New school year often met with anxiety for some students” Canadian Mental Health Assoc.

Students head back to the classroom next week and while most are excited to return, it can be a stressful time for others according to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Northern BC Branch in PG.

Manager of Education and Programs, Shirley Hogan told Vista Radio students embarking on new experiences might be a little more nervous than they normally would be.

“Student’s that are just entering kindergarten for the first time, anxiety is a concern there when compared to someone who is going into high school. We are kind of watching out for those milestone years where something new might be happening.”

Hogan also noted the cell phone ban that will be enforced in the classroom could have some negative fallout for the student body.

“For some of the students, that might be a way in which, they calm themselves and a way in where they ground themselves and, without that, it might create some difficulty for them, which will also create difficulty for the teachers.”

When asked if more students might wander the hallways more often to escape the ban and re-connect with the online world – Hogan noted that is a distinct possibility and something that should be monitored.

“That is a legitimate concern for a lot of teachers, parents and, the students. For a lot of them, they might have spent the entire summer attached to their device and is the main way of communicating with their friends over the summer.”

“In today’s environment, it’s really hard to disconnect. So they have that connection to the social media and those peers 24/7 – it can be very difficult to sort of turn that off.”

In SD57, elementary school students will not be granted access to phones or personal electronic devices for the duration of the school day.

Secondary School students will be allowed access during lunch, but “this privilege may be restricted if its use disrupts instructional time learning in any way.”

There are exceptions to these rules if phones are required for a class activity or for a medical purpose.

Next week’s return to the classroom can also be stressful a cross-section of students due to ongoing issues such as bullying, which can also spill over into the social media realm.

“If somebody is being bullied and is having some difficulty during the school day it doesn’t end. It continues on for them 24 hours a day.”

The majority of students kick off the school year on Tuesday.