LETHBRIDGE, AB – Kids in the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division won’t have to wear masks to start off the new school year if they don’t want to.
Like the Lethbridge Public School Division, Holy Spirit has released its back to school plan for this fall.
There are some slight differences between the two divisions, including one concerning mask wearing.
Holy Spirit Superintendent, Ken Sampson says they will not be making face coverings mandatory in any of their schools this fall, including at the elementary level. He notes they’re taking their direction on this issue from Alberta’s top doctor.
“We felt that in the absence of the legislation and the associated health orders, that we’re not able to mandate that at this time,” Samson told our radio station. “If things change of course we will certainly move in that direction. We highly recommend masks and for anyone who wishes to use them, they will unequivocally be supported in that regard.”
The Lethbridge public school division, however announced Thursday it will have more stringent rules around mask wearing in its schools, mainly at the elementary level. Some mask-wearing protocols still in place in Lethbridge Public Schools for fall
Of course as per the provincial guidelines currently, all students will have to wear masks while riding school buses. The only masking rule that will be in place has to do with visitors. All visitors to Holy Spirit schools will have to wear a face covering.
Sampson says things will be as close to normal as possible to start off the year.
“We’ll be taking things like field trips slowly and those kinds of gatherings. At this time we know that the directions from the experts indicate that it’s safe to do so and schools have been declared to be safe places to work. So we are going to move forward thoughtfully and carefully,” said Sampson.
You can read Holy Spirit’s entire 2021/22 re-entry plane here: Holy Spirit Guidelines