LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. For most Lethbridge schools, Thursday was the last day of in-school classes until after the May long weekend. One school official described it as “a hectic dash to Monday” for teachers preparing to transition to on-line learning starting Monday. “We got a backpack full of stuff,” said Jessica Solvey, who was picking up her five-year-old daughter Charlie after her morning kindergarten class at Senator Buchanan Elementary School. “We’re ready to do some on-line, at-home learning.” Solvey said she and her husband work different shifts, so childcare won’t be a problem, but she understands the challenges that many families will be facing, including single parents.
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Premier Jason Kenney has pledged to impose stronger public health measures this week as Alberta’s daily COVID-19 case count continues trending above 2,000.
A package of stricter restrictions is being prepared and is expected to be announced Tuesday, the premier said during a Monday news conference, though he did not specify what industries might be impacted by those measures.
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“If these numbers continue to go up at their current speed, we won’t be able to cope in our hospitals,” he said.
Author of the article: Travis Dosser
Publishing date: Apr 30, 2021 • April 30, 2021 • 2 minute read • Deneen Zielke, Elk Island Local 28 president, said on the heels of a hugely taxing year, pivoting and adjusting numerous times to changing situations, teachers are exhausted both mentally and physically and they shouldn t have to deal with the stress of testing the draft curriculum next school year. Photo Supplied
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The president of Elk Island Local 28, the local branch of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, recently thanked the Elk Island Public School board for not volunteering to test the province’s controversial K-6 draft curriculum.
“On the heels of a hugely taxing year, pivoting and adjusting numerous times to changing situations, teachers are exhausted both mentally and physically and are just trying to drag themselves and their students across the finish line,” Deneen Zielke, Elk Island Local 28 president told EIPS’ board of
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About 40 Alberta school boards have now publicly declined to pilot the UCP government’s massive changes to Alberta’s education curriculum.
Elk Island Catholic Schools has joined the other boards across the province in choosing not to test out the K-6 draft curriculum.
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“Elk Island Catholic Schools will not be piloting Alberta’s draft K-6 curriculum but will continue to work with our administration, teachers and parent community in reviewing the curriculum and providing suggested revisions to the Ministry of Education,” stated EICS board chair Ted Paszek. “As a division, our key priority remains continuity of student learning during the COVID-19 world pandemic.”
“What is happening in Alberta?” My Ontario friends often ply me with questions like these, knowing I’ll give them the Coles Notes of my province’s current events. But recently there was really only one thing they were asking about. The provincial government just dropped a draft of our new provincial elementary curriculum and it’s a dumpster fire that man can t (or shouldn t) look away from. Whenever the word curriculum comes up in the news cycle, I get a bit nerdy. This is my jam! I was a high school social studies and English teacher before my second kid was born, and I have a master’s degree in education. But I take no glee in analyzing the chaotic learning outcomes in this draft. To quote Dr. Carla Peck, a University of Alberta education professor specializing in social studies, “the fatal flaw is in the overall design and intent of the curriculum; it cannot be fixed by tweaking it.”