JAMIE RIEGER
Alberta Newspaper Group
As coronavirus rapidly makes its way around the globe, decisions have to made in regards to international travel. Students from Eagle Butte High School were to embark on a trip to Greece during their Easter break in April, but trustees voted at their March 10 meeting to cancel the trip.
“We anticipate it will hit our area at some time. There are things recommended by Alberta Health to mitigate the exchange of germs, but we don’t have the answers yet from Alberta Health. We know as individuals what we need to do, but this is about the whole school. If students or staff come in contact with it, we don’t have those answers yet,” said PRSD superintendent Roger Clarke.
“Some places have shut down. Everybody is starting to react. It’s a very fluid scenario. China and South Korea have crested. Other countries have not.”
Trustee Graeme Dennis made the motion to cancel the school trip “for the safety of the students, the staff, and the community.”
Prairie Mennonite Alternative School presentation
Principal Tracy Frank told trustees that after a visit by representatives from the Alberta School Council Association, the school is now an official member of the organization.
Frank talked about having second-year nursing students attend the school twice a week for eight weeks to teach the students about food and nutrition.
The school received a grant from Ever Active Schools that has been used for games on the playground, activities at recess and for DPA (Daily Physical Activity) kits.
They recently held their first Scholastic book fair and raised close to $2,000, $1,100 of which is being used to purchase books for their popular new library.
Four Grade 9 boys presented a short film to trustees of daily activities that take place at Prairie Mennonite Alternative School, showing students playing floor hockey in their new gymnasium, which is widely popular with the students as they did not have a gym at their old location in Redcliff.
When asked what they liked best about their new school, the boys said the gym, library and having more space in the classrooms was the best features.
Frank told trustees that the space provides more opportunities for learning, such as hands-on learning for science.
When the Mennonite Alternative School was located in Redcliff, they relied on the Redcliff Library for resources, so having their own library at the new school has been meant a lot to the students.
Frank also told trustees that they hope to have more than 100 students enrolled for the next school year.
