Mom says school notification process too slow after son, 10, diagnosed with COVID timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Several demonstrations featuring student performers have been held in recent weeks because of proposed cuts to music programs in the district. Saturday’s gathering, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., comes two days before the school board passes its 2021-22 budget, with music and a number of other items facing cuts. The board is trying to balance the budget despite a $7-million deficit. So far, cuts have included time dedicated to vice-principal duties. More than $1 million in music programs including Grade 6, 7 and 8 band, Grade 5 strings, middle-school strings and choirs, and a district ukulele program have faced the axe. Also under threat are educational assistants, a primary-grades reading program for students who need extra help, youth and family counsellors, programs for gifted students and the hiring of clerical staff, including library clerks.
“But it significantly went down the day after and the day after that, so I think it’s been more of a reactive piece to what the media has said and [parents’] concerns for their kids that they hear through the grapevine.” Green said close tracking has been done at Cedar Hill Middle School, which had three COVID‑19 exposure notices over the Easter long weekend, and shows a 40 per cent absentee rate for Tuesday, 38 for Wednesday and 34 for Thursday. Sunny and warm days make a difference to the situation, she said. “The better weather helps because everyone just spends more time outside.”
Right now, students in elementary and middle schools largely attend school full-time, although some have staggered start times, while many secondary schools are on a “quarter system,” where they take two in-class courses over 10 weeks, ending up with eight in a year. The goal of the system is to reduce the number of people in the school at any given time. A return to a regular schedule would be a nice change, said Jodi Whiteman, who has a son in Grade 9 at Lambrick Park Secondary and serves as secretary for the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils. “We’ll see in the fall it’s really quite far away.”
Ministry of Education looks to full return to classes in September - BC News castanet.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from castanet.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.