Extra-curricular activities put on hold in some Montreal schools

Students looking forward to joining a sports teamor acting in the school play this year may not get the chance.

Extra-curricular activitiesat schools in theEnglish Montreal School Boardappear to havebeen put on hold,with teachers hoping the move will put pressure on the provincial government during collective agreement negotiations.

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Royal West Academy, ahigh school in Montreal West, announced the change in a statementto parents on Tuesday.

"As of immediately, teachers atRoyalWestand other EMSB schools will suspend all participation in extra-curricular activities," the school administrationsaid.

"The only exceptions to date will be grade level trips and exchanges for which a contract has been signed, and a deposit made with a travel agency."

Royal West addedthat, "as a result of our tremendous respect for the work our teachers do, in and outside the classroom, wewill be suspending our entire ECA program."

A spokespersonfrom the EMSBdeclined to comment, instead referring CBC to a statement from the school board's director generalAnn Marie Matheson,explaining thatemployees are currently in contract talks with the province.

"As a new school year gets underway, we may experience some pressure tactics aimed at bringing attention to the concerns raised by the different unions," the statement said.

While some schools say it's still too early to tell what this might mean for extra-curricular activities towards the end of the school year, students are nevertheless concerned.

School will 'feel like a chore'

Henry Egan, a Grade 10 student at Royal West, said his favourite part about the school is the after-school acting program.

"I love acting because it's a release for me.It lets me be myself and it's where I feel comfortable with myself," he said.

He said the elimination of such activities will make school feel more "like a chore."

LeelaShamash, a Grade 11 student at the same school, agreed, sayingshe supports her teachers.

"I know the teachers who are pouring their hearts and souls into running these activities for us really deserve like a lot of recognition and a lot of like reward for the hours that they're putting in that they aren't getting," she said.

The QuebecProvincialAssociation of Teachersis strongly encouraging its members to boycott extra-curricularprograms.

Isabelle Daniels, who teaches atWillingdon ElementarySchool in NDG, said it's a difficult but necessary move.

"The only way the government will hear us, the only way that will make a difference is we have to stop it and we feel terrible about this but this is something we have to do to be heard," Daniels said.