School opens in a whole new world

The 240 students at Jonathan Pitre elementary school in Riverside South are getting Ottawa’s first peek at what school will be like in the pandemic world.

The school is one of two at the French Catholic school board in Ottawa to operate on the “balanced school year” schedule. The students get more time off during the school year, but remain in school to the end of June and resume classes in mid-August.

While Wednesday was the first day of classes for students at Jonathan

Pitre, most other students in Ottawa will be returning to school Sept. 3, or staggered through the first two weeks of September.

Melissa Graham, the mother of Kenna, who is starting Grade 1, said like many other parents, she is worried about what’s to come.

“But we are more excited than worried. She’s an only child. She needs the interaction with other children,” said Graham.

The school board, Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, has been working on a back-toschool plan since April, said superintendent of education JeanFrançois

Bard.

“We’re a little more nervous than usual for obvious reasons. But we’re ready. Teachers are wearing masks, but you can see the smiles in their eyes.”

Parents say they know they’re lucky École élémentaire catholique Jonathan-Pitre is a brand-new building. It has a state-of-the-art ventilation system. The water fountains, where students will fill their water bottles, use motion sensors, so students don’t touch the tap. Every classroom has its own sink.

There are also new measures in place for this new pandemic world. There are hand sanitizing stations and directional arrows signs on the floors. Recesses will be held in three shifts and students are limited to one of three sections of the playground. Bathroom breaks — except for emergencies, of course — are held on a schedule to allow for cleaning.

“Everyone will be travelling around the school in a cohort of 50,” said Bard.

“If there is an outbreak, we could trace where that child was — and with whom.”

For parents, the possibility of an outbreak is the biggest worry.

“I’m not at all comfortable with it, but I don’t have much choice,” said Tammy Desforges, who was waiting on the sidewalk with her son, Jolan, who is going into Grade 4.

“There is a lot of apprehension about the safety protocols. The protocols seem reasonable, but until we’re living it, we don’t know how it’s going to work. We’re talking about children here,” she said.

“The school is doing the best it can. That’s all we can ask for. I just hope the kids are safe in the process. We are dealing with unprecedented events. Everyone is doing the best they can.”

Classrooms will also look different, said Bard. “They’re pretty minimalist.”

Some students will sit at opposite ends of a table. Students must wear the same pair of shoes every day — no such thing as indoor and outdoor shoes now. Their backpacks must remain slung around their chairs. Students can’t bring toys and sports equipment to school.

Many of the parents waiting on the sidewalk for the school to open on Wednesday morning had qualms about the return to the classroom. But for one reason or another, their children have to be in school. The parents have to be at work. The children want to be with their peers, need to get out of the house, and need to get back to some kind of normality, the parents said. Home-schooling or online learning was a chore for many.

Marnie Lafrance, whose son Brody is entering senior kindergarten, is still working from home, and so is her husband.

It’s hard to get a boy Brody’s age to sit in front of a computer to learn, said Lafrance. But she also has concerns about the return to school.

“It’s something no one has been through yet,” she said. “It’s a little scary.”

Between 12 and 15 per cent per cent of families have opted for the learn-at-home model through the board’s virtual academy, said Bard. That means each class will have three or four fewer children, making physical distancing easier.

Lynn Nicolini has more reason than most to be worried. She was diagnosed with cancer four weeks ago and is now undergoing chemotherapy.

“That changed everything,” she said.

Nicolini has two daughters — Mila, who is in senior kindergarten, and Gabriella, who is in Grade 1. The girls were part of a tight social bubble with their cousins who live next door over the summer, but they’re ready to have more social interaction, she said.

“It’s hard for me to keep them at home. My energy is not high. Home-schooling takes almost all day and it’s hard to do with two kids of that age.”

Nicolini said she was reassured when the school’s principal said there would be 15 students in Gabriella’s

class and 17 in Mila’s.

“If there were 30 kids in that class, I would have kept them at home,” she said.

“We have to do what we have to do. I will cross my fingers and hope nothing happens.”

Paolo Micucci, the father of Lorenzo, a senior kindergarten student, said he has concerns about the return to school. But Lorenzo is excited.

“Home-schooling has been very hard,” he said.

“Mostly, we have been reading him French books.”

Lorenzo’s family is part of a two-family social bubble. The family visits grandparents about once a week, and that has Micucci concerned now that Lorenzo is back at school. But he’s also concerned about his son not being able to socialize.

“He’s such a social little guy. He misses being around friends. On the flip side, if we didn’t send him to school, he would be without other kids. It’s about his mental health,” said Micucci.

Melissa Graham, the mother of Kenna, said her daughter was in a day camp this summer that had to close after two weeks because of a positive test.

If there is an outbreak at the school, Graham said she’ll be familiar with the process.

As for Kenna, she said she feels good about the return to school.

“Because I want to see my friends.”