‘Mixed emotions’ as Hamilton students head back to school

If you ask incoming junior kindergarten student Scarlett Dunham what she's looking forward to most about school, she might say painting."

I will always make a pink flower," the four-year-old said. I always use a little bit of green for the stems."

Scarlett is one of about 80,000 Hamilton students heading back to classrooms - brick-and-mortar or virtual - on Wednesday for the first day of school. For some, it's a return to a school community they've been disconnected from for months. For others, it's the first page in a new chapter.

She's very excited to try new things," said Scarlett's mom, Alexa Dunham, sitting on a grassy hill in a Dundas park in the final days of summer break. She's excited to have a lunch box, she's excited to have a backpack."

Fortunately for Scarlett, kindergarten classrooms will have paint - and crayons, Popsicle sticks, Plasticine and other arts and craft supplies - to be shared among students in the class.

But they will also have rows of distanced desks, a COVID-19 symptom checklist tacked up beside the alphabet, Plexiglas dividers for group work and the white-noise hum of an air filter. Like last year, students from kindergarten to Grade 12 are required to wear masks while at school.

By now - eighteen months into the pandemic - Scarlett is used to wearing a mask.

I've never had issues with her wearing a mask for restaurants or for grocery stories or for anything," Alexa said of her daughter. I don't expect her to have any problem in a classroom."

Despite the return of classroom learning, sports and extracurriculars, the 2021-22 school year will be far from normal.

In Hamilton, which has some of the highest instances of COVID and low vaccination rates, additional measures beyond the provincial requirements will be implemented to help prevent virus transmission in schools. Kids will have recess with cohorts, high school cafeterias are shuttered and there are added measures for music and sports.

Despite restrictions, there is a hopeful anticipation in the air as families back-to-school shop in malls that are open and kids climb, swing and slide on playgrounds that are no longer taped off.

If we're not beating the virus, we're learning to live with it.

Thirteen-year-old Ben Smith said he's most excited to go to school and have a set schedule."

I liked online because I had a ton of freedom to do whatever, like I could eat pizza during class," said the 13-year-old, a Grade 8 student with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB). But I also like going back because it's easier to learn in person."

Classroom learning is only part of the appeal. In a recent Spectator survey, parents overwhelmingly responded that their kids were most looking forward to interacting with their peers and teachers this fall.

Definitely seeing my friends and teachers again, not the actual school," said Evelyn Dunnett - a classmate of Ben's - of the most anticipated part of school.

I don't want summer to be over, clearly, but school will be fun," Evelyn said.

Sam Bienenstock, 15, is starting Grade 10 at Dundas Valley Secondary School, which he toured last week.

I'm looking forward to having an actual schedule, instead of just online then randomly the next week in person," he said. I'm nervous, yet excited for a new experience."

Most kids say they are excited to go back to school. Still, the aggressive Delta variant has some parents worried.

A Spectator survey found that Hamilton parents are almost as concerned about COVID this year as they were last year. About 63 per cent of respondents said COVID was a top concern heading into the new school year - down only slightly from 64 per cent last year.

Similarly, about 60 per cent said they were concerned about their kids' mental health going into September - down from about 68 per cent last year.

For Hamilton parent Terrie Wilson, it is a long-awaited return to school.

We've been in this long enough I've taught my kids how to keep themselves as safe as possible, so I'm OK with it," she said.

Through the flip-flopping between in-person and remote learning last year, Wilson's five kids - the youngest in JK and the oldest in Grade 11 - struggled to stay engaged in school.

She said her kids have mixed feelings - excitement and nerves - about starting school.

They've been out of in-class learning for a while," she said. I'm nervous for my youngest who was in JK (going) into SK."

Wilson works full time, and wasn't able to help her kindergartener do the assigned online exercises and activities, which parents say required their supervision. For the same reason, she could never be sure if and when her older kids were logging in to online classes and whether they were paying attention when they were there.

Extracurriculars are drawing her teenagers back to the physical school building. For the middleschoolers, it's the social aspect.

The ones in middle school are the most excited," she said. It's the friends they have missed the most."

Midhaa Ahmed, 17, said going back to school will definitely be a relief." But she is worried that schools will close again, resulting in another year of instability.

The back and forth was really exhausting for anyone in the education system," she said.

Hamilton school boards have said repeatedly they are working to avoid another systemwide shutdown so that students can continue to learn with minimal disruptions," a Sept. 3 HWDSB statement reads. Hamilton schools will have stricter measures than the province requires.

Ahmed said she has extremely mixed emotions" about starting her Grade 12 year - her last at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School. She is looking forward to spending time with friends, screen-free extracurriculars and most of all" in-person learning.

I'm excited for life to be heading back to some sort of normalcy, but going back after such a long period of time does cause some stress," she said. There are a lot of big decisions I need to be making soon and in a short period of time when I feel like I haven't even really experienced high school."

Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com