VICTORIA A Duncan middle school and nearby homes were evacuated Friday afternoon after a resident discovered explosives while they were out gardening. RCMP said that an explosive disposal unit was on its way to the 3000-block of Auchinachie Road where the explosives were found around 12:40 p.m. As a precaution, police have evacuated Mt. Prevost Middle School and nearby homes as the investigation is underway. Students and staff at Mt. Prevost Middle School gathered at the Somenos soccer fields at Evans Park while the school cancelled the remainder of the day s classes. By 2 p.m., all students had been picked up by parents, according to the Cowichan Valley School District.
VICTORIA The Cowichan Valley School District (SD79) has installed cameras across its school bus fleet to improve safety for children entering and exiting the buses. For years, school bus drivers on Vancouver Island have raised concerns about vehicles passing parked school buses that are offloading kids, resulting in terrifying close calls. Now, SD79 says that both exterior and interior cameras have been added to their buses to help improve overall safety. The North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP will be working closely with the Cowichan Valley School District with the same goal: to keep our children safe while being transported to and from school, said Candace Spilsbury, chair of the board of education for SD79 in a release Thursday.
Cowichan School District Buses Equipped with Cameras
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The Cowichan Valley School District has put cameras on its fleet of yellow school buses.
The system includes four interior cameras and three exterior cameras.
The interior cameras provide important information about mask-wearing, length of interactions, and distance between riders, and will support contact tracing in the event of an exposure.
Health investigators will be able to request detailed information about student and staff interactions on the bus.
The exterior cameras will record images of drivers who pass a school bus while its flashing red lights are illuminated for children to get on or off the buses.
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The Cowichan Valley School District has mobilized its Critical Incident Response Team following the death of a 17-year old student from North Cowichan early Monday morning.
The CIRT provides support to students, staff, or affected family members after traumatic incidents, whether they happen during school hours, or after hours.
District Superintendent Robin Gray says, “early this week we were made aware of the tragic death of one of our students. Our hearts and thoughts go out to his family, friends, and community.”
The Cowichan Valley School District is reaching out to any student who may need support.
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