B.C. students head back to school with no COVID-19 restrictions

Nicole Byron snaps a photo of her daughter and a friend on the first day of school in North Vancouver on Sept. 6, 2022.

For the first time since 2019, British Columbia’s K to 12 students are starting a new school year with no COVID-19 restrictions in the classroom.

While dropping her daughter and a friend off at Lynn Valley Elementary in North Vancouver on Tuesday morning, Nicole Byron, a mother of three, said she had mixed feelings.

“When we reduce precautions things can spike, so a little bit nervous, but also excited for the kids to have that feeling of normalcy again, and being able to hang out with their friends and not worry quite so much,” she said.

While their classroom learning was largely uninterrupted the last two school years, Byron's daughter Julie and her friend Luci Crudl said they missed having large assemblies, concerts and other school gatherings during the pandemic.

“We could do like dances before and we had movie nights and that kind of stuff, and we didn’t get to do that,” said Crudl who is starting Grade 6.

“Definitely two years back it was very different,” said Julie, who is starting Grade 7. “But I’m excited to things start to go more back to normal.”

The school's principal, Lisa Upton, said she’s also looking forward to that return to normalcy.

“Our school community plan this year is all about connections and re-connection. We have missed each other. We want to be careful and take care of each other, and we want to be together again.”

Students and staff can be together again without masks, if they choose. Face coverings will be optional this school year, something Vancouver grandmother Judy Lee is grateful for.

“It feels really good. I don’t have to wear the mask, it’s optional, so it's great. Maybe when I get in there if there are more parents wearing it I have it ready,” said Lee as she dropped her grandchildren off at George Cunningham Elementary for their first day.

Parents who’ve been asked to stay away from their kids schools the last two and a half years will also be welcomed back.

“We are going to be hosting an open house at the end of the month, and that will get parents back in classrooms with their students as leaders showing them around, just exactly as they should be,” said Upton.

While there will be no visible COVID-19 restrictions like mask mandates or cohorts, Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside is urging parents to do a daily health check.

“They need to be paying extra attention to how their kids are feeling. We can’t have students or staff coming to work sick – that is one of the most important ways we will ensure we keep school communities safe,” she said.

There is always the possibility that protocols could change if COVID-19 infections surge once again . But for now, school looks like it did before the pandemic, and Nicole Byron is happy for her kids.

“This is going to be a big switch for them, and it’s going to be really nice for their mental health as well.”