It was a lot of work, a lot of stress, but Derek Belanger believes it was worth it when the doors opened and he saw the way day one of the new school year unfolded at Ste. Joseph-Scollard Hall on Tuesday.
"Just seeing the kids, following the rules, they were happy to be back," said Belanger, who is the principal at the local high school.
"The staff was excited, it was so nice, honestly, it was so nice to see."
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Day one of the staggered school start meant only grade nines attended the first day of school. Despite the concerns with COVID-19, Belanger liked the idea of having his newest students there exclusively on the first day without any other returning students from grades 10 to 12 in the building.
Tuesday was not a typical orientation day showing the students around the school. This new school year of course included information on safety protocols, new routines, zones and specific entrances for certain grades, and how floor markings and barriers work.
"It was a chance for us as a school, staff, and community to just welcome our grade nines who are new to the school, they are transitioning to a high school," explained Belanger.
"For me, walking into that building, they are nervous but having all of us to just support them was really exciting and to see the smiles on their faces; just make them comfortable and give them an orientation and guide them through their day, help them to class, it really was their day.
"You could see the calm in their faces,' oh, I did it, I made it through the first day, I know what I'm doing.' It was good to see."
While Tuesday was just for the grade nines at St.Joseph-Scollard Hall, the staggered start included the 9s and 12s on Wednesday and all four grades 9 to 12 on Thursday.
As for the staff, Belanger says it has done well through the challenging planning period which included three professional development days last week.
"As information evolved and changed you really had to be flexible and adapt," said Belanger.
"I am proud of the staff and all the support we have received. We understand it is going to evolve and change as we go and we will have to adapt some more but we are ready for the challenge.
"We have planned and we are ready to go. Once we started and we saw our plan into action and the kids came in the school it was comforting."