I am filled with worry about back to school in three days.
Like many parents, I worry about how ready schools, teachers and staff are for the new routines they'll have to teach our children when they return to classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I worry if my daughter's school will be able to allow them time without a mask, if they can get all students to follow the rules for hand sanitizing and one-way routes for walking traffic through the hallways.
Have the different public school districts been able to utilize the money allotted by the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Learning to hire the extra support staff? That's the staff needed to make sure students are following the arrows on the floors, keeping their masks on and not hugging or touching their friends they've missed so much.
Or are the teachers expected to do this during their already busy days? And were schools able to hire enough substitutes as per the education plan or were there not enough qualified people?
I am putting my full trust in you, Premier Stephen McNeil, your government and public health officials to keep my daughter safe.
She is all I have. It is only her and I. We have few family members who live near us and those that do we don't see.
As you may understand, if something happens to her, like many parents, I would crumble.
So my blind faith is in your reassurance that schools are ready, everything is in place and the public health protocols will indeed allow my daughter to be in school safely.
Ultimately, I know this is where she belongs — in class, with friends, learning from a teacher not her mother who is too busy during her workday to answer her questions.
During the stay at home orders, I worried about my 11-year-old dancer, who loves all sports, music and learning. In month two, I saw a very drastic change in her behaviour and her mood. Routines were completely lost, she started sleeping more and eating less. Some days I couldn't get her to change out of her pyjamas or eat with me because she'd been snacking all day while I worked.
I know she belongs in school, but still, I worry. Will keeping desks a metre or so apart keep her safe in classrooms of 20 or more? How is this safe when some large stores are only allowing10 people in at a time, who are all wearing masks and social distancing?
I worry if teachers are tasked with supervising the new changes to routines, they won't be able to ensure everyone is following the rules because they are already so busy.
I worry students won't properly be washing their hands or will be going to school with symptoms.
I worry her education will be affected if she develops symptoms and has to stay home for 14 or more days, with no clear plan on remote learning in such cases.
Are teachers expected to do extra cleaning as well? Is this why they were required to take the WHMIS course, which deals with use of chemicals?
Nicole Sullivan is a reporter with the Cape Breton Post and the mother of an 11-year-old student.
