.
“I think that kids are excited to be back and be with their peers, and this is a good change, but with that comes anxieties,” said Stordy. “Our staff our community are very well prepared to identifying and addressing these kinds of things as students return.”
Mental health resources and be found on the district’s website under student wellness.
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