EMILY HSUEH
PONTIAC Sept. 2, 2020
The end of summer is synonymous with the back-to-school season, and kids from all over the Pontiac diving into a brand new school year. Of course, following half a year of being under a global pandemic, families will have to prepare for school in a way no one has experienced before. This not only affects the students, but their teachers and parents as well.
With all major events and gatherings being canceled this year, heading back to school will mean . . .
being a part of large indoor gatherings that many have not seen since March. As expected, the two schools in Shawville – Dr. S.E. McDowell Elementary School and Pontiac High School (PHS) – have strict guidelines in place to ensure everyone’s safety.
“Over the course of the summer, we have worked diligently, with the assistance of the school network, to prepare to welcome your children back to school safely in the fall,” a letter to parents with children attending McDowell read. It detailed the guidelines that would be in place in the new year.
Both schools had staggered start dates. At PHS, freshmen started their high school career with orientation August 27, while all students were welcomed back on Aug 31. At McDowell, grades were separated for staggered start dates and each round of cycles began on different days starting Aug. 28. Students of all grades will go to school together on Sept. 2.
Other restrictions at McDowell include limited bathroom use, arrows on the ground to direct traffic flow and staggered bus times, according to kindergarten teacher Roxanne Gauthier, who said the first day back had gone very well.
“Everyone’s a bit nervous and anxious obviously, but we’ve worked really hard as a team to make sure we’ve implemented all the regulations and to make sure everyone is safe and that the kids will be safe and happy at school,” she said.
“Obviously there are risks, but to me unfortunately, how the world is set up right now, this is what our normal is,” said Jackie McBane, whose son Dryden Frobel is starting grade four at McDowell. McBane says she is glad that the schools were able to start again because some parents, including herself, were not able to homeschool and therefore could not educate her son properly as he would have been in class.
Gauthier agreed that re-opening the school was a necessary. “We want to be there, to sit beside them and help them. That’s a little more difficult but if that means the kids can come back to school and we can be in the classroom with them, I think everyone is willing to do that.”
Stacey Albert’s son Riley Barry is going into grade eleven at PHS. When asked about their feelings towards going back to school, Albert said they are not worried.
“I’ve asked Riley himself, ‘How do you feel going back to school, are you nervous, concerned, worried about anything?’ And he’s not. He’s more than ready to go back and see his friends,” she said. “I’m quite comfortable with him going back and I think they have a pretty good plan to do their best and keep the kids safe.”
Both McBane and Albert expressed that the lack of COVID-19 cases in the Pontiac has made them feel more confident in sending their kids back to school.
“Me personally, I don’t really have any major concerns because we don’t have any cases out here,” said Albert. “It might be different if we had quite a few cases out here but we’re lucky we haven’t had any for a couple of months.”
Regardless of the lack of cases in the region, Gauthier affirmed that they are keeping the health of both staff and students in their best interests.
“I want people to know that at McDowell we’re all working really, really hard to make sure that it’s a good return to school for everyone, for the parents, for the kids,” Gauthier said. “We’ve tried everything possible to make it as safe as possible for them.”
