With the 2021-22 school year starting today, students and parents alike are interested to see how this school year will play out.
Last night, the Mountain View School Division held a virtual town hall where they answered some questions about the division's re-opening plans and explained how the school year will operate.
As Mountain View School Division Superintendent, Dan Ward explained, the wearing of face masks are not always going to be mandatory:
"Masks breaks can still occur within the school environment; in an indoor space if physical distancing can occur of two metres. We are asking, however, when students and staff move around, that they are always wearing their masks in the school environment."
Ward added that not every kid has to go to school this year either:
"The option of home-schooling still does exist as a legal option for parents who may not feel comfortable in sending their children back to school, and for families who have a child or member of the household who is immunocompromised, still have access to remote learning through the Manitoba Remote Learning Centre."
He went on to say that entries and exits to schools will be managed to avoid congestion and that there will also be screening protocols for all people entering a school or division building.
School transportation returns to pre-COVID-19 policies and practices, with buses running at full capacity with some additional cleaning requirements. Mask requirements would follow public health recommendations and orders at the time.
The division also said that they are prepared to allow extracurricular activities, including extracurricular sports, to resume at the grade 9-12 levels according to MHSAA and individual sport return to play guidelines and general public health COVID-19 protocols while allowed for under the current level within the Pandemic Response System. The sports teams will be school-based teams only and school co-op teams will not be permitted at this time.
Playgrounds and play structures are low risk for transmission. There are no specific requirements for cleaning play structures.
For more information about the MVSD 2021-22 school year, click here.
