The Grande Prairie Public School Division is looking forward to welcoming back students and staff on January 10th, after the holiday break. Superintendent Sandy McDonald says he is grateful to the Alberta government for providing personal protective equipment to help ensure the safety of students, teachers, and staff as they return to class.
“We will receive a shipment of medical masks and rapid test kits for all students and staff. We are expecting to receive those the week of January 10th,” he explains. “All staff, as well as students from grades 4-12, will be required to wear them while in school. We’re glad to see the government is taking additional measures,” he says.
McDonald adds that the incredible work of the school staff during the pandemic cannot be understated.
“The work of our school staff on a daily basis to make things successful for our students and schools has been amazing. The excellence of our staff to balance that student experience with healthy and safe operations, while keeping people focused on the positives and maintaining hope and optimism for a bright future, that credit is well overdue to our staff,” he says.
Since local schools have bounced back and forth between in-person learning and online learning, McDonald notes it is nice to know that in-person learning will continue on January 10th.
“Our staff are preparing to be back after the holiday break. We always had January 10th as our return date, so it doesn’t change much for us. With the added safety measures in place, the government seems to have a good plan, and collectively, everyone is excited to get going again,” he says.