Nervousness, uncertainty, and reunions; distances, hands and masks. Those were the key words of the first day of the new school year for children in schools across Catalonia this Monday 14th. Hugs that were given with the eyes, smiles from behind masks and a great desire to return to class were in evidence today in central Barcelona at the Lestonnac l'Ensenyança primary school and the Escola Institut Eixample.
Arrival on the first morning at the Institut Escola Eixample in Barcelona / Maria Contreras Coll
A very different 2020-21 academic year, marked by the coronavirus and many uncertainties. Like, changes of staff: 800 education professionals will not rejoin the classroom because they have been given medical leave as "high risk" persons. However, exceptional circumstances also call for exceptional measures. Precisely because of the new situation, the Catalan education ministry announced weeks ago that it would employ new professionals. In fact, 8,162 new staff - 5,321 of whom are teachers - are joining this year. Meanwhile, all children from the age of six will have to wear masks for at least the first two weeks of the course because students have not yet been formed into stable groups.
The main entrance at Lestonnac l'Ensenyança / Maria Contreras Coll
How have schools prepared?
"In July we started with the planning and we have gradually incorporated all the updates that have been communicated by the department," explained the director of Lestonnac, Lluís Jordana, minutes before the students began arriving. "In terms of playground time, each bubble group will have its own space, so there will be more staggering of playtime periods so that fewer groups coincide" and she explained that online meetings have been held with families to explain the different plans for the re-opening of the school. "We have organized health, emotional and academic measures, because it has to be taken into account that last year did not end as it should have done." As for the dining room, each school is tackling the issue depending on the characteristics of its space and layout. In the case of this centre, Jordana details that "each bubble group will have lunch and playground time alone. The little ones will have lunch in their classrooms."
"We arrive at the start of the new school year looking forward to it greatly and also tired because it has been a frantic few days, but our enthusiasm is getting us through," said the director of the Institut Escola Eixample, Isabel Balaguer. "A country cannot afford to have its schools closed and we want to help make the country work." In this regard, she also explained that "families are concerned because they receive a lot of contradictory information." “We have had seven working days to prepare the course, there is concern about bubble groups, dining rooms, how things will be monitored or what material the kids have to bring,” she explains. "The parents association has helped us a lot to calm the worries of the families and we've been able to explain how the dining room will be organized, which is perhaps the most complicated because there are many groups, but the parents association itself made a circular to help calm the families".
Parents, waiting to see
Despite the uncertainty, most parents at these centres say they are relaxed and informed about the protocols and the rules for arriving and leaving. The little ones, eager to get back to school, the big ones, expectant. "This is the first year that we have been a public school - the Institut Escola Eixample in Barcelona has gone from being a "concerted" private centre to a fully public one this year - and with the coronavirus, we have had to cope with everything at once," explains one of the mums, Merche, outside the school entrance. “Previously there was a bus service and now there isn't one because of the need to maintain bubble groups,” she says, remarking that there is “a lot of uncertainty”.
“We have been kept well informed via email circulars,” offers Ricardo. "There is quite a lot of uncertainty because it's the first year they're at this school, and this together with the coronavirus... we'll just have to see how everything works out". He stresses the fact that to get to school "we come in the metro and it's quite full, and it's hard to understand how theatres ara closed and yet we go like that ". Still, he expresses confidence in the system.