New Brunswick high schoolers will be back in the classroom full-time starting April 12th, just over three weeks from today.
The provincial government announced the change this morning, and gave no indication at the COVID-19 press conference yesterday that students would be returning to school before the scheduled reformation of the Atlantic Bubble on April 19th.
Tantramar Regional High School emailed parents to confirm that “school staff also learned of this change to the Return to School plan today.” The school will make adjustments and inform parents in the coming weeks.
High school staff are now able to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of the change. They will receive information about their vaccine appointments today, and are slated to be vaccinated next week.
Additionally, subsequent vaccine clinics will be set up for staff at elementary and middle school staff. Early childhood service providers and child care staff will be included in those subsequent clinics.
High school students are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, unless they are over 16 years old and have a complex medical condition, and/or are an Indigenous person.
Should the province switch to the red phase, the province will reevaluate whether a return to blended or online-only learning is necessary.
News on whether prom or graduation ceremonies can happen is not yet available.
More to come…