(Horizon School Division)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Back to School

St. Brieux school returning to in-person learning for all grades after staff members contract COVID

Apr 6, 2022 | 5:34 PM

Students in Grades 7 to 12 at St. Brieux school will be going back to in-person learning.

Classes have been virtual for the past two days, April 5^th and April 6^th, as more than 10 staff members were in quarantine due to COVID-19.

Kevin Garinger, director of education for Horizon School Division, told northeastNOW the school simply didn’t have enough staff to oversee all the classes.

“I made a decision to go in that direction to make sure we can still provide options for our kids and still have the ability to have adults looking after their learning through the best of our ability.”

He added they did have enough staff, thanks to the help of a few substitute teachers, to provide in-person learning for younger students over the past couple of days.

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Though Garinger made the final decision, he had consulted with the school. The Saskatchewan Health Authority had no say in the matter.

“That is what we felt was the best direction to go to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our students.”

Meanwhile, Garinger hopes this experience shows parents and guardians across the division they’re prepared to offer virtual learning with little notice.

He said most of the credit goes to the teachers.

“Our staff are amazing, as much as they want their kids in front of them they’ve become very adept at managing learning at a distance when required.”

Garinger noted the pandemic isn’t the only reason why the division has a strong virtual learning policy. Bad weather also played a part as they’ve found it’s safer sometimes to keep everyone at home, though this mainly happens in the winter due to snowstorms.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow