With September just around the corner, students and parents may be wondering what is in store for this fall.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a situation educators across the Greater Victoria School District have been cautiously monitoring.

Esquimalt High School principal Tina Pierik told Black Press Media that staff were waiting on direction from the Ministry of Education and that their biggest questions for the fall are whether masks will be mandatory in schools and whether current public health orders will be toned down.

B次元官网网址淥ur goal is to have as normal a year as possible for students,B次元官网网址� Pierik said, adding she is confident things will be much less stringent this year and that students will continue to diligently abide by any protocols that remain in place.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 actually very proud of how our students did,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址楪o this way, donB次元官网网址檛 touch thisB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� they followed the rules better than the adults did.B次元官网网址�

Lisa McPhail, communications and community engagement manager for the Greater Victoria School District, said in an email to Black Press Media that SD61 awaits final direction from the province. The Ministries of Health and Education are expected to publish guidelines for the upcoming school year later this month.

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The Ministry of Education said in a statement it initially provided schools with health and safety guidance and a recovery plan in June for the fall semester. With case counts on the rise, the ministry is continuing to work closely with public health experts and its provincial K-12 steering committee to ensure a safe start to the academic year for the more than 600,000 public and independent school students in B.C.

B次元官网网址淪ince day one, the safety of students and staff in our schools has been our highest priority, and that will continue this school year,B次元官网网址� the statement said. B次元官网网址淭hanks to our efforts and the hard work of the sector, we were able to keep schools open and safe last year while other jurisdictions did not.B次元官网网址�

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The ministryB次元官网网址檚 annual maintenance programs have helped improve heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at over 400 schools in the last four years. A total of $10 million in federal pandemic funding was also used by districts during the last academic year to improve over 45,000 air and ventilation filters in the provinceB次元官网网址檚 schools.

This year, the ministry will provide $14.4 million for districts to improve the air quality in their schools and has worked with the BC Teachers Federation to prioritize maintenance for school districts in areas with higher COVID-19 exposure rates.

The ministryB次元官网网址檚 statement said it will continue to plan safety measures based on the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 and provincial vaccine roll-out.

For more information on the upcoming school year, visit .

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