(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

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Sask. Rivers restricting extracurricular activities as COVID cases rise

Jan 14, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division is restricting extracurricular activities in an attempt to help keep schools open.

The decision was made on Wednesday as COVID-19 cases in Prince Albert and surrounding communities continue to rise. As of Jan. 14, there were 224 active cases in the North Central 2 region which includes P.A.

The division has a five-phase plan for extracurricular activities with phase five being a full return with some restrictions, while phase one allows practices to happen with students being put into cohorts.

They’ve decided to move to phase two, dropping down from phase four, which allows for practice and games between cohorts among children in the same school.

“We need to keep our schools open and our classrooms running,” said Cory Trann, Superintendent of Schools for Sask. Rivers.

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The plan is to slowly move back to a return to full activities, starting with phase three which allows competitions to be held between schools.

However, this will depend on how the community does fighting back against the virus.

“It’s not just about our schools, it’s also what’s in our community because we know our families are actively involved in lots of things.”

There’s no timeline on when they could possibly move into a new phase.

paNOW reached out to Prince Albert Roman Catholic Separate School Division but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.

Community Reacts

The move by Sask. Rivers is getting mixed reactions from members of the public.

For Adreanna Boucher, the division made the right call as she believes the best spot for kids to be is in school.

“You’re wearing a mask every day, you’re socially distancing, you’re getting your vaccines but guess what, you still don’t get to go to school, that would be awful.”

paNOW also gave residents the chance to share their thoughts on social media.

Rachel Cochrane called the situation overblown.

“We are doing more harm than good to our kids. The mental health impact far outweighs the physical risk.”

Carrie Twidale also responded, sharing concerns for students, teachers, and staff.

“I feel so bad for teachers and staff for having to deal with the never-ending changes…and trying to keep the kids positive and up-to-date with school work,” she said.

“I want normalcy for children. They seem to be hit hard with all the close contacts and isolation and missing activities and statistics show kids are generally not getting super sick or hospitalized. It’s so hard either way.”

Information For Families

Sask. Rivers is also sharing more information on when a school will declare an outbreak.

In a letter sent out Friday afternoon, Director of Education Robert Bratvold explained this will only happen when at least 10 per cent of all students are isolating after experiencing symptoms.

“Although we will not know if the illness is actually COVID, if an outbreak is declared in a school, parents will be informed.”

Bratvold added it’s likely the school will remain open with the focus being on additional measures instead.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow