Schools

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
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)
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)
A crossing guard stops traffic as students wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 arrive at Ecole Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. A number of schools in the Fraser Health region, including Woodward Hill, have reported cases of the B.1.7.7 COVID-19 variant first detected in the U.K. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Masks required for Grade 4 and older in B.C. as part of return-to-school plan

Students will be in class full time this fall

A crossing guard stops traffic as students wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 arrive at Ecole Woodward Hill Elementary School, in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. A number of schools in the Fraser Health region, including Woodward Hill, have reported cases of the B.1.7.7 COVID-19 variant first detected in the U.K. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
File – Provincial funding for UBC improves research and innovation in 2016. (B.C. Government handout)

34 university innovation projects backed by $25M in B.C. funding

UBC, SFU, TRU and UVic all received the funds to help further studies

File – Provincial funding for UBC improves research and innovation in 2016. (B.C. Government handout)
Bradley Furman, 30, broke into tears as BC Supreme Court Justice Clarke Burnett sentenced him to a total of 38 months in prison on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (File Photo)

Ex-Okanagan teacher who sexually exploited student released after 1 year in jail

Bradley Furman is being released from prison with conditions

Bradley Furman, 30, broke into tears as BC Supreme Court Justice Clarke Burnett sentenced him to a total of 38 months in prison on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (File Photo)
NorKam secondary student Karis Wilson in the outfit that got her sent home from school on Feb. 23, 2021. (Kamloops This Week photo)

School district dress code changed after B.C. teen sent home for turtleneck, lace-edged dress

Karis Wilson said she was sent home because a teacher told her that her outfit had made her uncomfortable

  • Jul 7, 2021
NorKam secondary student Karis Wilson in the outfit that got her sent home from school on Feb. 23, 2021. (Kamloops This Week photo)
Seven-year-old Eva Mailhot Maclean plays in a playground in Montreal, Saturday, May 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

B.C. study probes if more time in the shade as a child prevents skin cancer in adulthood

Researchers will install shade structures outside and track preschool-age children for six months while they play

Seven-year-old Eva Mailhot Maclean plays in a playground in Montreal, Saturday, May 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Central Okanagan Grade 12 grads are set to get $500 each after a more than $1 million donation from a Kelowna couple. (File photo)

B.C. couple donating $500 to every Grade 12 student in the Okanagan

Anonymous donors identified as Kelowna entrepreneurs Lance and Tammy Torgerson

Central Okanagan Grade 12 grads are set to get $500 each after a more than $1 million donation from a Kelowna couple. (File photo)
Himalayan Life helped finance the construction of Nepal’s Yangri Academic Centre and dormitories after a 2015 earthquake devastated the valley, killing more than 9,000 people. (Screen grab/Peter Schaeublin)

B.C. charity founder pledges to rebuild Nepalese school swept away by flash floods

Six years after an earthquake killed more than 9,000 people, Nepal faces another catastrophy

Himalayan Life helped finance the construction of Nepal’s Yangri Academic Centre and dormitories after a 2015 earthquake devastated the valley, killing more than 9,000 people. (Screen grab/Peter Schaeublin)
FILE – A science class at L.A. Matheson Secondary in Surrey, B.C. on March 12, 2021. (Lauren Collins/Surrey Now Leader)

Teachers’ union wants more COVID transmission data as B.C. prepares for back-to-school

BCTF says that details will be important as province works on plan for September

FILE – A science class at L.A. Matheson Secondary in Surrey, B.C. on March 12, 2021. (Lauren Collins/Surrey Now Leader)