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Calgary school board reconsiders overseas trips

France Paris attacks
France Paris attacks

In the wake of the Paris terror attacks and continuing threats, one Canadian school board is putting off student trips overseas.

“Recent global events have caused us to take time to reflect on trips outside of Canada,” the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said in an announcement on its website late last Thursday. “For now, any schools planning international trips have been asked to pause trip planning activities.

“We believe there is a need to take some time to make thoughtful and informed decisions.”

A day later, the CBE clarified on Twitter that it had not yet cancelled any international trips, only that it intends to consult with students, parents and teachers and expects to make a decision before winter break starts in December.

In the meantime, schools are “not be making any immediate decisions about trips, including cashing any cheques or collecting any fees.”

Other school boards have no plans to follow suit.

One of the country’s largest, the Toronto District School Board, with nearly a quarter of a million students, said there are no plans at this time to cancel or postpone overseas trips.

“However, we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” spokesman Ryan Bird told Yahoo Canada News on Monday.

A spokesman for Surrey School District — B.C.’s largest, with 71,000 students — said the superintendant has not made any change to the field trip policy and didn’t have any plans to do so.

The English Montreal School Board, responsible for about 38,000 students, said most of its scheduled school trips were cancelled due to a work-to-rule by teachers. The rest are still expected to go ahead as planned.