THUNDER BAY — Schools were bustling across the city on Wednesday as students headed back to class for a new school year.
On Wednesday, both the Lakehead and Thunder Bay Catholic district school boards welcomed new and returning students back for another year.
“We hope all our students will do (well) this year,” said Kristi Lees, principal at Nor’wester View Public School.
Welcoming the children back to school was a fulfilling experience, she said.
“Our kids are our family. It's really hard at the end of June when we have to leave, and not see them for a couple of months, so this day is really special not only for our students but for the staff to be able to be back together again.”
With few bumps in the road, Lees said the first day went as expected.
“It's been smooth, we've worked really hard,” she said.
“We welcomed lots of new members to our community this year, and everyone seems to be getting along and enjoying their new space, so we're really excited.”
Starting with an assembly and speech, Lees said the school was well prepared.
“We have a great team to make sure everyone comes in and gets settled… you're not really sure what to expect, and it went off without a hitch.”
St. Jude School also had a fairly smooth start to the day, said principal Frank Ruberto.
“Most of (the students) were very happy, some of the first timers were happy until their parents started to walk away. However, they are in the classroom now and everything is so far so good,” he said.
Several new staff members will also be starting their first day this week, he said.
“They were organized, their class lists are out, and I think they're ready for the day,” he said.
To make the new school year move smoothly, St. Jude made several new adaptations to the building, including fencing and indoor improvements, Ruberto said.
“The fencing outside, plus some of the improvements inside, it's just helping with our security for the kids, keeping the gates closed and everything during the day,” he said.
St. Jude has also been nominated for the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, where donations collected from the local bookstore are used to purchase books for the school.
“People who make purchases can make a donation to the school that will go towards our elementary (school) purchasing new books,” he said.
The corporate company partnering with the local school means more learning material, Ruberto said.
“Whenever you make partners within the community, which is something that we really work hard on doing, it only gives back to the students, and that's a big thing for us,” he said.
“We have a very strong family-based school, lots of support, so anything that we can get back to them from our end is great.”
One student benefiting from the new improvements and benefits at the school is Peyton Fawcett, a Grade 5 student at St. Jude.
“I'm very excited,” she said. “I like learning with all my friends and all the new teachers.”
