Premier Scott Moe announces the decision to close the province's schools. (Sarah Mills/Twitter)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

covid-19

P.A. schools respond to provincial closure

Mar 16, 2020 | 1:59 PM

Prince Albert’s school divisions are responding to the government decision announced Monday that all school classes in the province will be suspended indefinitely from Friday. The last day of school for pre K -Grade 12 will be Thursday.

Prince Albert Catholic School Division Director of Education Lorel Trumier said the closure of all their schools has never happened before.

“This is unprecedented for sure. We’ve had different events occur such as blackout or fires in schools,” she told paNOW.

Trumier said the division is supportive of the province’s move, adding before the province made the announcement, they heard from concerned parents and other members of the community.

“This morning there were only 50 per cent of our students in schools already,” she said.

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Trumier said the division first heard about the government’s decision when it was announced publicly. She said they made preparations in case the government decided to order such a move, and they were also prepared to stay open.

In terms of keeping parents informed on the situation, Trumier said they would be sending letters home with kids and posting information on the division website and social media. Trumier said schools will remain open until Thursday to allow students the chance to collect their things.

“We’ll do our best to support our families as they transition to the new reality,” she said.

Meanwhile, Robert Bratvold, the director of education for the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division said they were awaiting some more details from the province.

“SRPSD has been planning for this possibility but we will need to await further details from the Ministry of Education around its policy related to calendar, learning outcomes, grade promotion, credits and graduation,” he told paNOW in statement. “Once we have that information, our SRPSD team will implement our local plan and communicate with students, families and staff.”

In their announcement Monday around lunchtime the government said every student will receive a final grade based on their current grade, and students will progress to their next grade level next year. Every student who is eligible to graduate from Grade 12 this year will graduate.

Bratvold thanked families for their support “as we move further through these challenges together. We will keep families updated on any further details related to the suspension of classes. “

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn