2 more P.E.I. schools closed by Fiona to reopen on Tuesday
Two more Island schools will reopen Tuesday, education officials say.
Montague Regional High School and Parkdale Elementary will joining the 53 others that reopened Monday. Students had been off since post-tropical storm Fiona struck the Island on Sept. 24.
The following schools will remain closed Tuesday
Donagh Regional
Prince Street Elementary
Queen Charlotte Intermediate
St. Jean Elementary
West Kent Elementary
For Cardigan Consolidated, students will resume classes on Wednesday in a temporary location within Montague Regional High School
For École Évangéline, classes are being relocated to the Festival Acadien grounds, with a start date yet to be announced
In some cases, schools — in particular the elementary schools in Charlottetown — stayed closed not because of damage to the school itself, but because debris in streets surrounding schools makes it unsafe for children to be walking.
"We had some broader concerns raised by our partners with the city, Maritime Electric, the utilities, just about a lot of trees still down, some wires down, and needing to ascertain whether these wires were electrical wires [or] cable wires — and we didn't feel comfortable," said P.E.I. Public Schools Branch director Norbert Carpenter.
Montague Regional will reopen Tuesday, and Cardigan Consolidated students will be moving into that school on Wednesday. The roof at Queen Charlotte is still being repaired, and the Public Schools Branch hopes students will be able to return there mid-week.
In the French Language School Board, École Évangéline.will remain closed until Oct. 11. Students will be attending classes at the Acadian Festival grounds.
The province has launched a website that will be updated twice a day with information about school openings.
With all the pandemic disruptions to education in the last two years, Carpenter said the timing of Fiona has been frustrating.
"We just got the routine of fall started after COVID, and this happened. When you think of our early learners, our kindergarten students, are only learning their routines," he said.
"We just need to get some solid, consecutive weeks in school, where teachers can do their jobs and students can learn."
Red Cross shelter
On another storm recovery front, the Canadian Red Cross opened a disaster shelter in Charlottetown on Saturday.
The shelter at the Murchison Centre is open 24 hours a day, providing power, food, water and personal hygiene kits, as well as a warm place for people to sleep. Hot meals are being provided by local caterers.
The Red Cross is attempting to balance supply and demand. Uneaten meals will be distributed to those without access to housing who are living in encampments in the city.
The Red Cross reported six people stayed at the shelter Saturday night, and others were dropping in during the day.
Charlottetown cleanup
Fallen trees have created a particular mess in Charlottetown, where many residents are still without power and streets are lined with brush that residents have dragged to the curb.
Joe MacKinnon, the city's assistant manager of public works, said crews have been working hard but the progress is not always obvious.
"It's just the sheer volumes of debris," said MacKinnon.
"We are going down certain areas of the city cleaning up the debris and we will come back in the next day and it's hard to tell we were even through the area. People just continue to drag it out. There's so much damage."
The cleanup will continue for many more weeks, he said, asking for people to be patient.
Above all, he urged city residents to resist the temptation to burn debris to get rid of it.
"They shouldn't be burning anything at all," said MacKinnon. "There's so much fuel around — limbs, leaves — it's just not a safe practice right now."
A release from the city Sunday said almost all municipal roads have now been cleared, while 13 parks and playgrounds remain closed due to damage.
