Education

Children walk with their parents to Sherwood Park Elementary in North Vancouver for the first day back to school on Sept. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Study reassures parents, teachers that COVID-19 infrequently shared at school

Federally funded study in Vancouver finds risk in the classroom and in the community identical

 

The Kamloops Residential School is photographed using a drone in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June, 14, 2021. Responding to complaints from an Indigenous girl and her mother, the Nova Scotia government has deleted a section from a high school correspondence course that asks students to list the positive attributes of the residential school system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Nova Scotia drops course that asked pupils to list benefits of residential schools

Education Minister calls family Thursday to apologize for the hurtful content

 

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 – Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry listens as B.C. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside describes new mask wearing policy for public schools, Feb. 4, 2021. (B.C. government)

COVID-19: No cohorts as B.C. schools expected to return to ‘near normal’ this fall

Guidance on masking to come at a later date

FILE – Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry listens as B.C. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside describes new mask wearing policy for public schools, Feb. 4, 2021. (B.C. government)
Haahuupayak School teacher Heather Lucas, left, talks to her Grade 5/6 class about the blessing ceremony they are about to perform to honour the school’s new outdoor education space, June 10, 2021. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

New learning area gives Haahuupayak School students room to connect with nature

Students bless outdoor learning space

Haahuupayak School teacher Heather Lucas, left, talks to her Grade 5/6 class about the blessing ceremony they are about to perform to honour the school’s new outdoor education space, June 10, 2021. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Eleonore Alamillo-Laberge, 6, reads a book in Ottawa on Monday, June 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Parents will need to fight ‘COVID learning slump’ over summer: B.C. literacy experts

Parents who play an active role in educating their children this summer can reverse the slump by nearly 80%, says Janet Mort

Eleonore Alamillo-Laberge, 6, reads a book in Ottawa on Monday, June 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre has embarked on a fundraising campaign, seeking to raise $1 million for establishment of an independent urban Indigenous school. Pictured here, Tsawalk Learning Centre students at an Orange Shirt Day event in September. (Submitted photo)

Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre looks to raise $1 million for urban Indigenous school

Centre says independent school would be first of its kind in B.C.

Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre has embarked on a fundraising campaign, seeking to raise $1 million for establishment of an independent urban Indigenous school. Pictured here, Tsawalk Learning Centre students at an Orange Shirt Day event in September. (Submitted photo)
Victoria’s Taya Lee, left, won Innovator of the Year in the 16 to 19 age category of the 2021 Youth Innovation Showcase, while Cranbrook’s Keanu Chan, right, won Innovator of the Year in the 12 to 15 age category.

Science Fair Foundation BC announces winners in third annual Youth Innovation Showcase

Keanu Chan and Taya Lee each win $5,000 for their innovations

  • Jun 14, 2021
Victoria’s Taya Lee, left, won Innovator of the Year in the 16 to 19 age category of the 2021 Youth Innovation Showcase, while Cranbrook’s Keanu Chan, right, won Innovator of the Year in the 12 to 15 age category.
A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Beheaded statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled Sunday in Toronto, won’t be replaced

Ryerson is credited as one of the architects of Canada’s residential school system

A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Members of the Alberni District Secondary School 2021 grad committee thank Bruce Molander, centre, of San Cedar Direct for the lumber company’s sponsorship of prom activities this year. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Corporate sponsor signs on for ADSS 2021 prom activities

San Group said decision was easy to support volunteer efforts

Members of the Alberni District Secondary School 2021 grad committee thank Bruce Molander, centre, of San Cedar Direct for the lumber company’s sponsorship of prom activities this year. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Sweatin’ for Science participants have collectively clocked 90,000+ kilometres during the fundraiser – the equivalent of more than one lap around the perimeter of BC and Yukon.

Sweatin’ for Science group collectively travels the distance of one lap around the perimeter of BC and Yukon

Funds will make science fairs more accessible for those who might not otherwise be able to take part

  • May 31, 2021
Sweatin’ for Science participants have collectively clocked 90,000+ kilometres during the fundraiser – the equivalent of more than one lap around the perimeter of BC and Yukon.
FILE – The fence of Erickson Elementary School was lined with 22 orange shirts on Sept. 30 in honour of Orange Shirt Day. (Aaron Hemens - Creston Valley Advance)

B.C. teachers to wear orange shirts to honour children found dead at residential school

Discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children was confirmed by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation

FILE – The fence of Erickson Elementary School was lined with 22 orange shirts on Sept. 30 in honour of Orange Shirt Day. (Aaron Hemens - Creston Valley Advance)
Some of this year’s Science Fair finalists found inspiration for their projects in the impacts of COVID-19. From left: Timothy Cai, Javeria Ali, Caio de Figueiroa and Hayden Persad.

