ManitobaStudents in more than half of Manitoba’s 38 school divisions and education districts are starting their new school year on Wednesday, including at Winnipeg’s Gordon Bell High after years of renovations and with a growing school body.Classes start at schools in 22 divisions, including for growing student body at Winnipeg’s Gordon BellCBC News · Posted: Sep 03, 2025 4:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoDivine Favour Ogunrewo is starting her last high school year in Winnipeg, one of thousands of students returning to class Wednesday after the summer break. (Cory Funk/CBC)On the first day of her last school year, Divine Favour Ogunrewo has her eyes set on a goal: a smooth two semesters at Winnipeg’s Gordon Bell High School before going to university and majoring in neuroscience.”This year is going to be good. I could feel it deep in my bones,” the high school senior told CBC News.”These are my people.… It feels like home, and I’m not going to leave home and just move to a different school. I love my community.”Roughly 750 students were welcomed with balloons as they filled the hallways in the West Broadway neighbourhood building on Wednesday morning for the start of the fall term in the Winnipeg School Division.LISTEN | A new chapter at Gordon Bell High School: Information Radio – MBA New Chapter at Gordon Bell SchoolTanis Westdal, principal of Gordon Bell, speaks live on site with CBC’s Cory Funk about the first day of school. She talks about the school’s major renovations, growing student enrollment, new programs like Leaving to Learn, and how the school is adapting to support students and staff for a successful year.Thousands more students also returned for the first bell of the school year at 21 other divisions and education districts across Manitoba.Fourteen other school divisions in Manitoba are expected to start classes on Thursday or Friday, according to a list compiled by Manitoba’s education minister, while students at the Swan Valley School Division in northwest Manitoba will return to school Monday.Renovations, growing school bodyAt Gordon Bell, the start of the school year lined up with the finishing touches of a three-year-long renovation project that increased natural lighting and improved the flow of air through changes to the walls and roof.”That’s going to impact student learning,” said principal Tanis Westdal. “There’s going to be so many uses for this building when it’s done.”The student body is also growing by the dozens this year, with an influx of students across the division who have chosen to be enrolled at Gordon Bell, Westdal said.Reasons for the growth include the wide range of courses offered to prepare students for different levels of post-secondary education, plus the school’s central location, the principal said.Nayher Ghezae says Gordon Bell High School is a tight-knit community that offers support to all students, including the dozens of new students this year. (Cory Funk/CBC)Favour Ogunrewo said for her, it is more about the diversity that exists within the school walls.”You will fit in anywhere and no matter what, even if you feel like you haven’t found your people,” she said. Nayher Ghezae, another Grade 12 student at Gordon Bell, agreed.”It’s a tight-knit community. We have a lot of new students.… There’s support here and they’ll always be ready to help them,” she said.Gordon Bell High School teacher Shane Barchuk says the school is diversifying its courses, which brings excitement for the new year. (Cory Funk/CBC)Shane Barchuk, who has been a teacher for 17 years, said that while the school has changed physically, the diversity within the school body has been a constant strength of Gordon Bell.New to the school are drone courses and a global studies class that was normally reserved for Grade 12 students but is now open to anyone who wants to take it.”There’s excitement and anticipation in a positive way. I’m looking forward to the successes and challenges of working with these students,” Barchuk said.Cellphone ban, use of AIStudents are entering their second year under a provincial ban on cellphones for students in kindergarten to Grade 8, and during classtime for students in grades 9-12. Westdal said she is expecting a smooth reception from students.”At first, [there was] hesitation, but by mid-year, they were so thankful that they didn’t have cellphones. It really allowed them to become part of a community and connect person-to-person as opposed to screen-to-screen,” she said.Ghezae and Favour Ogunrewo said the ban was not a big deal for most of their classmates, especially during advanced classes where phones had already been left to the side before.But a tool that has become more popular among the school body is artificial intelligence.Both Ghezae and Favour Ogunrewo said search engines and apps powered with the technology have become useful to summarize notes, create flash cards and proofread their work before submission.”It’s fine to use it as long as you’re not completely cheating, and I feel like a lot of us don’t do that because we’re going to get caught anyway,” Ghezae said.With files from Cory Funk
Wednesday bell rings in new school year for students in most Manitoba school divisions
