Parents nervous, anxious as they drop kids off for first day of school

While the kids may still have had their backpacks on and were bouncing with excitement, the first day of school this fall felt very different for their parents.

The playgrounds were nearly empty until close to the bell at Harbour Landing School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha School, which share a building.

Tosin and his wife were dropping their son Darasini off there for his first day of Grade 1 on Tuesday morning. Tosin said they were nervous and almost didn’t want to allow to boy to come back to class at first.

“But, I mean, life goes on. We have to adapt to the new way of life right now, so let’s see how it goes,” said Tosin.

He said the teachers and school had done a lot of good work communicating what the parents could expect. He admitted it’s a weird way for his son to start his school journey.

Darasini was very excited, waving and blurting out excited greetings to his friends as they passed. When asked what he thought the biggest change would be this year, he said it would be that he had to do more work, and only afterwards said that wearing a mask and having to wash his hands a lot would be different too.

Jolly Kalemba dropped off one of her daughters for her first day of third grade, but decided not to send her younger daughter to kindergarten just yet.

“I’m not ready to send her to school for this week,” Kalemba said, adding maybe they’d try next week.

She said she’s not nervous, but she is scared for her daughter, saying she’s in health care and knows COVID-19 is not a good thing.

“It’s not easy. This situation is very hard,” said Kalemba.

Parents are being encouraged not to go onto school grounds to help limit the number of people at a school and touching things.

Kaila Tullo waited with her son at the gate to the playground for a few minutes while they watched the other kids go in and play.

Tullo said she’s anxious about the new school year.

“I just feel unprepared, and there’s a lot of uncertainty, but he’s excited to be back to school and to see his friends and be back in the class,” said Tullo.

Tullo said there were a lot of differences preparing for this school year over the last one.

“We have sent tonnes of hand sanitizer this year and Lysol wipes and we’ve gone through hand-washing with him and prepared him for that,” she said. “We’re not allowed on the tarmac this year (and) we’re not allowed in the school at all unless we have an appointment, so that’s different. We’ve had to prepare him for that.”

She said she wished she could go inside on the first day and drop off her son’s supplies and meet his teacher, but she understood why she couldn’t.

Ultimately, Tullo said she thinks it’ll be OK and that they’ll adapt to the new normal.

Brianne Moore’s five-year-old daughter was due to begin Grade 1 at Centennial School.

Moore said after spending months away from other children, her kids need the socializing that schools provide.

“They definitely need to make some friends and learn how to play with other people besides their sibling,” she said.

Having spent that much time away from friends, she said her daughter has become more withdrawn and COVID-19 guidelines also mean students can only get so close.

“They’re not sure whether they should give their friend a hug when they see them or even my friends a hug when they see them,” Moore said. “Trying to decipher where their bubble ends is interesting for young kids.”

On the first day back for class, Moore’s daughter was asked to do a lot on her own.

To limit crowding, no parents were allowed on school grounds. Students were supposed to meet their teachers and find their classrooms by gathering at the side of the building.

The protocol was different depending on the specific school. Moore heard about another one where students were instructed to find a red circle marked on the ground.

“I get it. They have to do what’s best for them as staff,” she said. “They’re taking a risk being in a classroom with 30 kids in it and I understand that.”

As well, teachers are not allowed to make physical contact with students.

“When my daughter falls on the playground she’s probably going to want a hug,” Moore said. “She’ll have to figure out how to do a little bit more self-soothing this year.”

Online learning numbers

While some kids were returning to school Tuesday, others were starting their school year online.

According to Regina Public Schools, as of Friday, there were about 2,000 students registered for online learning from kindergarten through Grade 12.

The majority of those students were in elementary schools, but the division didn’t have a breakdown of the grade-specific numbers.

There were roughly 24,000 students enrolled in Regina’s public schools last year, when online learning wasn’t offered.

In the Regina Catholic School Division, which had about 12,000 students, there are 360 students registered for online classes from Grade 1 through Grade 8 this year.

There also are 750 high school courses being taken online, although that doesn’t represent the number of students enrolled. The division couldn’t provide that number.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Joseph Ho