St. Mary School Grade 2 teacher Courtney Bayuk was busy preparing her classroom last week for students who returning to the class Sept. 3.
After a summer of sleeping in, staying up late and not having to do any homework at all, Westlock-area students are officially back at school today, Sept. 3.
As they file into their classrooms and come to terms with another school year, teachers are there not only to teach, but to make a connection with each and every student to help them be successful in learning.
“It’s business as usual for us,” said Westlock Elementary School principal Pierre Ouimet. “We always look forward to the beginning of a new year.”
One of the focuses at Westlock Elementary this year is staff-to-student relations and “shining a light on the social and emotional experience of kids, making sure those relationships are as positive as can be, and we get to know every single kid in a profound way to make the experience as good as possible,” said Ouimet.
“If we do the best job we can there, the literacy and the numeracy, which are also focuses, of course, will be that much better.”
The school will also welcome a number of new teachers and staff, including a new associate principal.
Aside from that, the school also had its parking lot redone over the summer, which was badly needed, said Ouimet. They’ll be showing it off at the annual Back to School Barbeque at the school Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m. The community is invited to stop by and grab a bite.
Across town at St. Mary School, principal Vance Nakonechny said teachers have been in, preparing their classrooms and lessons before the kids arrived Tuesday.
“The teachers are in their classrooms getting everything prepared. We still have parents coming in to register students and we’re finalizing timetables, so there’s lots of stuff going on,” he said.
While things will generally be status quo at the school, there are a few new developments to report as there are no longer split classes. There is a one grade per class all the way through Grade 1-12.
There are also a few new options for senior high students such as sports medicine and multimedia classes.
As far as special events go, the school will continue its fundraising efforts with school wide events like Launch the Gonch, the annual food drive and a program called Mary’s Meals, which helps provide meals to school children in Africa.
The school will also be putting a special significance of the Terry Fox Run later this month.
“We’re just looking forward to a positive year and getting going again. It’s always an exciting time. You’re looking forward in a positive direction and we anticipate another fantastic year,” said Nakonechny.
At Westlock’s largest school, R.F. Staples, students will be welcomed back with a complete cellphone ban in classrooms for Grades 7-12, but there’s a lot more going on than that though, said principal Wayne Rufiange.
“One of our goals this year is really looking at some of the spaces in the building. We have lots of blank walls, for instance, so we want to make that a welcoming environment. We’ll be asking students and maybe make it a competition and have people vote on it,” he said.
The school will also mark the 75th anniversary of Canada’s liberation of the Netherlands in the Second World War, by planting tulips in an outdoor garden that will bloom in the spring.
It’s part of a nationwide project with the goal of planting 1.1 million tulips across the country to remember the 1.1 million soldiers who fought there.
Rufiange also said there is a new bell schedule for junior and senior high.
A portion of the parking lot has also been redone along with the north wing bathrooms, while new bathrooms near the cafeteria will also be completed by the second week of school.
