Back to School
September has rolled around and school has begun. Hadley is vaccinated, so we opted for her to go in person as she would also be mandated to wear a mask. It is her grade 9 year, and if she goes in person the course selection opens up greatly.
She is on a bus with 5 students including her. It is about a 30 minute bus ride. Her morning starts with one class all morning, (English) then lunch, then another class all afternoon (Rhythm and Movement AKA Gym - the kids could choose sports or movement for their gym option, she literally has gym in a dance studio). This goes for 45 days. Then she will get two new classes. She went to school for the first time on Thursday September 9th, which was odd, since usually kids go back on the Tuesday after Labour Day, but this year there were 2 PA days for teachers to figure out the new protocols. March 2020 was the last time she was in physical school. She came home tired, but so happy yesterday. She doesn't have any classes with people she knows, but made a new friend Emily and invited her to have lunch with her, Kianna, and Aarti from her public school and Hannah, my friend Christine's daughter who Hadley has known since she was less than a year old. They found a nice spot and ate outside together. She was so happy to hang out with friends again!
On the first day, Easton got dressed in the morning, and did photos outside with Hadley and then walked inside where he had a half hour school wide virtual assembly and then didn't log in until the afternoon when he had a half day of get to know you games with his new class. There are no vaccines for his age group yet. So, for now he learns in the safety of our home. Some have opted for back to school even without a vaccine for their age group, but with the fourth wave upon us, we decided for a much safer approach as virtual learning is an option, we took advantage of this opportunity for him. He has four kids in his class from his physical school, including him, and a mix of kids from last years virtual class as well as some new kids.
I can't believe the kids are in grade 9 (High School) and Grade 6!