Summer is Over, The Back to School Rush is Here

On Monday, primary school students across the country will return to the classes they left behind for summer vacation. With only two days to go, are Belize City residents prepared to send their children back to school? News Five’s Britney Gordon visited a few stores today to answer that very question. Here’s the story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Summer is officially over, which means that parents all over the country will either breathe a sigh of relief or shed tears of joy as they watch their little ones return to or begin their primary school education. But with the reopening of classes comes the stress of back-to-school preparation. Krystal Dougal, Marketing Coordinator at The Angelus Press, told us that the store has been hectic, as parents purchase last-minute school supplies.

 

Krystal Dougal, Marketing Coordinator, The Angelus Press

“The past weeks, especially on Saturdays as well, we’ve seen definitely a rush, especially like this week, like you mentioned. School is opening back on Monday, so people are definitely coming in. We’ve heard customers tell us, oh, we’re just here to get last minute stuff, so there’s definitely a rush happening and stuff like that, and we cater and we make sure our shelves are stocked and everything for, to accommodate our customers, of course, yeah, we’re well prepared for that and we’re looking forward to it because tomorrow is our last day as well, opening on Saturdays from nine to two  p. m.”

 

As the days are counted down until Monday, items such as crayons and composition books have been flying off the shelves. Although not everyone waited until the eleventh hour to gather their supplies. Six-year-old Jaliyah Rudon will be entering Infant Two at Grace Primary Schools and she is completely ready to take on the year ahead.

 

Britney Gordon

“Why do you want to go back to school?”

 

Jaliyah Rudon, Infant 2 Student, Grace Primary School

“Because it’s fun do be doing homework and learning things at school.”

While pencils and folders can be picked up almost anywhere, there are very few places to purchase uniforms on short notice. But Rosenda Chen, manager at Uniform Stop, tells us that never stops the last-minute rush.

 

Rosenda Chen, Manager, Uniform Stop

“Really, really busy. We have a huge always amount of last minute shoppers, but this year was a little different as we had some early birds and also customers who have requested layaway plans with us, which is working conveniently for some others. So I must say this year has been really good for us. No complaints here.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Do you see like a steady flow of people as school day slowly approaches or is it always this rush last minute?”

 

Rosenda Chen

“Always. Always. I don’t know why but we Belizeans always wait till last minute so there’s no surprise for us. We just have to be ready for the crowd.”

 

For single mother of four, Tanya Gongora, sending her kids back to school is bitter-sweet. While she is happy to see her daughter return to the classroom, the expenses just keep piling up.

 

Tanya Gongora, Mother of Four

“I’m so glad because she’s five years old and she did great on her first term in a  infant one. So she averaged at eighty-three point nine she get, so he going in a infant two. And she happy because every day she get up and go fast into thinking, can’t wait to go to school, excited and I excited for her too.”

 

Having recently lost her job of over a year, Gongora doesn’t know where resources for her family will come from, but she trusts that God will find a way.

 

Tanya Gongora

“God blessed me yesterday with a school bag for my baby, so I left everything in God’s hands.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

If you would like to assist Tanya Gongora, you can contact her at 628-9087