The Flin Flon School Division is proposing tweaks to its existing school schedules for elementary and middle school students, starting and ending the school day a bit earlier.
The changes, if put into practice, would affect Grades 1-6 students at Ruth Betts Community School and Ecole McIsaac School and were announced March 10. If approved, Ruth Betts would continue to ring the bell at 8:45 a.m., but would start classes at 8:50 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. Class slots would continue to be 30 minutes, but the change at the start of the day would mean recess would start at 10:20 a.m. instead of 10:30 a.m. and a lunch break starting at 11:35 a.m. instead of 11:45 a.m.
Changes will continue after lunch, where school is back in session with a bell ringing at 12:50 p.m. (not 1 p.m.) and classes starting at 12:55 p.m. (not 1:10 p.m.). Afternoon classes will remain the same length, but due to the changes in the morning and lunch time, class would end at 3:40 p.m. instead of 3:55 p.m.
At McIsaac, similar changes have been proposed, with classes starting at 8:55 a.m. instead of 9 a.m., leaving for lunch at 11:40 a.m. and not 11:50 a.m., coming back to class for a 12:55 p.m. bell and 1 p.m. start instead of a 1:05 p.m. bell and 1:15 start and dismissal at 3:45 p.m., rather than 4 p.m.
Junior high courses at the two schools would be unchanged, aside from changes in dismissal times - instead of operating in 30 minute blocks, junior high courses at the two schools operate in 40 minute blocks without a 15 minute recess period.
“A request was brought forward to the Flin Flon School Division Board of Trustees to revisit a proposed altered end of school day,” reads a letter detailing the FFSD plan sent out to parents and publicly released earlier this month.
“Dismissal times between schools in our area would be closer aligned and more consistent with other elementary schools in Manitoba.”
Changes to the division’s dismissal schedule have been floated for years, with actual changes brought into place on a temporary basis during the pandemic when cohorting procedures forced schools to stagger dismissals, moving kids out of school at five- or 10-minute intervals.
“The proposal came from some school administrators and there is a Google form attached to the letter for parents/guardians to give feedback to the schools regarding the proposal,” said FFSD superintendent Tammy Ballantyne.
“It’s in the very beginning stages. Once the feedback is received, admin will present to the board. Following all that, depending on the results, the trustees will vote on the proposal.”
While dismissal changes have been proposed, larger-scale changes, like those proposed in 2021 by the division and board, are most likely off the table. Last year, the division proposed a realignment of grades and services that would have, if approved, put all Flin Flon Kindergarten-Grade 4 students at Ruth Betts Community School, all Grades 5-8 students at Ecole McIsaac School and kept classes the same at Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre. After several letters and presentations against the changes and a pair of town-hall style meetings, all but two members of the board of trustees voted against the proposed changes.
Trustees also confirmed that similar changes to those proposed last year were unlikely to be on the table this year.
