Displaced New Minas students roll on day one

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

jhoegg@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

New Minas elementary students began their school year Sept. 4 in an unusual way. They congregated at their regular school and then took buses in three different directions: to Coldbrook, Kentville and Port Williams.

Renovations at the New Minas building are several months behind, displacing students to neighbouring schools for the first weeks of the new academic year.

Annapolis Valley Regional School Board (AVRSB) superintendant Margo Tait says there were some delays with the organization of the Friday morning busing, but the slow start was not unexpected. “We do expect that for the first week or so it will be a little bit slower to make that transition from New Minas. We want to make sure all the right children are on the right buses,” she said. “A few things we will fine-tune for Monday, but all and all things went very well from our perspective. “

Many adults were onsite to assist the children to get rolling, including 15 New Minas staff, Tait said. “The staff ensured they double-checked that every student was on the appropriate buses.”

Parental presence

Parents, anxious to ensure their children were headed in the right direction, were also present. “Obviously parents have questions and concerns,” Tait said, “and they want make sure their students have a good start to the school year.”

Tait says parent information sessions were held Sept. 2 and 3 at Coldbrook, Port Williams and KCA schools to prepare families for the new routine. “We had a good turnout of interested parents with good questions. “

AVRSB and New Minas staff will continue to monitor how the new arrangements are working, Tait said. “We are meeting this afternoon to debrief the day. There may be a little reorganization of what we do at the site.”

When asked when New Minas students will be back in their usual classrooms, Tait said no return date has been confirmed. “We’re waiting for a letter from the contractor. It may be the end of October. If it’s shorter, that would be a nice surprise. “I’m very disappointed in the delay in the renovations,” the superintendent said. “We intended to be open for students when school started in September. We knew that the office, multipurpose room and lunch area would be finished after school started, but expected classroom space to be ready.”