The principal, students and staff of Cabot Academy in Western Bay are adjusting to a new normal, after the unimaginable loss of their school in last month’s fire.

The wildfire that tore through the Conception Bay North Shore razed the school to the ground, leaving nothing more than a pile of twisted metal, but the adjacent playground survived untouched.

Cabot Principal Jackie King says a lot of tears have been shed, and the tight-knit school community is now scattered, with staff and students spread between a number of different schools throughout the region.

King, who is currently at Persalvic, has visited some of the schools to check on her students. She says while the students are doing well, that separation is something they’re all trying to get used to.

She says she’s received lots of hugs and smiles from her students, who while at Cabot were known as their Bees. She says they had a couple of teachers last year who moved on to other assignments and they were presented with signs that said “Once a Bee, Always a Bee.” King’s fondest wish is that the students carry that message with them wherever they are.

Hope that the North Shore will rebuild

King can’t say whether the school will be rebuilt, but she sincerely hopes the once beautiful North Shore is restored, and people come back and rebuild.

She describes the drive along the North Shore a difficult one, “we’d love to see it brought back to the beauty it always had.”

King thanks the other schools and the many people who rallied around students and staff to ensure their transition back into the school year was a positive one.

She says roughly 20-25 percent of their students lost their homes and she’s grateful for the bookbags stuffed with school supplies, and the other donations made, to help students get back to class.