Schools

FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Tracker says B.C. schools recording COVID-19 exposures at 10 times last year’s rate

Volunteer moms have logged more than 1,000 cases, ‘and it is only early October’

FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Island Health has reported a new COVID-19 exposure at Ecole Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt. (Google Streetview)

COVID-19 exposure reported at Esquimalt french school

Exposure follows cluster at Ecole Victor-Brodeur

Island Health has reported a new COVID-19 exposure at Ecole Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt. (Google Streetview)
Six sets of twins are attending Parkview Elementary School in Sicamous for the 2021-22 school year. From left to right, their names are: Levi and Cody Clark, Kate and Reese Osmundson, Maxx and Maycie-Jean Lane, Dustin and Dillon Hilder, Emily and Nathan Presley, and Aurora and Logan Dawson. (Zachary Roman/Eagle Valley News)

Seeing double: 1 in 17 kids attending Shuswap school are twins

There are six sets of twins at Parkview Elementary in Sicamous

Six sets of twins are attending Parkview Elementary School in Sicamous for the 2021-22 school year. From left to right, their names are: Levi and Cody Clark, Kate and Reese Osmundson, Maxx and Maycie-Jean Lane, Dustin and Dillon Hilder, Emily and Nathan Presley, and Aurora and Logan Dawson. (Zachary Roman/Eagle Valley News)
George Jay Elementary is the site of the newest COVID-19 cluster in Greater Victoria schools. (Black Press Media file photo)

New COVID-19 cluster declared at Victoria elementary school

George Jay Elementary one of six Greater Victoria schools with active clusters

George Jay Elementary is the site of the newest COVID-19 cluster in Greater Victoria schools. (Black Press Media file photo)
Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Masks mandatory for all K-12 students in B.C. schools as of today

Mandate has been extended to younger students

Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Deep Cove Elementary in North Saanich is one of the latest sites of a COVID-19 cluster in the region’s schools. (Black Press Media file photo)

Another two COVID-19 clusters reported in Greater Victoria schools

Clusters reported at Deep Cove Elementary and Cloverdale Traditional Elementary

Deep Cove Elementary in North Saanich is one of the latest sites of a COVID-19 cluster in the region’s schools. (Black Press Media file photo)
Enrollment at Tillicum Elementary was predicted to include 365 students, but 413 enrolments have been reported. (Courtesy Tillicum Elementary School website)

Fourth COVID-19 cluster reported in Greater Victoria school

New cluster at Tillicum Elementary School in Saanich

Enrollment at Tillicum Elementary was predicted to include 365 students, but 413 enrolments have been reported. (Courtesy Tillicum Elementary School website)
Avalynn Kwok, 4, holds her dad Manny Kwok’s hand outside Lynn Valley Elementary School as her parents drop her off for her first day of kindergarten in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. resumes online posting of COVID ‘potential exposure events’ in schools

Health ministry back pedals after parents expressed worry about no online notifications

Avalynn Kwok, 4, holds her dad Manny Kwok’s hand outside Lynn Valley Elementary School as her parents drop her off for her first day of kindergarten in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Vancouver school board mandates masks for K-3 students, citing uptick in COVID among kids

Provincial health order only mandates masks for children in Grade 4 and up

FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Back to school has been fraught with COVID-19 cases, with three clusters reported in Greater Victoria schools so far. (Black Press Media file photo)

3 active COVID-19 clusters in Greater Victoria schools

Ecole Poirier Elementary, Sir James Douglas Elementary, Ecole Victor-Brodeur affected

Back to school has been fraught with COVID-19 cases, with three clusters reported in Greater Victoria schools so far. (Black Press Media file photo)
The Safe Schools Coalition, a group of parents, guardians and teachers, held a rally at Holland Park on Saturday (Aug. 28) to pusher for stronger COVID-19 measures going into the 2021-22 school year on Sept. 7. They’re asking for mask mandate for all grades, better ventilation, distancing and remote options. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

‘It’s really frustrating’: BCTF fears more school closures due to lack of COVID safety measures

BCTF president Teri Mooring renews calls for K–12 mask mandate and ventilation improvements

The Safe Schools Coalition, a group of parents, guardians and teachers, held a rally at Holland Park on Saturday (Aug. 28) to pusher for stronger COVID-19 measures going into the 2021-22 school year on Sept. 7. They’re asking for mask mandate for all grades, better ventilation, distancing and remote options. (Photo: Lauren Collins)
Students at certain Greater Victoria schools have faced a high number of exposures since their return to class two weeks ago. (Black Press Media file photo)

Dozens of COVID-19 exposures reported in Greater Victoria schools since classes began

Exposures reported through crowdsourced independent tracker site

Students at certain Greater Victoria schools have faced a high number of exposures since their return to class two weeks ago. (Black Press Media file photo)
A second-grader has her mask adjusted before heading into school for the day. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. parents crowdsourcing COVID-19 school exposures in lieu of provincial information

Health ministry choosing to only publicly report outbreaks, clusters

A second-grader has her mask adjusted before heading into school for the day. (Black Press Media file photo)
Three more school exposures have been reported in Greater Victoria, including at Ecole Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt. (Google Streetview)

Another three school exposures reported in Greater Victoria

Exposures reported on volunteer-run site in lieu of public information

Three more school exposures have been reported in Greater Victoria, including at Ecole Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt. (Google Streetview)
Monterey Middle School is one of four Greater Victoria schools that have experiened a COVID-19 exposure so far in September, according to the BC School COVID Tracker. (Black Press Media file photo)

COVID-19 exposures reported in 4 Greater Victoria schools

Mom-run site tracking exposures in lieu of public information

Monterey Middle School is one of four Greater Victoria schools that have experiened a COVID-19 exposure so far in September, according to the BC School COVID Tracker. (Black Press Media file photo)
A majority of parents are comfortable sending their kids back to school for in-class learning according to a new Angus Reid survey.(Black Press file photo).

Majority of B.C. parents comfortable with kids back in schools: poll

Angus Reid survey says nine in ten parents prefer in-class learning versus online

A majority of parents are comfortable sending their kids back to school for in-class learning according to a new Angus Reid survey.(Black Press file photo).
A BCAA survey found 68 per cent of respondents believe school zone traffic will be more chaotic than usual this year. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)

Distracted parents in drop-off zones a top concern for back-to-school rush: BCAA

About 72 students are injured in school zones every year, according to the roadside assistance company

A BCAA survey found 68 per cent of respondents believe school zone traffic will be more chaotic than usual this year. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
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

Back to school Q&A: Is it safe for unvaccinated students? What’s the harm of school closures?

Students are getting ready to head back to classrooms across much of Canada

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
Students don face coverings as they wait in line to enter for the first day of in-class learning since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

B.C. teachers say back-to-school plan doesn’t address testing, ventilation concerns

BCTF president Teri Mooring is calling for the province to do more to mitigate the risks of COVID-19

Students don face coverings as they wait in line to enter for the first day of in-class learning since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A crossing guard stops traffic as students wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 arrive at Ecole Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. A number of schools in the Fraser Health region, including Woodward Hill, have reported cases of the B.1.7.7 COVID-19 variant first detected in the U.K. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Masks required for Grade 4 and older in B.C. as part of return-to-school plan

Students will be in class full time this fall

A crossing guard stops traffic as students wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 arrive at Ecole Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. A number of schools in the Fraser Health region, including Woodward Hill, have reported cases of the B.1.7.7 COVID-19 variant first detected in the U.K. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck