By James Wastasecoot
Hundreds of students have registered at Peguis Central School for the 2026-27 school year, filling its classrooms and hallways with the familiar sounds of another September.
Grandparents enjoy their day at Peguis Central.
Principal Nelson Mason said the first hectic days of the school year have passed and students and staff are settling into their routines.
“The first week is always a little bit busy,” Mason said in a Sept. 19 interview. “Things are starting to slow down, and everybody knows their routine.”
Peguis Central serves students from nursery to Grade 12. Mason leads an administrative team that includes vice-principals Laverne Sinclair, responsible for nursery to Grade 3; Denise Sutherland, Grades 4 to 8; and Cherie Francois, Grades 9 to 12.
The school employs 134 staff members, including teachers, educational assistants, office employees, custodians and maintenance workers.
The new school year began with an emphasis on family and community. Peguis Central celebrated Grandparents Day on Sept. 18, inviting grandparents into the school to eat, visit classrooms and spend time with their grandchildren.
Guests were served homemade beef stew and bannock, rice pudding and cake, with tea served in real teacups.
Community member and former school employee Tina McCorrister described the celebration as an “awesome day” that brought back memories of working in the school during its early construction phases.
She said it was especially meaningful to see former students now working at the school as young teachers and staff members.
McCorrister also visited the home economics room, which she described as an inviting and home-like space at the heart of the school. The room reminded her of past meetings involving Elders, school workers, council members and the school planning committee.
“Did a lot of visiting and was so welcomed by all,” she wrote. “We seen some of our family and our school family that has always been there for us. It warmed our hearts.”
The school’s speech-language pathologist, Loretta Sinclair, encouraged families to continue those conversations at home. Parents and grandparents can help children learn about their family history by looking through old photographs, discussing traditional foods and describing the homes and places where earlier generations lived and played.
Language learning also remains visible in the school’s weekly newsletter. During the third week of September, students were introduced to Ojibwe words including “noongom”, meaning today; “misko”, red; “noodin”, windy; “oma”, here; and “opin”, potato. The phrase of the week was “ikidon”, meaning “say it.”
With hundreds of students back in class, Peguis Central is reminding families about several safety procedures.
Parents and guardians must notify the school if a child will be leaving with someone other than a parent. Students being picked up during the school day must be signed out at the front desk so the school knows where each child is.
The school will not transfer telephone calls into classrooms between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Families who need to speak directly with a teacher are encouraged to call between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Messages received later will be passed along during a teacher’s break or lunch period.
Bus routes are still being adjusted, and the school will not issue bus notes allowing students to change buses. Bus Safety Week is also being observed, with students reminded to remain seated, listen to the driver and wait for the driver’s signal before crossing the road.
Peguis Central is also a nut-free school. Peanuts, tree nuts and homemade baked goods containing nuts are not permitted in classrooms, at school parties or elsewhere in the building.
Margaret Sutherland, Chelsey Sutherland and Shelly McCorrister open the Grandparents day event.
September closes with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. There will be no classes that day.
For students, parents and staff, the opening weeks have been about more than returning to lessons. They have also been about restoring routines, strengthening family connections and renewing the sense of community that surrounds Peguis Central School.