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With some parents anxious about sending their kids back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a greater interest in switching to homeschooling this year.
The province says parents can switch their kids into homeschooling at any point in the year, free of charge.
If families change their minds, school divisions are required to accept students back into the public school system as long as they live within the division’s boundaries.
Here in Manitoba, there’s been reports of some parents banding together and forming homeschool groups to teach their kids - however groups must be limited to 2 families.
As for evaluations and monitoring of education, children must write provincial tests, and parents are required to submit progress reports in January and June. Home-schooled students are not eligible for a high school diploma unless they have completed Manitoba’s graduation requirements.
For more information about homeschooling options in Manitoba, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
September 9th Update:
Early this morning around 4:15, the frost advisory ended.
With an overnight low of 7 degrees tonight, the forecast isn't calling for a risk of frost right now.
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Environment Canada has issued a frost advisory for many parts of southern Manitoba, including Riding Mountain National Park, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg.
A ridge of high pressure will give rise to clear skies and light winds which will lead to another night of patchy frost across southern Manitoba.
The weather authority warns some plants may be damaged or even destroyed by frost, and are advising producers to cover up plants, especially those in frost-prone areas.
Warmer, more seasonable temperatures are expected to push into the eastern Prairies by mid-week and persist into the weekend which will bring an end to the sub zero overnight lows for the time being.
As of 3:28 p.m., the frost advisory is in effect for:
- Hamiota Mun. incl. McConnell and Lavinia
- Mun. of Clanwilliam-Erickson
- Mun. of Harrison Park incl. Onanole Sandy Lake and Newdale
- Prairie View Mun. incl. Bird Tail Creek Res.
- R.M. of Minto-Odanah incl. Minnedosa and Moore Park
- R.M. of Oakview incl. Oak River and Rapid City
- R.M. of Rosedale incl. Eden and Kelwood
- R.M. of Yellowhead incl. Shoal Lake and Elphinstone
- R.M.of Ellice-Archie incl. St-Lazare McAuley and Manson
- Riding Mountain Nat. Park
- Rossburn Mun. incl. Waywayseecappo Res.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Public health officials identified 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the province’s total case count to 1,349.
There are 393 active cases in Manitoba, with 13 people in hospital and three in intensive care. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at 16.
None of today’s cases are in Prairie Mountain Health, which has some wondering whether or not health officials will consider moving the region out of the “orange” restricted level anytime soon.
Dr. Brent Roussin, our chief public health officer, says we are certainly seeing a trend in the right direction with case numbers in Prairie Mountain Health.
“We’ll be watching that closely. We’re just at the tail end of the first incubation period (14 days) after we went to restricted ‘orange’ in PMH. We’ll continue to watch those numbers closely, and adjust the pandemic response system as indicated. ”
“We need to see more of this trend, for much longer, before we can begin to think about lifting those restrictions.”
As students, teachers and staff return to school this week, public health officials strongly encourage all Manitobans to return to the fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This means staying home if you are sick, washing/sanitizing your hands, covering your cough and physically distancing when you are with people outside your household. If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask.
Unless recommended by Public Health, only individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should go for testing.
For more information about COVID-19 in the province, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
A small group gathered outside of the Dauphin provincial courthouse Tuesday morning, seeking justice for two young girls killed in a car accident in August of 2019.
Gaylene Dutchyshen is the grandmother of Oksana and Quinn, who were age 4 and 6 when they died in a car accident involving an alleged impaired driver.
Gaylene decided to organize the small gathering after she was informed by court officials last month that she would not be able to follow the case from inside the courtroom due to COVID-19 restrictions on how many people are allowed in the building.
“I made a vow when they died that I would be at every court hearing — and I’m going to be. I just want to make sure justice is served,” said Dutchyshen.
The group set up in front of the courthouse around 9:30 a.m. this morning holding signs with pictures of the girls, which read “Justice For Oksana & Quinn”.
Today was another scheduled court date for 25-year-old Jack Winters, who was arrested on Friday, July 17 for several charges relating to the fatal 2019 accident.
Today that case was remanded to October 6.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen held a press conference this morning to welcome students back to class.
Goertzen says there are a number of people that are critical to having a great year and at the top of the list are those working in schools, teachers and administrators.
"They were back already last week, doing really, really important work and some people have seen the physical spacing of the desks and different things within the schools, hand sanitization stations, the directions, the arrows, a lot of different things in the schools. That preparatory work last week is critical for how things go, not just today, but in the days ahead. I really want to thank our teachers, our administrators who came back."
Goertzen wants to give a lot of credit to teachers, who in some ways have to relearn how to teach because all the methods of group teaching, having students close together and working together has to change.
On the topic of COVID in the school, Goertzen expects cases because COVID is in our society and schools are a part of society.
Because of that, he’s preaching transparency.
"I think we need to be transparent with the public more generally about where cases are being found, not because we want to create fear, but the exact opposite. I believe that public health and school officials are going to do a very good job, when they find cases within the schools, reacting to those cases, isolating those cases ensuring they don't spread more broadly, and if we can provide that information, I think it'll provide confidence more than it'll provide fear."
Goertzen says even though this won’t be a normal school year, he still wants it to be an excellent one.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
At 3:40 Friday afternoon, the Dauphin RCMP were told a male youth was in possession of a firearm and may have pointed it at people on Kirby Avenue E in Dauphin.
The suspect wasn’t located by the initial patrol of the area, but by 3:50 that afternoon, the 17-year-old male youth was found at his home and arrested.
Officers then learned that he had robbed a 19-year-old male of his bike, which was later recovered.
The 17-year-old was remanded into custody on a robbery charge as well as numerous breach of undertaking charges.
