JAWS High School students excited to get back into the classroom

“I kind of hated online school. It was boring, and I missed being in a classroom where we can learn first hand.”

With schools re-opening and a pandemic hovering overhead, J.A. Williams High School students are getting prepared to enter the classroom once again.

Schools will be following new protocols that involve students filling out wellness surveys, students continuing to social distance, and hand sanitizer in every classroom and entrance.

The excitement of going back to school is different this year, as many of the students haven’t seen their friends since COVID-19 forced schools to close back in March, and classes began being taught online.

Youtin Alook, is going into Grade 9 this September, he is looking forward to being around his friends again, and isn’t afraid to go back to school during a pandemic.

“It will be nice to see all of my friends. I’m not really scared of the pandemic or the virus, but healthy people have a lesser chance of being affected,” said Alook.

Another J.A. Williams High School student, Joseph Thibert, will be going into Grade 12, and he is eager to integrate back into a regular school routine.

“Personally, I’m just happy to get back into society. I live in the middle of nowhere, so it’s nice to see people every once in awhile. So school is going to be a big help for that. I’m pretty excited to go back,” said Thibert.

“When it comes to the virus, there are certain places where I have my input, where I do get a little concerned about it but around Lac La Biche I wouldn’t be concerned.”

Both students are grateful they are able to learn in a classroom environment again, as they did not like learning online.

“I kind of hated online school. It was boring, and I missed being in a classroom where we can learn first hand,” said Alook. 

Thibert also has strong opinions about online schooling and believes he might have fallen behind because he wasn’t able to learn in the classroom.

“I didn’t think online schooling was going to work from the get-go, and to be completely honest I was kind of right because it didn’t,” said Thibert.

“It definitely made it easier for people who like slacking in school to slack even more, and I happen to be one of those people. I did end up slacking a lot, I did end up passing all of my courses but it is definitely going to be a bit of an interesting situation going into school this year lacking certain parts of the curriculum that I need.”

Teachers might need to go over last year’s curriculum to make sure students are caught up, because Thibert believes that for the most part students learn best by being in the classroom.

“I am more of a hands-on learner, so when I have teachers there to help me along with certain problems it definitely makes it easier for me.“

JAWS sent out a back to school re-entry plan to students and their parents so they know what to expect come September.