The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District is making plans for a full return to the classroom next year, but say they won’t know exactly what that will look like for students until August.

“We actually won’t know what the next school year will look like until we receive guidance from the PHO, (Public Health Officer), and the Ministry of Education in late August,” explained Irena Pochop with SD42, adding that any discussion on the topic right now would be entirely speculative.

On June 17, the provincial government confirmed that students, families, teachers, and staff, should be preparing to be back in the classroom, where students will be saying goodbye to learning groups, according to the Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Although online learning, distributed learning programs, and homeschooling will still be made available for students.

Students who become ill will still be required to stay home. Students will also be required to continue to wash their hands regularly, and complete daily health checks.

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A provincial steering committee made up of educators, parents, support workers, school leaders, trustees, First Nations, Metis Nation, and public health experts are continuing their work with the Ministry of Education and the BC Centre for Disease Control to finalize health and safety guidelines for the new school year.

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The new guidelines that will be posted in August will address masks, gatherings, extracurricular activities, and sports.

SD42 superintendent Harry Dhillon will be releasing more information about what the new guidelines will mean for Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows students once the district receives the new public health guidance, said Pochop.

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