Parents across Simcoe County are buzzing with the news that local schools will be re-opening for in-person learning on Monday, however opinion is split whether or not they think now is the right time.
Melissa Sobiepanek’s four-year-old son is in junior kindergarten at St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School in Bradford.
While Sobiepanek is excited for her son to go back to school next week as she says he thrives when socializing with peers, that excitement is mixed with some trepidation. Her son has been diagnosed with apraxia of speech, which means he has difficulty using his mouth muscles to create speech and sounds.
As part of their back-to-school announcement sent to parents last night, the Catholic school board will be making it mandatory for students from junior kindergarten through to Grade 12 to wear masks starting Monday.
“My concern (was) him being forced to wear a mask,” said Sobiepanek. “He can’t have anything covering (his mouth). With masks, I constantly have to repeat myself. If he has to put on a mask, if they can even get him to put it on, they won’t understand him at all.”
Sobiepanek said she heard back from her son's school on Thursday afternoon to let her know her son would be on a mask-exempt list.
“He shouldn’t be forced to wear something if it’s not going to be good for him. Everybody can say, ‘it’s just a mask,’ but I fought so hard for my son and this was another obstacle,” she said.
Aimee Allen and her husband Mike have two children who will be heading back to Hyde Park Elementary School in Barrie next week.
Allen told BarrieToday she believes it is too soon to be headed back, especially with new COVID-19 variants circulating through the community.
“I would rather have waited a few more weeks, especially in our area with the threat of the U.K. variant spreading,” said Allen. “Yes, the numbers are going down, but that just means the lockdown is working. I think it is still too soon to put these kids back into a room together, even with the safety precautions in place.”
The Allens are a mixed family, with their kids seeing other parents from time to time, which increases their exposure. However, Aimee also worries about the safety of the teachers.
“I feel more for the teachers who are in a room full of students from so many different households. I worry that the numbers will increase again and we will miss out on another one of our children's graduation,” said Allen. “We missed out on two last year, one from high school and one from college.”
Jon Peterson has an 11-year-old stepson who will be attending Codrington Public School in Barrie. Peterson is not sure how he feels about the kids heading back to school but is putting his trust in the professionals.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the right time but there has been a slow downward trend of new cases in the area, so I feel as long as the doctors and scientists believe that its OK, I'm OK with it as well,” he said.
“There have been studies showing that there is a lower transmission rate in public schools so long as the proper guidelines are followed, so as long as that stays in effect, things should be alright,” said Peterson.
Peterson is also aware of the social aspect of school and how not being with friends can affect children’s mental health. He admits his stepson has been doing well in that regard.
“He’s taken it in stride,” said Peterson. “He stays with his grandparents during the week and he still has plenty of virtual interaction with his friends via games.”
Aimee Cooper-Fox has five children: two attend at Orillia Secondary School, one attends Coldwater Public School and two go to Couchiching Heights Public School.
She said she doesn’t have any concerns about her kids going back to class on Monday.
“I think it is about time they got back to school and away from the online learning module,” she said. “I would have more concerns if they weren't going back to school.”
Cooper-Fox said she’s has more concerns about remote learning, considering health advice prior to the pandemic said that children shouldn’t have more than two hours of screen time per day. The online schooling requirement of 285 minutes per day clocking in at more than double that amount.
“Not all children are safe at home, nor do they have proper nutrition. A lot of kids depend on breakfast club and snack programs at their schools,” said Cooper-Fox. “There has been a definite decline in children's mental health since COVID began.”
“Kids need to go back to what they are used to,” she said.
- with files from Shawn Gibson
