The first day of school is both exciting and nerve wracking.
Grade 11 student Jeff St. Jean has a lot to take in at his new school this year. He is one of 200 former Barrie Central students now attending Innisdale Secondary School.
"I actually started to drive towards Central and then I realized I was going the wrong way,” he says. “It's definitely a different atmosphere.”
With his timetable in hand, St. Jean navigated through unfamiliar hallways on Tuesday to learn from new teachers. Needless to say, it's a big adjustment.
“It was really overwhelming to see how many people there were, but I’m going to get there eventually.”
Students aren't the only ones having to adjust. More than 20 teachers from Central have also made the move.
"Right now it's the physical size of the building,” says special education teacher Andrea Alexander. “I'm trying to help students but I don't know where the rooms are but staff have been extremely warm and welcoming."
Innisdale's student population has grown to about 1,700 this year. The number will stay high until the new south Barrie high school is built.
At Tay Shores Public School in Victoria Harbour, the start of the school year brought a different kind of change.
The school has undergone almost $8 million in renovations to welcome students from smaller schools that closed in Waubaushene and Port McNicoll.
The school has nine new classrooms, a new gym, a new front office and a new library.
“It's really nice. I like how there's a brand new classrooms and a brand new gym,” says Avery Hoddy.
All of the major work has been done, but workers were still on site on Tuesday finishing up some projects, including that new library, which isn't ready to go just yet.
