Students across the province including some throughout the Wild Rose School Division have been walking out of classes recently to protest mask mandates that are soon coming to an end.

On Feb. 4, some students in the Wild Rose School Division walked out of class to protest mask mandates in schools.

“We were thankful that none of these demonstrations happened on school grounds or interrupted learning in anyway,” said Brad Volkman, Superintendent, Wild Rose School Division.

When asked how staff was handling the walk outs and if there was anything that could be done to prevent them, Volkman noted, “We recognize freedoms of assemble and speech are Charter rights and are an important part of democracy. We did not prevent students from taking part,” added Volkman. “In many cases, parents gave permission for their children to take part and for younger students, some parents even came to the school to pick their children up.”

Premier Jason Kenny announced on Tuesday that Alberta would be lifting restrictions on masks in schools as well as many other restrictions. Effective Feb. 14, mask are no longer required at schools. Children 12 and under will be exempt from all masking environments. In schools, masking requirements will be lifted for students of all ages.

“Now that COVID restrictions are coming to an end, I do not see any further demonstrations on this topic,” stated Volkman. “Our top priority continues to be to provide powerful learning environments in safe and welcoming schools.”