Calgary parents and students were buzzing with excitement on Thursday morning as teachers welcomed kids back into their classrooms.
Thursday marked the first day of the 2024-2025 academic year for all Calgary Board of Education (CBE) students. In front of Queen Elizabeth Elementary School in the northwest neighbourhood of Hillhurst, parents were taking pictures before sending their children off to enjoy the first day of school.
“The kids are excited to see their new teachers and their friends. They’ve been away from their friends all summer, so they’re all stoked to be back to school. It’s awesome,” said Alex Germain, whose kids attend Queen Elizabeth Elementary School.
Andrea Leier’s son is starting kindergarten and her daughter is starting Grade 3 at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School. She told LiveWire Calgary that she is looking forward to returning to a normal routine after a chaotic summer camp schedule.
“I’m really excited to get back to a normal schedule and routine. Summer camp is chaos, so it’s really difficult to manage two kids and camps and work,” she told LWC.
“We love this community and we love this school. There’s really great teachers and lots of great supports in this community, so we love it.”
The first day of school is always the most exciting for school officials and teachers. Lisa McConnell, Queen Elizabeth Elementary School’s principal, said back-to-school season is always filled with possibilities.
“I’m excited to see everyone come back together and see how we’re going to form the next parts of the year and work together collaboratively as a school community,” she said.
Some schools across the city don’t start until after Labour Day Monday. The Calgary Catholic School District has staggered entry days next Tuesday, Sept. 3 and Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Natalina Cicero, a student at Calgary Academy, said she is looking forward to art classes when school starts next Wednesday. Calgary Academy is a private school located in the city’s southwest.
“I am excited to go back to school and see my friends again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them,” Cicero said.
Class sizes opinions vary
Parents at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School didn’t raise a lot of concerns about increased class sizes in the CBE system.
“The teachers are great in this school. If we’ve had any issues, they’re quick to respond to whatever we need. This school is awesome and we get a lot of support from so many different teachers, so no issues here,” Germain said.
Some parents did raise some concerns but said the increased class sizes haven’t negatively affected their child’s education.
Stephanie Cicero’s, Natalina’s mother, has a daughter starting Grade 3 at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School. She said she chose to enroll Natalina in Calgary Academy because of the smaller class sizes.
“Just going into Grade 6, we wanted her to get a little bit more time with a teacher before junior high, but we’re pretty happy with Queen Elizabeth so far. I would say that the numbers haven’t impacted in a detrimental way,” Cicero said.
McConnell said more and more students are attending Queen Elizabeth Elementary School over the years but said it’s been manageable.
“We have had increased enrolment over the last couple of years, but it’s steadily increased at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School. We’ve been able to manage and plan for it ahead of huge influxes of people,” McConnell told LWC.
The principal added that the school also renovated existing learning spaces over the summer to accommodate the growing student population this year.
“So we’re excited about those changes, and our programming is going to continue to advance learning in the ways that we’ve come to expect,” McConnell said.
