Thousands of students across York Region headed back to class this morning, as summer's heat spell continued.
York Region District School Board welcomed more than 124,000 students to its 173 elementary and 33 secondary schools today.
At Newmarket's Poplar Bank Public School, principal Anita McQuarrie stood outside the front door, greeting junior students and their parents and calmly soothing first-day jitters. With a smile, she directed moms who had followed buses with their children on them to the other side of the school to watch for their arrival.
The surrounding streets were mildly chaotic, as parked vehicles lined both sides of the road, no-parking signs ignored for today, and a steady stream of yellow school buses converged on the lot before the 8:05 a.m. bell rang. The school yard was full of mingling students and parents, most greeting each other with excitement — the senior students feigning boredom, of course — while a few anxious children had tears soothed by their parents.
As a French immersion school, students from across town attend, and with many newcomers to the area, McQuarrie said the school's population has soared to more than 600 students.
Today also marked a first day of school at Poplar Bank for McQuarrie, who had transferred from a Vaughan school for the new school year.
As the junior students slowly began entering the school in lines with their classmates, many parents hovered at the edge of the school yard, until the last glimpse of their children's backpacks could be seen going through the door.
"All right, let's party,” said one mom, grinning at her friend as they headed back to their routines.
