The Living Sky School Division and Light of Christ School Division will not have high school athletics through at least the first month of the school year this fall, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

No sports September

High school athletics postponed through September

Aug 21, 2020 | 2:48 PM

When students return to the classroom this fall, there will be many new protocols and adjustments to get used to, but perhaps amongst the biggest will be the postponement of high school sports for at least the first month of the school year.

Living Sky School Division and Light of Christ School Division have announced they have postponed all high school athletics, and most of their extra-curricular activities in general, for the month of September.

Superintendent of Learning with the Living Sky School Division, Tonya Lehman, said while it was not an easy decision, it was one the governing bodies felt was necessary, at least for the time being.

“We want to ensure a safe start to back to school for our staff and our students,” Lehman said. “We have many new protocols and routines that we’re implementing to ensure that safety, and we want to do that in a really effective way. We want to make sure our kids and our staff come back to buildings where they’re able to get those practices underway.”

Lehman said nothing has been set in stone beyond the month of September, as to if/when sporting programs will be reinserted into schools.

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She said over the month of September, Living Sky School Division will be working closely with Light of Christ School Division and the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association, to monitor how things transpire and determine the next course of action for the schools at that point.

Lehman said the school division understands the value of sports, and has a great respect for the positive influence athletics can have on the lives of staff and students, alike. However, she said doing everything they can to ensure the health and safety of all is what is most important at this time.

“We as a school division, value our extra-curricular activities and our high school sports,” she said. “We value the commitment and fun that it brings to our schools and for our students, and appreciate the extra hours that our teachers put in.”

“It isn’t that we don’t see this as a loss for us at this point, but we also know that we haven’t been in schools for some time and that we’re going back to a new normal,” Lehman continued. “We want to be able to do that first before we take on more things in the future.”

Schools are expected to be posting their individual return to class protocols on their websites and social media platforms over the next week, as the start of the school year nears ever closer, early next month.

battlefordsNOW reached out to Light of Christ Catholic School Division, but they were unavailable for comment prior to publishing.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1