SD52 outlines back to school notes, while Province prepares to announce Back to School guidance for 2021

Back school time arrives on
September 7th in Prince Rupert 

See update at bottom of story

It's just a few more weeks of summer vacation for students of School District 52 and the city's Independent School Annunciation, with the back to school routine set to launch on September 7th.

So far the only Back to School information offered up by School District 52 comes by way of a newspaper advertisement that relays the Registration notes for New Students or those who have moved over the course of the Summer months

For those living in Port Edward the Elementary School will be one for registration from 9 AM to 11:30 AM on Tuesday, August 31 and Thursday September 2nd only, those seeking more information on the Port Edward program should contact Jean Marogna at Conrad School in Prince Rupert at 250-624-4935.

All Elementary Schools in Prince Rupert will have their offices open on August 30th through to September 3rd from 9 AM to 12 Noon.

For Charles Hays Secondary, Prince Rupert Middle and Pacific Coast School, the offices will be open from 9AM to 3 PM from August 30 to September 3rd.

The SD52 website has made for a lonely outpost of information over the summer, with few updates or notes for parents, guardians or students since the end of the School year in June.

Students for the most part return to the schools on September 7th for a short day of initiation, with the first day of full classroom work set for September 8th.

For updated information on the Back to School hours and first day themes for the schools of SD52, the District advises that you can review their individual websites below:

Conrad Elementary
Lax Keen Elementary
Pineridge Elementary
Port Edward Community School
École Roosevelt Park Community School
Prince Rupert Middle School
Charles Hays Secondary School
Pacific Coast School
Hartley Bay Elementary School

For those attending the City's Catholic Independent School Annunciation, more notes on their back to school themes can be reviewed here.

Also still to be relayed is how the Provincial Government plans to approach the return to School and what measures will be required as far as COVID protocols for the school year ahead.

Those themes from Minister of Education Jennifer Whiteside are expected to be released in the next week or so. 

The local School Districts will then implement a Back to School program of their own, formed through the work of the Ministry over the summer months.

One group awaiting that guidance is the British Columbia Teachers Federation, which has been making not of some of their concerns when it comes to the September return.

While they make note of the need for masks and safety measures in the schools, the BCTF has not as of yet expressed any comment on whether there should be a vaccine mandate for the provincial education system.

That is a topic that has generated some extensive discussion in other provinces as their governments announce their back to school plans for 2021 some of which call for a full vaccination program for teachers and staff. 

Whether it becomes a significant issue between the BCTF and the Ministry in this province will soon be clear as the 2021-21 school year gets ready to launch.

 The Prince Rupert District Teachers Union which was fairly active on issues of school safety in the last school year, has followed the lead it seems of SD52 and kept a fairly low profile over the summer as well, with little news to share with the public.

We'll take a look at more themes on back to school as we get closer to the September 7th return

Update: On Thursday, SD52 posted some updated information to their website related to the return to school for September 7th.

More notes on education in the Prince Rupert area is available here, while a wider Northwest archive can be explored here.