WINNIPEG – A private school in Winnipeg has decided to send its senior students home to study, as COVID-19 case counts continue rising in the city. Administrators at St. Mary’s Academy have confirmed that students in grades 9 through 12 will begin learning remotely starting Monday, and say it’s the best decision for them right now.

The school says while they implemented a remote learning option as part of their initial back-to-school plan, administration has been monitoring public health information and assessing what actions to take based on current data. Grades 7 and 8 will continue to attend class, with more opportunity to maintain physical distance and group students into cohorts – but SMA staff say they may re-evaluate whether those grades will need to start learning remotely as well if the situation changes. The school saw one possible COVID-19 case last week.

Half a dozen other schools in Winnipeg have reported potential COVID-19 exposures in recent weeks, and the number of Manitoba families registered to teach their kids at home has doubled. A month into the 2020-2021 school year, nearly 7,400 students are now homeschooling.

The province announced 80 new COVID-19 cases on Monday as new rules for the Winnipeg area came into effect to bring the number of active cases down in the region.