Schools

Facilities planning survey online until Nov. 8. (SD42/Special to The News)

Public input needed for SD42 facilities planning

The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District survey online now

Facilities planning survey online until Nov. 8. (SD42/Special to The News)
Benveet (Bean) Gill spoke to students at Maple Ridge secondary about overcoming challenges. (Rick Hansen Foundation/Special to The News)

Maple Ridge secondary students learn about overcoming discrimination

Rick Hansen Foundation Ambassador shares story of being a disabled woman of colour

Benveet (Bean) Gill spoke to students at Maple Ridge secondary about overcoming challenges. (Rick Hansen Foundation/Special to The News)
FILE – Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Teachers’ union calls for more speed, clarity on COVID-19 exposures

BCTF said teachers noticing ‘significant inconsistencies’ in how outbreaks, clusters, exposures are classified

FILE – Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
UBC study finds 57 per cent of kids have witnessed race-based bullying in schools. (File photo)

Most Canadian kids experience racialized bullying at school: study

Fifty-eight percent of youth aged 12-18 say they’ve witnessed race-based bullying

UBC study finds 57 per cent of kids have witnessed race-based bullying in schools. (File photo)
B.C. Premier John Horgan speaks after the B.C. Lions CFL football team announced they would recognize the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Vancouver on Thursday, September 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Mandatory vaccination for B.C. school staff up to boards, says B.C. premier

Horgan: Mandatory vaccines a last resort and elected trustees best know what’s needed

B.C. Premier John Horgan speaks after the B.C. Lions CFL football team announced they would recognize the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Vancouver on Thursday, September 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
New data suggests COVID-19 has accelerated the decline in mental health among young Canadians. (Black Press Media File)

B.C. teachers eager to EASE high school anxiety

New resource aimed at high-levels of anxiety among high school students

New data suggests COVID-19 has accelerated the decline in mental health among young Canadians. (Black Press Media File)
FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Tracker says B.C. schools recording COVID-19 exposures at 10 times last year’s rate

Volunteer moms have logged more than 1,000 cases, ‘and it is only early October’

FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Six sets of twins are attending Parkview Elementary School in Sicamous for the 2021-22 school year. From left to right, their names are: Levi and Cody Clark, Kate and Reese Osmundson, Maxx and Maycie-Jean Lane, Dustin and Dillon Hilder, Emily and Nathan Presley, and Aurora and Logan Dawson. (Zachary Roman/Eagle Valley News)

Seeing double: 1 in 17 kids attending Shuswap school are twins

There are six sets of twins at Parkview Elementary in Sicamous

Six sets of twins are attending Parkview Elementary School in Sicamous for the 2021-22 school year. From left to right, their names are: Levi and Cody Clark, Kate and Reese Osmundson, Maxx and Maycie-Jean Lane, Dustin and Dillon Hilder, Emily and Nathan Presley, and Aurora and Logan Dawson. (Zachary Roman/Eagle Valley News)
Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Masks mandatory for all K-12 students in B.C. schools as of today

Mandate has been extended to younger students

Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Harry Dhillon, superintendent for School District 42, posted a letter to parents on Friday, Oct. 1, about the province’s revised mask mandate for schools. (SD42/Special to The News)

Masks now mandatory for K-3 students in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

Masks required for all students in school and on buses

Harry Dhillon, superintendent for School District 42, posted a letter to parents on Friday, Oct. 1, about the province’s revised mask mandate for schools. (SD42/Special to The News)
Maple Ridge Christian School is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak. (Google Maps)

Possibly more COVID-19 cases at Maple Ridge Christian

Letter dated Sept. 30 says school is aware of multiple positive cases in Grades 6/7 classes

Maple Ridge Christian School is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak. (Google Maps)
Avalynn Kwok, 4, holds her dad Manny Kwok’s hand outside Lynn Valley Elementary School as her parents drop her off for her first day of kindergarten in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. resumes online posting of COVID ‘potential exposure events’ in schools

Health ministry back pedals after parents expressed worry about no online notifications

Avalynn Kwok, 4, holds her dad Manny Kwok’s hand outside Lynn Valley Elementary School as her parents drop her off for her first day of kindergarten in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Vancouver school board mandates masks for K-3 students, citing uptick in COVID among kids

Provincial health order only mandates masks for children in Grade 4 and up

FILE – Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
The Safe Schools Coalition, a group of parents, guardians and teachers, held a rally at Holland Park on Saturday (Aug. 28) to pusher for stronger COVID-19 measures going into the 2021-22 school year on Sept. 7. They’re asking for mask mandate for all grades, better ventilation, distancing and remote options. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

‘It’s really frustrating’: BCTF fears more school closures due to lack of COVID safety measures

BCTF president Teri Mooring renews calls for K–12 mask mandate and ventilation improvements

The Safe Schools Coalition, a group of parents, guardians and teachers, held a rally at Holland Park on Saturday (Aug. 28) to pusher for stronger COVID-19 measures going into the 2021-22 school year on Sept. 7. They’re asking for mask mandate for all grades, better ventilation, distancing and remote options. (Photo: Lauren Collins)
A second-grader has her mask adjusted before heading into school for the day. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. parents crowdsourcing COVID-19 school exposures in lieu of provincial information

Health ministry choosing to only publicly report outbreaks, clusters

A second-grader has her mask adjusted before heading into school for the day. (Black Press Media file photo)
All six of the secondary schools in the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District had bathrooms vandalized because of a TikTok challenge. (THE NEWS-files)

Secondary schools in SD42 vandalized after TikTok challenge goes viral

Vandalism at schools include spilled red Kool-Aid, damaged soap and towel dispensers

All six of the secondary schools in the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District had bathrooms vandalized because of a TikTok challenge. (THE NEWS-files)
A majority of parents are comfortable sending their kids back to school for in-class learning according to a new Angus Reid survey.(Black Press file photo).

Majority of B.C. parents comfortable with kids back in schools: poll

Angus Reid survey says nine in ten parents prefer in-class learning versus online

A majority of parents are comfortable sending their kids back to school for in-class learning according to a new Angus Reid survey.(Black Press file photo).
A BCAA survey found 68 per cent of respondents believe school zone traffic will be more chaotic than usual this year. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)

Distracted parents in drop-off zones a top concern for back-to-school rush: BCAA

About 72 students are injured in school zones every year, according to the roadside assistance company

A BCAA survey found 68 per cent of respondents believe school zone traffic will be more chaotic than usual this year. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Back to school Q&A: Is it safe for unvaccinated students? What’s the harm of school closures?

Students are getting ready to head back to classrooms across much of Canada

Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back-to-school Thursday, September 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Students don face coverings as they wait in line to enter for the first day of in-class learning since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

B.C. teachers say back-to-school plan doesn’t address testing, ventilation concerns

BCTF president Teri Mooring is calling for the province to do more to mitigate the risks of COVID-19

Students don face coverings as they wait in line to enter for the first day of in-class learning since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)