Anyone getting worried about March Break Travel

[marchingstar]

Is anyone in Alberta? Did they cancel the rest of the school year? The article on the CBC is confusing.

School, both K-12 and postsecondary, is cancelled indefinitely. Daycares are also closed.

I know that before today, the Chief Medical Officer of Health speculated that to be effective, this kind of shut down would need to be 8-12 weeks, not 2-3. So I think the 'indefinite' part will depend on how much of a difference the closures make?

 

[uandmfan]

School, both K-12 and postsecondary, is cancelled indefinitely. Daycares are also closed.

I know that before today, the Chief Medical Officer of Health speculated that to be effective, this kind of shut down would need to be 8-12 weeks, not 2-3. So I think the 'indefinite' part will depend on how much of a difference the closures make?

That makes more sense than already cancelling the year. Thanks for the clarification!!
I'm in Ontario and highly doubt the schools will open at the beginning of April as planned.

 

[ottawamom]

I was just on the Disney World site and resort hotels are closing March 20 and Disney Springs is closing March 17.

 

[ABMickey]

Alberta K-12 closed until September.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Alberta K-12 closed until September.

Just to be clear - classes are cancelled, but schools are not closed (yet). Teachers are still expected to go in and some students are already receiving lessons and work via digital distribution. The situation is still fluid and I expect we will get clarification in the next few days.

My hunch is, however, that we will be shutting down the country, similar to Italy, by today or tomorrow - so the above could all change.

 

[pigletto]

Just to be clear - classes are cancelled, but schools are not closed (yet). Teachers are still expected to go in and some students are already receiving lessons and work via digital distribution. The situation is still fluid and I expect we will get clarification in the next few days.

My hunch is, however, that we will be shutting down the country, similar to Italy, by today or tomorrow - so the above could all change.

Classes are cancelled until September though? I looked for any news sources on that one and can't find anything that says thats the case

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Classes are cancelled until September though? I looked for any news sources on that one and can't find anything that says thats the case

They are saying indefinitely without giving an end date at this point, from what I have read.

 

[pigletto]

They are saying indefinitely without giving an end date at this point, from what I have read.

Ok thank you. I thought I had missed something official. The idea is still so shocking to me.
Anyone else feeling like the changes are too fast and furious to deal with before the next one hits?

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Ok thank you. I thought I had missed something official. The idea is still so shocking to me.
Anyone else feeling like the changes are too fast and furious to deal with before the next one hits?

I was definitely in a bit of awe yesterday when they cancelled classes - we have 3 kids in the system. I deal with crisis management as part of my job, so I have been preparing for this scenario for a few weeks now - so it does not seem fast and furious to me, but more surreal that it's all turning out this way.

My opinion (to be clear - opinion), and what I believe they will be doing, is shutting everything down today or tonight. My belief is that only groceries and Pharma will be open after today.

 

[pigletto]

I was definitely in a bit of awe yesterday when they cancelled classes - we have 3 kids in the system. I deal with crisis management as part of my job, so I have been preparing for this scenario for a few weeks now - so it does not seem fast and furious to me, but more surreal that it's all turning out this way.

My opinion (to be clear - opinion), and what I believe they will be doing, is shutting everything down today or tonight. My belief is that only groceries and Pharma will be open after today.

Thank you and I think your opinion makes sense. We are in Ontario and my son is 15. I am grateful that he is a strong student but I will need to find some online resources for him so that he can keep learning. We will need to keep some structure.

 

[elaine amj]

My daughter is in university and it is closed Mon-Wed and moving to online classes Thursday. I have encouraged her to use this extra time to catch up on studying. At the back of my mind, I wonder...will they just end up shutting everything down? Even her online classes? Is she wasting all her effort?

On top of that, one is a media class. She has an entire video to edit. Running into problems with her laptop at home so may have to use the school's computer lab. Worried about letting her go spend the whole day in the computer lab today.

