Saying it is a move being done to protect the health of students. teachers and staff, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation is advising its members to not volunteer for extracurricular activities.

In a release issued late Tuesday afternoon, STF president Patrick Maze says ““Our priority as teachers and community leaders is to ensure the safety of our students as our schools re-open and that significant effort has been undertaken to ensure safety of students such as cohorting, restricting travel and staggered start times. Providing extracurricular activities undermine these efforts.”

The decision of whether or not to proceed with such activities this school year has been left to the discretion of each school division. Teacher participation in extracurricular activities is strictly voluntary.

“It’s important to remember that when Saskatchewan students return to their classrooms on September 8, they will not have been in a classroom for over five months. Gaps in learning already exist at the beginning of a normal school year, and COVID-19 is only going to widen those gaps,” said Maze. “While we recognize the important role that extracurricular activities can have on students’ well-being, our priority has to be on their safety and education.”

Maze feels this move will allow everyone to focus on safety and education as they adjust to the new measures in place to deal with COVID-19.