Hundreds of Nova Scotian students walked out of classes on Friday, sending a strong message in support of their teachers.

On the last school day before Nova Scotia’s teachers begin a work-to-rule on Monday, students across the province protested the upcoming job action.

“If teachers do the work-to-rule then it will make it harder for me to get a good education,” says David Swinimer, a student at Dartmouth’s Prince Andrew High.

“We want to make sure they have the resources and ability to do their job,” says Citadel High student Noah Brown.

The choice to walk out isn’t publicly supported by either side in the dispute. The teachers union says its chosen work-to-rule so students will remain in class.

“Very disappointing, students should be in their class and teachers should be in their class with them,” Education Minister Karen Casey said on Thursday.

“I think her response to even those rallies yesterday was absolutely ridiculous. I don’t think she understands how we feel about what’s happening in our classrooms,” says Prince Andrew High student Kenzi Donnelly.

While thousands of Nova Scotian students chose to stay in class today, organizers say they are pleased their message is being heard, especially on the doorstop of MLA’s.

“We just gotta get there, we’ve got to get both parties to the table to work on an agreement,” said Derek Mombourquette, the Liberal MLA for Sydney-Whitney Pier.

Schoolboards had warned students that participating in the walk-out means they would be marked absent for the day. Many say they got around that by having parents call to excuse them.
But at Millwood High in Lower Sackville, many seemed to heed the warnings.

“Our school principal and our school police liaison warned us that if we did leave there would be consequences. That we could risk getting suspended and that if we became un-peaceful, we could risk getting arrested,” says Millwood High student Matthew Hughson.

Only a handful of Millwood students walked out. None were arrested, and the protests were peaceful.

Work-to-rule is set to begin Monday, December 5, meaning extracurricular activities will be halted, which many students aren’t happy about.

“This is the time that they would give their free time to be with us, whether that means doing math extra help, organizing student council lunchtime events,” says Citadel High student Kiara Sexton.

Extracurricular activities including sports, holiday events and field trips are already being affected.

Neptune Theatre cancelled a special showing of Miracle on 34th Street, which was to be attended by 450 students next week.

“We value the opportunity to provide live theatre to the students and we are working with the schools to have students come and view another performance throughout the rest of our schedule,” says Lisa Bugden, general manager of Neptune Theatre.

It’s expected that protests will continue to be organized next week. A group calling itself “Nova Scotia Parents for Teachers” has organized a rally on Monday.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie and Kelland Sundahl.