 

[hdrolfe]

Waiting on an announcement from Ontario premier, should be shortly. Then the Prime Minister this afternoon. I suspect they will close most services, but I can't imagine they will close stores completely, now I wish it was pay day because I need to get dog food and can't until tomorrow. We have enough in the house to last awhile at least, and the cats are covered for about 3 weeks. But the dog only has 5 days worth of food left. And he is in desperate need of a haircut which I have scheduled for tomorrow, like he is a fuzzy cockapoo who is at the point he can't see well from the fuzzy face. Ugh... bad timing for me. At least I was able to go pick up a working laptop for work, so I can work from home if necessary, which apparently I am lol. Critical... any way! Just still amazed how quickly this has escalated.

 

[dis_guy]

I am an Alberta teacher. We don't know for sure how long we'll be closed but it is presumed to be for the rest of the school year. The cancellation of Provincial Achievement Tests pretty much says we're done for the year. In our division, teachers and staff are to report to work but absolutely no students will be allowed in the building. I expect some online delivery, especially for high school students will become available. Everything else is up in the air. I'm not at work today as I have a slight cough after having a bit of flu and there is now a zero tolerance policy for anyone showing any kind of respiratory symptoms.

 

[JB17]

The part that I am still trying to wrap my head around with the Alberta announcements is on how to explain it to the kids that will be switching schools. My youngest is finishing grade 6 (primary) and my oldest grade 12 (high school). Both will be switching schools in fall. No sense of closure and a chance to say goodbye to friends in person.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

The part that I am still trying to wrap my head around with the Alberta announcements is on how to explain it to the kids that will be switching schools. My youngest is finishing grade 6 (primary) and my oldest grade 12 (high school). Both will be switching schools in fall. No sense of closure and a chance to say goodbye to friends in person.

I don't mean to be dramatic, but you say to them that they are in a historical, world wide response to an issue that affects each and every one of us. There are going to be hardships, sadness and disappointment and we will all have to make sacrifices. Focus on the positive and that while they are not quite finished with this part of their life, they are starting the journey in the next part of their life.

Kids won't always get it and it's up to us to either exhibit disappointment or positivity. They will usually mirror our feelings.

 

[JB17]

Kids won't always get it and it's up to us to either exhibit disappoint or positivity. They will usually mirror our feelings.

Thanks. I am usually fairly even keeled, but it has been a bad six months for the family (sudden job loss, death of friends). I had been investing a lot emotionally into our upcoming trip as a way to reset, renew, and enjoy life for a while away from some of the stress.
Yes, I said Disney is a way to remove stress
With the speed at which everything has happened over the last week I needed the reminder that this too shall pass.

 

[elaine amj]

It was hard to tell my DS17 about our change in plans. And to help him cope with his severe disappointment when his dance meet in May was cancelled. He has been practicing 2-3 hrs/day six days a week...so much hard work has gone into this. And then we cancelled our Disney trip where he was going to get to see his girlfriend (she lives nearly 4 hrs away).

I went and talked to him quietly and let him see how disappointed I was too. And explained to him why these decisions had to be made and warned him to prepare for further restrictions.

This all helped him to understand and accept these changes. We are all disappointed. And most of these things stink. But we are gearing up to do our part.

 

[FigmentSpark]

This was my son's last chance to cruise with us. He's off to university next fall (God willing) and won't have the breaks at the same time as his brother. Even if he did, his workload is going to be bigger and not condusive to that kind of travelling. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do about our normal family visit to grandma's house at Xmas, because he will be 3 hours away from us.

 

[Starwind]

This was my son's last chance to cruise with us. He's off to university next fall (God willing) and won't have the breaks at the same time as his brother. Even if he did, his workload is going to be bigger and not condusive to that kind of travelling. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do about our normal family visit to grandma's house at Xmas, because he will be 3 hours away from us.

Students usually/often come home for their XMas break, especially if they are living in residence, and especially in their first year. And their break is usually longer than K-12's have, at least it was IME.

SW

 

[FigmentSpark]

Students usually/often come home for their XMas break, especially if they are living in residence, and especially in their first year. And their break is usually longer than K-12's have, at least it was IME.

SW

That's what I thought, but I looked at the university calendar and they can have exams right up to the 23rd. So it's great if their exams are over on the 13th or 15th, but if they happen to have that last exam, he'd be stuck missing a vacation again... one we wouldn't get a credit for.