Wednesday, May 13, 2020 Vol. 43, No. 20
ads@weeklyreview.ca
$1 includes GST
YOUR LOCAL PAPER
Officials work towards school re-entry plan for fall Patricia Harcourt Editor
Local area schools in Viking, Holden, Ryley, and Irma will continue to have students taught at home by teachers using social media and other methods until the end of June. However, a process is now underway for these and all other schools in the province to engage the education system in a re-entry plan for the fall. The plan depends on which of three scenarios exist at that time. These include the possibility of normal school operations resuming, schools partially re-opened with restrictions, or the need to continue at-home learning. While no decisions have been made on whether schools will open their classrooms in the fall, the province is working with school authorities and education system partners on developing a comprehensive re-entry plan. The re-entry plan prioritizes the safety and well being of teachers, staff, and students, and draws from feedback from those within the education system. The government states it will honour existing collective bargaining agreements while using the information provided for relaunching by the provincial medical officer of health. "The challenge of re-opening schools is very complex,"
said Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers' Association. "We appreciate the efforts of the minister and department to meaningfully engage us on these important issues. "The health and safety of students, teachers, staff, families, and the broader community are paramount in these discussions," he said, adding: "We are using input from provincial ATA teacher representatives and a recent COVID-19 related survey of over 2,000 teachers to share the views of the profession." Alberta School Boards Association President Lorrie Jess said the provincial school boards "will continue to work with government and provide input on a safe and appropriate re-entry plan and timeline. School boards are eager to welcome staff and students back to schools as soon as it is safe to do so." The school in Holden, however, would not be part of that process as the building will be closed at the end of June, thanks to a decision by the Battle River School Division. The elementary students will be bused to Ryley in September should classes start up again. Also, high school students will be bussed to Viking or Tofield schools depending on where they are living if schools reopen their classrooms. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of
Irma School Staff Parade Honours Students
On April 29, the Irma School staff got together to form a fun and creative parade that circled around the Village of Irma. The reason for the celebration was to let students and their families know how much that they are missed by the staff in the school. The Irma School staff decorated their own vehicles and paraded around town. "It was a wonderful drive," said one participant, noting how the students' eyes lit up as they smiled. PHOTOS SUPPLIED.
classes in March as a method of containing the spread of the virus. At home learning guidelines were set out on March 20. The subject matter and workload is varied according to the grade of the student. More than 90 per cent of school authorities are offering online learning. About half are also using emailing, telephoning and sending paper based work to students. To enable the students to work from home, about 60,000 devices like laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and iPads have been given out by the school authorities and provincial government. Students are getting these devices based on priorities
such as need, including complex needs issues; students with no access to devices on their own; and high school students. "I want to thank our teachers school support staff, administrators, education partners, and parents for quickly adapting to our current reality," said Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange, "and helping ensure that their children continue to learn as best as possible under the circumstances... "I look forward to school returning when the time is right and health restrictions allow it," she said. A provincial education helpline is now available to parents through Alberta
Education staff to address their questions and direct them to school authorities, where applicable. With the traditional delivery process changed, there are parents of children with disabilities who have questions about their child's program. The helpline can be reached by calling 780-4226548 (toll free by dialling 3100000, followed by the 10digit phone number), or by emailing student support@gov.ab.ca. More than 4,000 curriculum resources to support parents and students are available on the LearnAlberta.ca website. School authorities have also made resources available on their own websites.