Prairie South Given The Green Light To Re-open Schools April 12th

By Robert Thomas

After meeting with public health officials the Prairie South School Division has decided to return to normal in-person classes after the Easter break on April 12th.

In a letter to parents from director of education Tony Baldwin and board chair Robert Bachman said they had received input on both sides of the equation - to continue with on-line distance learning or return to class - but in the end decided to take the advice provided by public health officials.

“Both Medical Health Officers shared that they did not see a need for continued remote learning at this time. Data from Moose Jaw and Yorkton is consistent and shows that the processes that are in lace at schools throughout Saskatchewan are working, and that it is safe for students and staff to return on April 12th,” the letter to parents stated.

Prairie South School Division had closed schools in both Moose Jaw and Caronport to prevent the further spread of COVID -19 caused by Variants of Concern (VOC) on March 29th until the end of the Easter Break on April 12th.

VOCs are mutations of the original COVID - 19 virus which are more transmissible and more virulent. They have been seen infecting more young people than previous waves of the virus than others in the pandemic. Over time all viruses mutate to better adapt to infect and survive in their hosts.

See the entire letter to parents below.

The Holy Trinity Catholic School Division has previously announced that their students will be returning to class on April 12th last week and have not issued any letter this week cancelling or altering those plans.