Year-round Edmonton Catholic schools are reinstating COVID-19 safety measures as students return to class
Nearly a thousand year-round Catholic school students returned to the classroom on Wednesday, as schools waited for guidance from the government on COVID-19.
Three schools in Edmonton take shorter summer breaks for more time off during the year: St. Teresa of Calcutta Elementary School, St. Catherine Catholic Elementary and Junior High and St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary and Junior High.
These three schools say they are all keeping last year’s protocols in place while waiting for guidance from the government on COVID-19.
Krista MacGregor, principal at Alphonsus Catholic Elementary, says that includes mandatory masks, screening protocols, smaller class sizes and increased ventilation.
“We just thought it is a lot easier for our Kindergarten to Grade 9 just to follow what we were doing in June so it is not very different,” said MacGregor.
MacGregor says her staff and school community look forward to returning to in-person learning.
In fact, she says more students at St. Alphonsus are returning to in-person learning with the total number of students learning online dropping from 80 to 20.
“It is great to have them back. For teachers, they want to have those bodies back in the classroom. That is what teaching is all about – it is building those relationships in the classroom,” said MacGregor.
The provincial government plans to remove mandatory quarantine for people who test positive for the virus and stop asymptomatic testing starting Aug. 16.
Jason Schilling, president of Alberta Teachers’ Association, says without direct guidance from the government, students and teachers are feeling a sense of anxiousness.
“Once again we find ourselves sort of in a repeat of what we had last summer, with a lot of questions with a couple of weeks for school to start and nothing coming out of the government in terms of guidance or what schools can expect in the fall,” he said.
“The sooner we can get this information, the better off we would be,” he added.
Alberta Education says a document outlining safety protocols is being finalized and will be released later in August.
Schilling says schools should keep last year’s safety protocols that were in place to keep the community safe.
Other Alberta school districts, which have students returning in September, said they are still working on their return-to-school plans.
Trish Estabrooks, Edmonton Public School Board trustee, says e-mails continue to pour in advocating for a continuation of COVID-19 protocols.
“We have heard a number of concerns. Parents are worried and we are three weeks from the start of the next school year -- there is still a lot of uncertainty," said Estabrooks.
"Dozens of e-mails, dozens of phone calls that I am personally receiving and I know my collegues are receiving, are asking that we keep those same protocols in place," she added.
Estabrooks says following last year's protocols is the "move that makes sense" given the rise of the Delta variant. She promised parents' concerns were being heard.
"I would say certainly by this week, we need some clear leadership and we need some clear direction made from the government of Alberta, from our elected officials, and also from Dr. Deena Hinshaw."
Calgary's public school board similarly told The Canadian Press it is monitoring an evolving situation.
In a statement from Calgary Board of Education, spokeswoman Megan Geyer said the district is working closely with Alberta's health and education ministries “to ensure appropriate health and safety protocols are adhered to in our schools and work places.”
Geyer said the board is sharing additional information with staff and families later this month.
On Tuesday, Alberta reported an additional 279 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
- COVID-19 in Alberta: Hospitalizations up nearly 50 per cent since start of the month
- ‘Our kids are going to be super vulnerable in our schools’: Alta. doctors calling on feds for help
- Alberta to provide $45M for students set back by COVID-19 learning loss
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING 9 suspects arrested in gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police announced Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Young New Brunswick songwriter makes appearance on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'
Eight-year-old songwriter Zuri Hamilton from Miramichi, N.B., got to show off her talent on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' on Monday.