Back to school today

PHILIPSBURG--The roads will be abuzz with activity today as thousands of students, teachers and school staffers return to school for the new 2011-2012 academic year, after a lengthy school break.

Most schools have been spruced up with a fresh coat of paint, while more elaborate renovations have been carried out at some.

The roads are expected to be busy as school buses, parents and guardians take their children to school.

With the exception of Genevieve de Weever School, all schools are expected to re-open today. There will not be any school at Genevieve today and tomorrow due to "unforeseen circumstances surrounding the construction and renovation presently taking place at the school," read a press release issued last week by the office of Education Minister Rhoda Arrindell.

Several schools released their back-to-school schedules over the past week, indicating what days new and existing students had to turn out to school.

Most schools have already had their planning meetings with staff over the past week to set goals and map their plans for the new school year.

Some schools will be starting with new teachers in some capacities, while others have lost some teachers who left or went on retirement or whose contracts expired. Some schools still have openings. At Milton Peters College and Sundial School, for example, nine new teachers have joined and an English teacher is still needed. St. Dominic High and other schools also are in the market for new teachers in some areas.

A number of stores that sell school supplies had a steady flow of shoppers over the weekend, as parents and students did their last-minute back-to-school shopping.

Teachers and students weren't the only ones preparing, though. School buses had to undergo their final inspection for road-worthiness last week. Buses that failed the inspection won't be allowed to transport students.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/19684-back-to-school-today-.html

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