The Peace River School Division's Board of Trustees approved an alternate school year calendar for Menno Simons Community School for an additional three years, providing the results remain positive at each annual review.

Menno Simmons was first granted an alternate calendar in the 2023-2024 school year. The alternate calendar provides staff and students with two additional holidays to accommodate religious holidays recognized by the majority of the Menno Simons school community, and sees students in Kindergarten through Grade 9 finish school following the second week in June. The shorter school year is made possible by having less time for lunch and recess in order to achieve the government-required amount of instructional time.

During the discussion, Superintendent Adam Murray said that having not quite one-year of data has not provided enough information to accurately measure what kind of effect the alternate calendar has had on the school. While the Menno Simons School Council has indicated they feel the alternate calendar has been positive for the staff and students in their community, Murray said over the next three years he would be looking at enrollment numbers, hoping to see them return to historical levels or higher, as well as academic achievement, hoping to see continued movement in the right direction. 

Murray also told the trustees he would never want an alternate school calendar to jeopardize the high school programming in small schools, which is why the Menno Simons calendar only applies to K-9 students.

View the 2024-25 Alternate Calendar HERE