The matter is still under investigation as the firearms haven’t been recovered yet.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The return to the classroom today has been a big topic of discussion in the Parkland lately.
Our CKDM reporters put their masks on and went out to the streets to find out how you’re feeling about students getting back to school.
Concerns About The Return To The Classroom
There’s certainly been a fair bit of anxiety amongst parents and educators with many kids heading back to the classroom this week.
We spoke with Suzy from Dauphin, who feels strongly against the return to classroom.
“No. I don’t think it’s a good idea. [Learning] should be at home where everybody else is.”
Michelle from Dauphin shares some of those concerns, saying “honestly, as a parent, I’m kind of iffy about it. I’m not sure if I’m even going to send my kids to school right away. At this point, my kid’s health is more important than their education.”
She also predicts there will be some difficulty getting the young ones to follow the new guidelines at school.
“I don’t know how they’re going to get kids to wear masks all day and social distance. They all miss their friends and are going to be happy to see each other.”
Some Community Members Express Confidence In Back-To-School Plan
Another school of thought in the community has shown a bit more confidence that school divisions and government will be able to organize a safe return to the classroom.
Shannon from Dauphin tells CKDM she thinks getting back into the classroom is a good thing.
“I’m a little concerned about it myself, but as long everybody follows the rules and the school divisions follow everything — and biggest thing is make sure it’s about the safety of the kids.”
Like Michelle, Shannon thinks younger children will have an especially difficult time picking up on the new normal.
“I think for the young kids it’s going to be a little more difficult for the masks and trying to keep all those controls in place. One of the biggest things though is going to be their disinfecting and social distancing — but overall, I think everything should work.”
Howard tells our CKDM reporters he has mixed emotions about the return to the classroom, but is confident things could go smoothly if everyone does their part.
“No, I’m not worried. I’m just going to see how the first month goes. I’m sending my daughter to school so we’ll go from there. We’ll just make sure she does her part, and hopefully the school does theirs.”
“We’ll just make sure she does her part, and hopefully the school does theirs.”
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
September 8th Update:
The frost advisory ended this morning at 4:24 am for:
- Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
- Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
- Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
- Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
- Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
- Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
- R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
- R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park
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On Sunday at 3:34 p.m., Environment Canada issued a frost warning for the Parkland and most of southern Manitoba.
Frost advisories are issued when temperatures are expected to reach the freezing mark during the growing season, leading to potential damage and destruction to plants and crops.
The weather authority is advising producers to take preventative measures to protect frost-sensitive plants.
The forecast for Dauphin is calling for an overnight low of minus 3, with a windchill of minus 7.
Tomorrow the daily high is 12 degrees. On Tuesday night the forecast calls for an overnight low of 0.
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The province is asking parents to play an important role in the safe return to the classroom, and part of that includes screening children for symptoms every day before school.
Provincial officials have outlined a daily screening protocol, which includes:
- Screening for symptoms every morning (see full list of symptoms)
- Keeping your child at home if they are showing any COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms
- Staying home and isolating if showing symptoms
- Using the online Self-Assessment tool to check if your child should be tested for COVID-19
Symptoms of COVID-19 include, but are not limited to cough, headache, fever/chills, muscle aches, and sore throat.
Click here for the symptom screening checklist.
What happens when there’s a positive case in a Manitoba school?
In the event a child develops symptoms at school, they will be isolated, and parents/caregivers will be called and asked to pick their child up promptly.
Public health officials say in the event of a confirmed case in a school, they will notify the general public, after first notifying all potential close contacts.
Dr. Brent Roussin explains public health would conduct an investigation to determine who are considered close contacts of the positive case, advising them to self-isolate and await further direction from the health authority.
“To the school community at large and to the public, we’ll be announcing where cases are. So Public Health won’t be personally advising all parents in a school, just those who are close contacts — but we will be making it when we have a case in a school,” said Roussin.
The province has included some advice for children on how to be COVID careful in school:
- Do not share food or personal items
- Cough and sneeze into your arm or tissue
- Do not touch your face, particularly your eyes, nose and mouth
- Keep two metres of distance from others and avoid close contact.
- Stay healthy by eating healthy foods, keeping physically active, getting enough sleep and fresh air
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Public health officials reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
This brings the province to a total of 1,338 cases.
Six of today’s cases are in the Prairie Mountain Health region. None are in the Dauphin health district.
The data shows:
• one case in the Interlake-Eastern health region;
• six cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region;
• one case in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region; and
• seven cases in the Winnipeg health region.
Manitoba has 412 active cases, and 910 individuals have recovered from COVID-19.
There are 13 people in hospital and three people in intensive care.
The number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 16.
Due to the Labour Day holiday, chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin will hold his press conference tomorrow at 1 p.m.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, click here.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Today is Labour Day – so here’s a list of what’s open and what’s closed for the holiday.
Grocery Stores
Safeway, Walmart, Ken’s No Frills, and Co-op will be closed on Monday, Sept 7th.
The Dauphin Marketplace Mall is closed.
Liquor Mart in Dauphin
The Dauphin Liquor Mart will be closed Monday for Labour Day.
City Hall
The schedule for pick-up of recycling and garbage in the City of Dauphin will not be affected by the holiday on Monday.
The Dauphin Vet Clinic will be closed from Saturday, Sept 5th to Monday, Sept. 7th.
Dauphin’s Post Office will be closed Monday.
COVID-19 Test Sites
Dauphin’s test site is closed Monday, as well as Brandon’s site located at the Keystone Centre parking lot.
The site in Swan River is open Monday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the site at the Brandon Town Centre parkade is open Monday from 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
For a full list of the hours and locations of PMH test sites, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
