'Everyone's sweating': P.E.I. students trying to cope with hot classrooms

They're opening the windows, cranking the fans and chugging plenty of water, but staff and students at some schools on P.E.I. are finding this week's heat uncomfortable.

"It's like really hot in the schools," said Ayla Affleck, a Grade 7 student at Queen Charlotte Intermediate in Charlottetown.

"We get to go outside for a couple of minutes in between classes just to cool off a little bit but, yeah, everybody's sweating."

On Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures reached the high 20s with the humidex in the low 30s, about 10 C hotter than normal for mid-September.

Here's how P.E.I. students, staff and parents are coping with September's heat

9 months ago

Duration 2:24

Temperatures have been unseasonably warm for mid-Septmeber in P.E.I., and that means schools are also heating up. CBC's Laura Meader talks to some students, staff and parents about how they're coping with the humid buildings.

Many schools do not have air conditioning, and the heat in June and September has become such an issue that the P.E.I. Home and School Federation is calling on the Public Schools Branch to cancel or delay classes when the humidex reaches 35 C.

"Oftentimes it's just as hot outside as it is in," said the federation's president, David Schult.

"So sometimes when the teachers take the kids outside and your humidex hits 35 degrees, there is no relief anywhere, and that's a problem. That's a big concern because we know that students that are overheated do not perform well."

The federation has put forward a resolution to the ministers of education, environment, and health to include heat-related school closures in Public Schools Branch procedures.

"I think a lot of our older schools were never built with this heat in mind," Schult said.

'Not conducive to learning'

The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation has also raised the "ongoing concern" with school officials, and with a legislative standing committee on education Sept. 5.

"Classrooms dealing with high temperatures are not conducive to learning. As hot days become more common from May to September, the safety of students and staff must be the top priority, especially in crowded classrooms with limited airflow," PEITF president Andy Doran said in an email to CBC News.

In a statement, the Public Schools Branch said any new school builds, or schools receiving major retrofits, will have HVAC systems considered in their planning.

"Recently, Eliot River Elementary's renovation saw a geothermal HVAC system installed, and both the new Sherwood Elementary and Stratford High will have heating and cooling capabilities," the statement said. 

According to the PSB, English-language schools with at least one air-conditioned or dehumidification area include:

• Athena Consolidated.
• Bluefield High.
• Charlottetown Rural High.
• Gulf Shore Consolidated.
• Kinkora Regional High.
• Montague Regional High.
• Morell Regional High.
• Sherwood Elementary (current school).
• Souris Regional.
• Spring Park Elementary.
• Stonepark Intermediate.
• Stratford Elementary.
• Three Oaks Senior High.

Emily Waye, the principal of West Kent Elementary School in Charlottetown, said students and staff received a surprise donation of about 30 fans from a local business.

"It's been pretty warm in school the last few days, that's for sure," she said. "It has definitely helped with the heat. It blows around the air and makes it easier for kids to concentrate and teachers to teach."

The PSB said each school has a hot weather action plan in place, and that staff and students are reminded to "hydrate regularly, dress appropriately for the weather, take breaks, avoid intense physical activities, use sunscreen, recognize heat-related illness, be aware of first aid personnel, and have healthy snacks available during extreme weather events."

Summer heat in September has people saying P.E.I. 'is the new Florida'

9 months ago

Duration 1:31

The weather has been quite warm over the last couple of days, with temperatures in some cases hitting around 30 C. This has made it feel more like mid-July than mid-September. Here's what some people had to say about the heat.

Meanwhile, students like Affleck would like her school to get some air conditioners — or for the temperature to drop.

"I hope it gets cooler for fall."

She might get her wish. Temperatures are expected to be back in the mid-teens next week.