Next week a momentous event will be taking place in our province— Students will be returning to school for the first time since March.
However, when students once again enter the classroom they will be facing a new reality of COVID-19 public health measures.
The year 2020 has been one of uncertainty because it is challenging to predict what the future will hold— This experience is felt 10-fold by students and their families.
Because of the unpredictability they, and all of us face, it is normal to feel anxious about what comes next.
The Town of Cochrane held the session "Feeling anxious about back to school?" on Tuesday (Aug. 25) to help alleviate some of the fears families and community members are feeling.
The goal of the seminar was to help answer questions community members have about the return to school and the anxieties they may be feeling about the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the session two points became crystal clear— The mix of emotions people are feeling is normal and we can all help each other through empathy.
“We heard parents are concerned about their children and we’re worried about with what would happen in the fall with going back to school,” said counsellor Susan Flowers. ”We are truly all in this together.”
These sentiments were shared by other panellists who collectively drove home that while we can be concerned about the risks we also need to model positive behaviour for students.
Children are watching adults and taking cues on how they should feel and handle the return to school— We need to show that we accept and respect the different choices families are making.
Because of this, it is pivotal that parents take steps to role model positive behaviours, including self-care and providing support, while giving children the space to explore how they feel about going back to school.
“Revisit with your children when they’ve faced a similarly challenging experience in their life— Maybe it was going to summer camp for the first time, learning to ride a bike or their very first sleepover with a friend,” said Mental Health Clinician at Cochrane Addiction and Mental Health Services, Eric Howey. “This gives you a great opportunity to talk about their capacity to do scary things and how they translated this to success … They can translate that same success into the fall at school.”
We can learn from these sentiments and help ensure students have a positive return to school next week.
While it is alright to be scared, we can celebrate that students are going to be able to reconnect with their peers and find some sense of normalcy. It is exciting that students will be able to enjoy recess together, learn together and take math tests together.
This year’s class needs the support of our community and our empathy.
Parents face a difficult choice between in-class or online learning— We need to accept people's decisions without judgment and accept that people are handing the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways.
The COVID-19 virus is still in our community, and we can take inspiration from students and their families to support each other and show that we are stronger together.
