A Calgary Catholic school has segregated and since banned a student from attending school for not wearing a mask, says the student’s parents..And before that, teachers had even taped off an area around the boy’s desk “like a crime scene.”.Darius Lynn, a Grade 9 student at St. Helena Junior High School in Calgary, suffers from asthma and was permitted to go maskless at his desk during the 2020-2021 school year..When Darius returned to St. Helena for the 2021-2022 school year, without his parents’ knowledge, he was advised he would be required to wear a mask full time..He complied for the first few months but eventually reported to his parents in late November he was struggling to breathe while wearing the mask..“I had no idea he was told to wear a mask again this year,” Darius’ mother Stephanie told the Western Standard..“My husband and I just assumed he wasn’t needing to wear a mask again this year.”.Stephanie said she and her husband Paul reached out to the new principal and Darius’ teachers to request they allow their son the same exemption as the previous year..They were told he would need a doctor’s note, which Stephanie said they have been unable to acquire..“Mask exemptions are impossible to get,” said Stephanie..“Right now, doctors are just too scared to write them.”.Stephanie said the school’s solution was to, “move my son’s desk into the hallway.”.Darius also spoke with the Western Standard and said the teenagers in his class referred to him as an “outsider” after he was moved into the hallway..“When they did group projects, they would just send me to the library and I had to work on my own,” said Darius. .“Kids in my class called me an ‘outsider’ which made me feel worse than I already felt.”.Stephanie said she and her husband tried to appeal to the principal, but “she wouldn’t budge,” so they reached out to the superintendent..“We begged for her to let Darius back into the classroom but he ended up sitting out there for two weeks where he was discriminated against and basically ridiculed so we contacted the superintendent,” said Stephanie..Stephanie said she emailed Chief Superintendent Bryan Szumlas with the Catholic School Board who helped the Lynns get their son moved back into his classroom..“So, he was moved back into the classroom, which was good, but what we didn’t know was that his teachers taped off the floor around his desk like a crime scene,” said Stephanie..“After they put tape on the floor around my desk, some of the kids in my class would step past the tape and pretend they couldn’t breathe,” said Darius, explaining the teasing he endured..Darius said his teachers had witnessed some of the teasing, but said, “most of the time the teachers didn’t do anything about it..“They (teachers) also made me wait a few minutes before I could move to my next class because there were basically a bunch of students in the halls.”.“It was just awful what they were doing to him. They were treating him like a walking disease and visibly segregating him,” said Stephanie..Stephanie said Darius had to stay within his taped boundaries for about a week until Christmas break..“After the break, the principal notified us that Darius wouldn’t be welcome back if he wasn’t willing to wear a mask,” said Stephanie..“In fact, one of the communications with the school referred to his asthma as his ‘apparent asthma’ like we were making it up or something..“They said he could move to the online schooling system or do their D2L system from home,” said Stephanie referring to a web-based learning system offered throughout the school division..“He doesn’t do well online so we are just trying to do the best we can. He’s in Grade 9, he should be able to be with his peers to finish off his last year in middle school.”.Darius said he has mixed feelings about not returning to school..“I’m just really upset that I don’t get to see my friends anymore, but I also feel like I have less distractions at home,” said Darius..Stephanie said it’s been a hard year for Darius as he also had to walk away from community hockey due to the vaccination mandates and additional costs associated with frequent rapid testing..“He is totally destroyed,” said Stephanie..The Lynns have two other sons — both attending Notre Dame High School — one in Grade 11 who is special needs and one in Grade 12..“The real kicker for us is that we have a special needs son who has never worn a mask, doesn’t social distance and we have never been required to show a doctor’s note for him,” said Stephanie..“They have totally humiliated my son and I’m angry. We just want our son to be treated with dignity and compassion. He has lost hockey because of the mandates and now he isn’t allowed to go to school.”.The family has since been referred to Area Director Deana Helton with regard to their son’s situation..In a statement to the Western Standard, The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) said it is committed to ensuring the health and safety of its teachers, staff and families and listed its five key health measures: daily health monitoring, handwashing, sanitizing, mandatory mask-wearing and physical distancing..The CCSD said it relied on information from Alberta Health, Health Canada, the CDC and WHO in determining its COVID-19 policy..The statement also confirmed the CCSD offers families five options for students who are unable or unwilling to wear a mask which includes:.Request for your child to be provided a temporary workspace at the school such as the library if space and resources are available.Arrange with the school to have your child learn temporarily from home (homework sent home regularly).Register your child for online learning at St. Isidore (Gr. 1-9) or St. Anne (Gr. 10-12) at the start of the school year. The registration deadline for 2021-2022 was September 2, 2021 (https://www.cssd.ab.ca/alternative-learning).Grades 1-12 may register for home education (taught by the parent) for the year by contacting St. Anne Academic Center.Kindergarten is optional – Kindergarten aged children can remain at home for an additional year and then register in 2022..“We want all of our students in their regular classes, but that will only happen if they are masked or parents/guardians can provide a required medical note from an authorized health professional, including a nurse practitioner, physician or psychologist as determined by Alberta Health,” said the statement..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
