With the class of 2020 graduation in the rearview mirror, staff and students at Portage Collegiate Institute finally get to take a break from going to school in a world affected by the pandemic.

Staff and students made the switch to learning at home around spring break with just a few week's notice to prepare.

PCI Principal Gregg Waldvogel talks about what the hardest part of the transition was.

"It was just coordinating our remote learning and keeping students engaged. For the most part, the majority of students have been (engaged), which is excellent. I think it's been a learning curve for staff and students with the different forms of media we were able to use."

Waldvogel notes that roughly 80 per cent of students at PCI had a solid connection to the internet and were engaged in classes. A lot of students were provided with hard copy materials as opposed to online learning. PCI also lent out between 30-40 devices to students who needed them.   

Waldvogel says PCI has been focusing on essential outcomes for students, which are things kids pick up this year to help them next year.

"By focusing on that, and trying not to overwhelm the students, that's what we worked towards through the process of the time we were off. Just basically, those essential learning outcomes, we wanted students to pick up, and at the same time keeping them engaged, and making the best of what was a difficult situation."

 Over the past two weeks, Waldvogel says around 400 students have come into the school by appointment to finish up work. PCI has prided itself on creating kits for students in hands-on classes like foods, hairstyling, and woodworking. Students were able to pick them up and still keep their skills sharp, while teachers had a final product to grade on.

Waldvogel says a lot of staff have picked up new teaching tools.

"I think there are certainly different things that all of our staff have picked up through self-directed PD (Professional Development). (Staff are) learning different skills and techniques, which they will use somewhere along the line. I think I can speak for all of the staff, we certainly would rather have students in classes. This way, they get the in-person contact, which they love about teaching."

Waldvogel says there's a lot of highlights from this year.

"One would be the grad yard signs we got for graduating students. That was certainly a highlight, those students coming and getting the signs. We had staff hand out the signs and giving them to the students. You could just see the students love the contact (with their teachers)." 

There were around 240 students that formed the class of 2020 this year.