After a year or so of many kids staying home and attending online classes, its back to campus for many, including University third years. And if you took a little longer to get to work this morning, we feel you! This means more cars on the road and probably more time added to your commute. 

Still, it’s not quite the usual ‘back to school’ vibe on the island. For the second year now, parents and students have been faced with the confusion of whether schools will be reopening to children or holding classes online. Recently, the Union of Professional Educators complained about not being contacted by the Education Ministry to assign their respective classes for the beginning of the scholastic semester up until a few weeks ago, leaving many classes with no respective teacher. 

Aside from this complication, students must also face new COVID-19 regulations put into place. These include the mandatory use of a mask throughout the entire school day, which prompted some to take a stand against this requirement in a protest in Valletta on Sunday. 

How do you feel about the new school regulations? Do you think that they could pose a distraction for kids in their learning environment or do you feel they’re necessary for their safety? 

Got the back-to-school traffic blues?

If you’re restless and can’t sit still, here are some suggestions for what to do when you’re stuck in traffic: 

• Listen to a podcast 
• Turn up those tunes and get into a groove 
• Play eye-spy 
• List three things you’re grateful for today