Public school board issues travel advisory for school trips
A total of nine trips are scheduled for the United States between March 23 and June 8
The local public school board has issued a travel update for students who will be going abroad in the coming months after concerns were raised by a small number of parents and by members of the community at large.
"We keep [trips] under review all the time," said Nick Manning, chief communication officer for Waterloo Region District School Board
"The message this week is really just to let people know ... [about] the changing situation in the U.S. and people having expressed concern. We just want to let people know that we are monitoring that."
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Manning said WRDSB has reviewed all student trips to determine if any should be postponed or cancelled.
Nine trips scheduled for the United States between March 23 and June 8 will also go ahead as planned.
Manning said the school board continues to monitor the border situation, heading advice published by the government.
Schools and travel teams are also working with parents and students to make sure all travel documentation is prepared prior to departure.
Vimy Ridge
Although travel to Belgium and France has been identified as an elevated risk according to the Canadian government, the school board has decided not to cancel any trips, which were planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge.
Manning said the board has added additional safety measures, such as having an international travel cell phone plan.
Manning said that if the government increases the warning level from "elevated risk" to "avoid all non-essential travel," which is the next level up, then the board would start to cancel trips.