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You are here: Home / Featured / Schools to open at 100% capacity

Schools to open at 100% capacity

July 17, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson 1 Comment

Bicentennial School in Dartmouth closed abruptly in the spring because of the pandemic. Photo: Halifax Examiner

The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free.

Public Schools will re-open at full capacity in the fall, said Nova Scotia’s Education Minister Zach Churchill following yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

“Our plan is basically to get students back to school at 100% capacity with full curriculum,” said Churchill. “We know that’s where they are going to do their best. It’s best for families as well and for the teaching and learning environment. Of course we do have to be responsive to any developing situation with COVID-19. So we do have some fallback positions — either at 50% capacity or all the way down to zero — if the situation necessitates that from a Public Health perspective. Details of what that will look like will be available next Wednesday.”

Churchill said in arriving at that decision the Education Department has been informed by discussions with the IWK Children’s Hospital, Public Health, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, and the more than 20,000 surveys received from parents and students describing their experience learning from home. 

On the university front, Advanced Education and Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis was asked by reporters if he planned to intervene in the very public controversy around NSCAD’s Board of Governors’ decision to sack the Art College president.

“The government does not run the institution,” said Kousoulis, “it is independent. We have not lost confidence in the Board of Governors. With what has transpired, we are nowhere near looking at getting rid of the Board or intervening or making decisions on behalf of the Board.”

Kousoulis was equally hands off when asked if he would intervene with St. Francis Xavier University’s decision to make incoming students sign a waiver absolving the University of any liability related to COVID-19. St. FX plans to deliver more than 70% of its instruction through in-person classes, one of the highest percentages in the country. Kousoulis says he had a telephone conversation with student leaders this week and he is convinced he won’t need to intervene because the University is already preparing to make changes based on requests from its students. 

“The student leaders are in discussions with the University to actually change the waiver so it could change to more of a Code of Conduct type document,” said the Advanced Education Minister. “At this point, I’m quite certain that the waiver that was circulated is not the waiver that students will be asked to sign.”


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Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House

About Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Henderson is a freelance journalist and retired CBC News reporter. email: [email protected]

Trackbacks

  1. Julia M. Wright: Independence of universities doesn't end at boardroom door - Nova Scotia Advocate says:
    August 24, 2020 at 8:37 am

    […] KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – There’s been a lot of concern in recent weeks about the boards that are responsible for some decisions at Nova Scotia universities, primarily because of the abrupt end to the presidency of Dr. Aoife Mac Namara at NSCAD. The Minister for Advanced Education and Labour has declined to intervene: “’The government does not run the institution,’ said Kousoulis, ‘it is independent.’”  […]

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

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In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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