Education

Seventy-four international students are expected to come to Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district for the last half of the 2020021 school year, says the district. (School District 68 image)

Nanaimo school district educating 160 international students during pandemic school year

Fifty-seven students from abroad arrived Jan. 14-18, says SD68

 

B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training announced funding to train community mental health workers at four B.C. post-secondary institutions. (Stock photo)

B.C. funding training of mental health workers at four post-secondary institutions

Provincial government says pandemic has intensified need for mental health supports

 

(www.pikist.com)

Vancouver Island mom feels the pinch of school fees

‘Where does it stop?’ asks Lisa Hartt

 

Students from another school board a bus outside Thorncliffe Park Public School in Toronto on Friday December 4, 2020. Toronto Public Health closed the school due to a COVID19 outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Experts call for community sacrifices to ensure COVID-19 safety in schools

Kids in British Columbia returned to public school after a two-week winter break last week

Students from another school board a bus outside Thorncliffe Park Public School in Toronto on Friday December 4, 2020. Toronto Public Health closed the school due to a COVID19 outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
A large crowd gathered at Simms Park in June to hear speakers in support of Black Lives Matter. Such events are prompting a discussion around revising the school district’s anti-discrimination policy. Record file photo

‘Kill Yourself’ artistic statement inspires school trustees to rethink discrimination

Comox Valley school board looks to revise policy in wake of former student’s public plea

A large crowd gathered at Simms Park in June to hear speakers in support of Black Lives Matter. Such events are prompting a discussion around revising the school district’s anti-discrimination policy. Record file photo
FILE – Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

BCTF blasts ‘one size fits all’ school COVID plan, calls for transparency from Henry, Dix

Most students returned from the winter holiday break on Jan. 4

FILE – Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Olivia Meleta, a high school math teacher, is photographed near her Thornhill, Ont., home on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. From texting friends on the sly to downloading apps that spit out answers, educators say the pandemic-induced move to an online classroom has offered up a wealth of tech-driven workarounds to actually doing the work. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Cheating a ‘free-for-all’ at virtual high schools, Canadian teachers say

Stress from the pandemic has collided with the pressure to get good grades

Olivia Meleta, a high school math teacher, is photographed near her Thornhill, Ont., home on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. From texting friends on the sly to downloading apps that spit out answers, educators say the pandemic-induced move to an online classroom has offered up a wealth of tech-driven workarounds to actually doing the work. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Darrel August, left, teacher Matt Kuzminski and Tobias Gillman, with Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools’ learning alternatives program, distributed care packages to people experiencing homelessness on Dec. 11. (Submitted photo)

Nanaimo students who have experienced homelessness give to people living rough

Learning alternatives students distribute care packages

Darrel August, left, teacher Matt Kuzminski and Tobias Gillman, with Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools’ learning alternatives program, distributed care packages to people experiencing homelessness on Dec. 11. (Submitted photo)
Cristi May Sacht will be the new trustee for Area C on the board of education for School District 71. There were only 129 valid ballots cast in the Dec. 12 byelection. Photo supplied

Only 129 cast ballots in Comox Valley school district byelection

Cristi May Sacht is expected to join board after being sworn in next month

Cristi May Sacht will be the new trustee for Area C on the board of education for School District 71. There were only 129 valid ballots cast in the Dec. 12 byelection. Photo supplied
Kwalikum Secondary School. (Mandy Moraes photo)

COVID-19: Qualicum Beach high school ‘operating normally’ following exposure

Superintendent: ‘People continue to trust the safety protocols’

Kwalikum Secondary School. (Mandy Moraes photo)
Randerson Ridge Elementary School. (News Bulletin file)

COVID-19 exposure notice for Nanaimo school lifted, lab error to blame

COVID-19 cases reported at three other Nanaimo schools last week

Randerson Ridge Elementary School. (News Bulletin file)
“Scirocco” the unicorn, built collaboratively by CAP, Apex, Equinox, Gathering Place and Nexus program students under the guidance of artist Alex Witcombe of Drifted Creations, in its home in the middle of Robron Centre’s courtyard. SD72 photo

Building community at a Vancouver Island alternate school, one piece of driftwood at a time

Artist bringing students inside his world at Campbell River’s Robron Centre

  • Dec 6, 2020
“Scirocco” the unicorn, built collaboratively by CAP, Apex, Equinox, Gathering Place and Nexus program students under the guidance of artist Alex Witcombe of Drifted Creations, in its home in the middle of Robron Centre’s courtyard. SD72 photo
The Walking Curriculum gets students outside and connecting with nature. (Amanda Peterson/Special to S.F. Examiner)

‘Walking Curriculum’ crafted by former Vancouver Islander surges in popularity

The outdoor curriculum encourages students to connect with the natural world

The Walking Curriculum gets students outside and connecting with nature. (Amanda Peterson/Special to S.F. Examiner)
A group of Pearson College students take their learning outside in COVID-conscious classrooms. The college is one of 18 United World Colleges that will be welcoming more refugee students through the Rise initiative. (Courtesy of Pearson College)

Metchosin’s Pearson College part of new global initiative to support young refugees and trailblazers

The Rise initiative is seeking youth aged 15 to 17 who are ready to change the world

A group of Pearson College students take their learning outside in COVID-conscious classrooms. The college is one of 18 United World Colleges that will be welcoming more refugee students through the Rise initiative. (Courtesy of Pearson College)
The Carihi Fly Fishing Club is touted as an example of incorporating the outdoors into the education curriculum in SD72. Photo submitted.

Vancouver Island educators embrace outdoor education and learning outdoors

SD72 schools taking students outside to learn what is normally taught in an indoor classroom

The Carihi Fly Fishing Club is touted as an example of incorporating the outdoors into the education curriculum in SD72. Photo submitted.
These boards were delivered to Brooklyn Elementary before being stolen this fall. Facebook photo

Vandalism damage at Comox Valley schools way up this year

The amount in 2020/21 is already 50 per cent higher than the previous year

These boards were delivered to Brooklyn Elementary before being stolen this fall. Facebook photo
Some parents are concerned with the plans of the Cowichan Valley school district to drop one of its distance-learning options. (File photo)

Cowichan Valley parents upset with loss of remote learning program

School district says program being redesigned

Some parents are concerned with the plans of the Cowichan Valley school district to drop one of its distance-learning options. (File photo)
Langley School District's board office. (Langley Advance Times files)

‘Sick Out’ aims to pressure B.C. schools over masks, class sizes

Parents from Langley and Surrey are worried about COVID safety in classrooms

Langley School District's board office. (Langley Advance Times files)
A sign encouraging students to wear a mask in classrooms released Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (BCTF)

BCTF asks parents to ‘create a culture of mask wearing’ as schools excluded from new rules

New indoor mask mandate does not include schools

A sign encouraging students to wear a mask in classrooms released Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (BCTF)
A physical distancing sign is seen during a media tour of Hastings Elementary school in Vancouver, Wednesday, September 2, 2020. British Columbia’s education minister hopes the government will be able to entirely avoid school closures under any scenario but it would defer to advice from public health officials should COVID-19 cases worsen. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. education minister wants to avoid school closures completely

Four out of 643 schools in the Fraser Health district have been closed

A physical distancing sign is seen during a media tour of Hastings Elementary school in Vancouver, Wednesday, September 2, 2020. British Columbia’s education minister hopes the government will be able to entirely avoid school closures under any scenario but it would defer to advice from public health officials should COVID-19 cases worsen. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward