School is back in session over the next couple of days, with students and families getting ready for another year.

That may not be typical, due to a lot of new policies being put in place by school divisions.

After the provincial government put out a guideline on what they'd want to see in schools, many divisions ended up following that, along with advice from local medical professionals.

Some of these measures include masks inside the schools but not in classrooms, though exactly who has to wear a mask and where changes based on the age group and vaccination status.

Others include staying home when sick, having any visitors be masked, and report to the office.

Director of education for the holy family school division Gwen Keith says the school division is ready to go.

"We've got, I think, some really clear patheways given the uncertainty that exists in the larger community with COVID," said Keith, "But we're confident that we are set up ready for the school to start and, you know, each of the schools have their own plan that is tailored to our so we're ready to go."

Keith says that the whole objective of the COVID agenda is to reduce the risk of exposure while also minimizing any impact that might have on education.

"We're trying to make sure we're taking care of our most vulnerable in terms of health conditions," said Keith, "In light of it all, we're really trying to be as normalized as we can within that context. We stay very close to the recommendations that come from our local medical health people."

"As director of education I've certainly had discussions with parents over the last week," said Keith, "But when I look at the number of people who have strong opinions on these topics, they're very few."

Keith also pointed out professional training to help with staying safe and says she hopes everyone has a fun and safe school year.