2020’s experiences inspire Youth Innovation Showcase submissions

The changes COVID-19 has forced on our society have inspired several semi-finalists’…

  • May 24, 2021
Some of this year’s Science Fair finalists found inspiration for their projects in the impacts of COVID-19. From left: Timothy Cai, Javeria Ali, Caio de Figueiroa and Hayden Persad.
Rob Mah was just 20 when he hosted Strictly Jazz, a radio show on CJAV radio in Port Alberni, B.C. A fan of the Big Band era of music, he spun a lot of Dixieland jazz on his show. (PHOTO COURTESY MAH FAMILY)

QUINN’S QUIPS: Radio station’s 75th brings memories to Mah family

Celebrating the late Rob Mah’s victories timely for national Asian heritage month

Rob Mah was just 20 when he hosted Strictly Jazz, a radio show on CJAV radio in Port Alberni, B.C. A fan of the Big Band era of music, he spun a lot of Dixieland jazz on his show. (PHOTO COURTESY MAH FAMILY)
Erik Christian Oun, who worked for the Coquitlam school district, has had his teaching licence suspended for half a year. (Pixabay)

B.C. teacher suspended after calling students ‘cutie’ and ‘sweetheart’ in online messages

Erik Oun’s licence has been suspended for half a year, a decision made by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation

Erik Christian Oun, who worked for the Coquitlam school district, has had his teaching licence suspended for half a year. (Pixabay)
Children walk back to their classroom while wearing masks and physical distancing at St. Barnabas Catholic School in Scarborough, Ont., in October, 2020. A group of B.C. teachers has issued an open letter calling for the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions for children in B.C. schools. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Group of B.C. teachers calls for easing of pandemic measures for students

Teacher group says ‘response to COVID is out of balance to the cost our youth are paying’

Children walk back to their classroom while wearing masks and physical distancing at St. Barnabas Catholic School in Scarborough, Ont., in October, 2020. A group of B.C. teachers has issued an open letter calling for the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions for children in B.C. schools. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
The Science Fair Foundation BC has just announced semi-finalists for the 2021 Youth Innovation Showcase competing for $5,000 in two age categories: 12 to 15 and 16 to 19. Now in its third year, the showcase had 71 projects submitted.

Youth Innovation Showcase announces 2021 semi-finalists

The Science Fair Foundation BC has just announced the semi-finalists for the…

  • May 10, 2021
The Science Fair Foundation BC has just announced semi-finalists for the 2021 Youth Innovation Showcase competing for $5,000 in two age categories: 12 to 15 and 16 to 19. Now in its third year, the showcase had 71 projects submitted.
A physical distancing sign is seen during a media tour of Hastings Elementary school in Vancouver on Sept. 2, 2020. Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Trustees vote to end program assigning uniformed police officers to Vancouver schools

Trustees voted eight to one Monday in favour of a motion to halt the program at the end of June.

A physical distancing sign is seen during a media tour of Hastings Elementary school in Vancouver on Sept. 2, 2020. Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A teacher-librarian in Nanaimo was fired in 2019 for checking out an age-inappropriate graphic novel to a student. The discipline agreement was published Wednesday, April 21. (News Bulletin file photo)

B.C. teacher-librarian fired for checking out too-graphic graphic novel to student

Teacher had been previously disciplined and suspended on two occasions

A teacher-librarian in Nanaimo was fired in 2019 for checking out an age-inappropriate graphic novel to a student. The discipline agreement was published Wednesday, April 21. (News Bulletin file photo)
A tribute to the late Winston Joseph was set up outside the Joseph household on Saturday, April 17. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

EDITORIAL: Late community leader deserves recognition

Petitioners want AW Neill School to carry Winston Joseph’s name instead

  • Apr 21, 2021
A tribute to the late Winston Joseph was set up outside the Joseph household on Saturday, April 17. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)