Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP staff

By Shaun Penner

Grades 7-12

Some Peace Wapiti Public School Division students going online under new health measures

Apr 30, 2021 | 10:44 AM

With the announcement of new public health measures being implemented in COVID-19 hot spot communities, students who attend Peace Wapiti Public School Division schools in the City of Grande Prairie in Grades 7-12 will also be shifting online for at least two weeks starting Monday.

The division says in a release that Grade 7-8 students at Harry Balfour, Grade 9-12 students at Peace Wapiti Academy and Grade 7-12 at the Peace Wapiti Enterprise Centre will be shifting to at-home learning starting Monday, May 3. This aligns the division with all other Grade 7-12 students in the Swan City, who will also be moving to online learning.

These measures only impact these students in the division. All other classes and schools within PWPSD will continue with in-person learning, unless previously directed otherwise.

In an attempt to stem the rise in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Alberta government chose to implement additional measures in communities with the highest active case counts.

These restrictions apply to municipalities with more than 350 active cases per 100,000 population, with a minimum of 250 active cases as to not unfairly impact smaller communities.

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With that, the municipalities that are impacted by these new measures include the City of Grande Prairie, City of Edmonton, City of Calgary, City of Red Deer, City of Lethbridge, City of Airdrie and the County of Strathcona. Fort McMurray is also a hot spot community.

With only 194 active cases as of April 28, the County of Grande Prairie does not meet the minimum threshold of 250 active cases to be considered a hot spot.

The measures on impacted communities, which also includes a ban on all indoor fitness and sports, will be in place for a minimum of two weeks, or until the community’s active case rate falls below the threshold, whichever comes later.

PWPSD says an announcement on the date of the return to in-school learning will be made once they receive further direction from the Government of Alberta.

Families with questions, or who are in need of access to technology or additional learning supports, should call their school office, or check the school’s Facebook page for notices and updates, says the division.

Students with special needs may continue receiving services on site. The divisions asks those families to contact their school to make arrangements.