St. Mary High School. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

back to school

P.A. Catholic School Division doing everything possible ahead of new term

Aug 5, 2020 | 4:45 PM

A local administrator is confident everything is being done to prepare for the start of the new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and thinks it’s important preparations are being handled at the local level.

“I can tell you from both a personal and a professional perspective, I feel we are doing everything possible to make the safety of our students a priority,” Lorel Trumier, the director of education for the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, told paNOW.

She said planning went on for months and there continues to be an ongoing dialogue regarding all facets of the school day.

“[We have] guidelines around physical contact and shared materials and equipment; we’re discussing protocols around any extra curricular or sports or arts performances; we’re talking about all the elements of operating our facilities and how we can make this the safest environment possible,” Trumier explained.

There has been criticism from the official opposition and the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) of the government’s back to school plan released Tuesday. The plan does not include reduced class sizes or mandatory masks but includes guidelines for how schools should operate and the overall plans will be up to the individual school divisions.

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The NDP labelled it “the worst plan in Canada” that offered nothing new and offloaded responsibilities to the school divisions, while the STF called the plan “a squandered opportunity to bring some relief and confidence to teachers, school workers and parents.”

When paNOW asked Trumier if she thought the province was throwing the ball back into the divisions’ court, she said it was important key decisions and preparations were handled at the local level.

“From my perspective, operating our school division requires – at all times – to be responsive to our families and our children. So, if I use the example if there’s an outbreak in another city, there is no reason why we need to close our schools,” she said.

Trumier acknowledged some parents and students may have concerns ahead of the Sept. 1 restart, but reminded families the division offices would be open to take any phone enquiries from August 17.

“We really encourage them to reach out and explain to us what their concerns are, because if we can hear that concern perhaps we can come up with a plan to make sure we have eased them back into coming to school,” she said.

paNOW reached out to the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division for comment but did not get a response before our deadline.

In a media release Wednesday, the province issued the safe school/return to school plans for each of Saskatchewan’s divisions.

Click on these links to learn more: Prince Albert Roman Catholic School Division and Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow