The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have announced that their members will not be at work on Friday, November 4, 2022, as part of a province-wide full withdrawal of service.
IF this takes place, we will be unable to safely operate our schools for students, and all schools will be CLOSED to students on Friday, November 4, 2022.
This is a rapidly evolving situation that we are following closely.
We will provide confirmation to families on Thursday afternoon/evening, as soon as we are able, about school status for Friday, November 4, through School Messenger (direct email), website and social media platforms.
We appreciate that the potential of closing our schools is difficult news, and not a decision that we make lightly, but without CUPE education workers on-site, we could not ensure our schools would be safe for all students. This course of action is based on supervision of students; medical support and care for all students; safe operation of water and sanitation systems, including required water flushing; conditions of school buildings and classrooms, and overall safety and security.
Asynchronous Learning
If schools are closed, teachers will provide asynchronous learning opportunities for students by sending materials home Thursday, or through their regular communication platforms (e.g., Edsby, Google, D2L). Students may complete this work any time on Friday.
If the job action extends beyond Friday, information will be shared about a technology deployment plan.
For students enrolled in our virtual schools, programming will proceed as usual on Friday.
Child Care
If schools are closed on Friday, child care centres will be permitted to remain open. Families should contact their child care operator directly for more information.
Before and after school programs, early years centres and facility partner programs will be closed.
Community Use of Schools/Permits
If schools are closed on Friday, all school permits will be cancelled for the day. We will provide further information to community use groups about future permits.
We sincerely appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding as we continue our planning in response to these provincial issues.
If there are any positive developments between the province and CUPE that may avert Friday’s withdrawal of service, we will message families directly. This may include communications late into the night on Thursday – please check your emails regularly throughout the evening and watch for any developments reported by the media.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
