by InTrieste
Interviews: Valentina Salcedo
Whilst the first official day of school in Friuli Venezia Giulia, as per calendar year, is Wednesday, 13 September, many schools in Trieste have welcomed students this Monday morning, 11 September, beginning the new academic year which will last until 8 of June, 2024.
Crowds of students, with their heavy backpacks, rushed by us as we were making our way downtown Trieste to witness the first official day of school in many places across the city and region.
Seven million students will return to the classroom in Italy this week as schools across the country start to reopen after the long summer holidays.
The return to school coincides with a recent rise in covid cases in Italy, however the Italian health ministry’s director of covid prevention Francesco Vaia said the situation is not a cause for alarm.
Vaia told Corriere della Sera on Saturday that the spike had been expected after the summer but noted that the numbers “are very different from previous years.”
Walter Ricciardi, the former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), claimed on Monday that the return to school brings with it a risk of increased covid infections in the classroom.
In an interview with La Stampa newspaper, Ricciardi claimed that the health ministry’s guidelines for schools are “insufficient” and “based on political rather than scientific criteria”.
Mario Rusconi, president of the Italian principals’ association, told state broadcaster RAI News that many schools will hand out masks and gel “to those who ask”, making use of supplies distributed during the “critical phase” of the pandemic.
There was a general excitement in Trieste this Monday morning.
“It’s the beginning of a new life for us as my sun is entering the first year of middle school,” one mom told us. “It is a truly emotional time.”
“We are excited to start a new adventure,” another dad chimed in. “But it’s a normal right of passage, things constantly change and we have to adapt to it.”
For the full academic calendar of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, please see here.
