The return to classes has been a topic of discussion for the past couple of months, with many teachers, parents, and even students expressing their opinions and concerns. While some were excited to return to some level of normalcy, there were those who felt it was too soon to return to class. As things progressed, however, school boards and teachers worked together to produce plans for a safe return to class which helped alleviate some concerns.

After much planning, classes kicked off on Tuesday and wrapped up their first week just yesterday.

"Teachers were excited to get back in front of students, it's been a long time," explained Patrick Maze, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation. "The anxiety has gone down a little bit in the sense that school division administration has done a really good job in making sure schools are as safe as possible."

Maze explained that with the first week of classes under their belt, many teachers in the province are feeling much more confident in the school year. He says there were concerns about students not following protocol, however students seem to understand the situation as there have been minimal incidents with compliance.

"Students understand they need to do their part to keep everyone safe," Maze added. "Compliance hasn't really been an issue."

There were some concerns raised in regard to additional staff to help lower class sizes and bolster maintenance staff numbers as well. Maze explained that classrooms in some schools do still feel overcrowded. He says that any additional funding they are able to receive will go towards hiring additional teachers and staff to help ensure a safe school year.

"School divisions have done a really good job in preparing," Maze applauded. "I honestly can't imagine a week before school starts rescheduling into cohorts in elementary school and timetabling students into different schedules."

Maze explained there are still some things that remain to be seen and some issues that may arise, however so far things are going good for teachers after the first week back to school.