Ed. note: this is one of a series of articles the Star is publishing about planning for the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

In preparation for the 2007 Canada Winter Games, the Department of Education has achieved something that has never been done before, says Lee Kubica, the superintendent of schools.

Every school in the territory, excluding Robert Service School in Dawson City and the Teslin School, will share the same spring break during the 2006/2007 academic year.

The break is also scheduled to be two weeks long and span Feb. 22 to March 9 to accommodate the Games.

'As soon as we knew the Games were going to be here, we were pretty convinced that the best way for us to deal with that was to have the two-week spring break,' said Kubica.

Chris Morrissey, general manager of the Games' host society, said the society approached the Department of Education about taking the extended break, but ultimately it was the department's decision.

'We thought if one school needed to close down, it might be best to close all the schools,' said Morrissey. 'It's not necessarily better, but it provides more access.'

The use of Whitehorse school buildings is essential to the functions of the two-week sports event, he said.

The Department of Education and the host society have signed a comprehensive contract for the use of Vanier Catholic Secondary School, Porter Creek Secondary School, F.H. Collins Secondary School and Selkirk Elementary School as sporting event facilities.

The department will absorb the usual annual costs of utilities despite the Games' use of buildings. However, the host society will be responsible for the costs of any custodial services, bathroom supplies and the coverage of any damages to the buildings.

Kubica said there is an expectation that up to three other elementary schools will also be used as warm-up facilities and some may be recruited as space for day care or camp services.

'If they're using the schools, obviously there are going to be disruptions. So rather than trying to have school interrupted and disrupted; and kids wanting to go down and have a look, and parents wanting to have a look, it makes way, way more sense to ensure that we have the fewest disruptions as possible.

'The easiest way to do that is to just not have school at that period of time.'

The department has been working since last August to figure to get all the facilities and school schedules finalized.

'We're as ready as we're going to be. Our facilities are definitely all ready to go,' said Kubica.

Almost all the schools in the territory were 'pretty willing' to make accommodations to lengthen the spring break, he said, though the process did take time and discussion.

The only requirement for the timing of the academic year under the territory's Education Act is students receive 950 hours of instruction.

'It doesn't matter when we do that. It's just that we have to have those hours in.'

It will be left to each school to determine how they will be making up the time lost to the Games, he said, but most are expected to simply lengthen their year a week into the summer break.

However, flexibility in the number of hours of the day may see some schools tacking a few extra minutes before and after the usual bells to make up the time, he said.

Some consideration is also being placed on letting the Whitehorse high schools off for three more additional days during the spring break to accommodate set-up and tear-down of the Games' equipment.

The change in times isn't expected to have any negative effect on the schools, said Kubica. It will help the Yukon line up its calendar more directly to the provincial exams in British Columbia, he said.

'That may in actual fact be a positive effect.'

The extended closure is good for the Games because it will provide more resources to the event, said Morrissey.

Teachers, students and resources in the buildings are all expected to be netted for use during the event, he said.

Though exact numbers are not currently available, many of the territory's teachers are expected to be involved in some way during the Games, whether it is as a volunteer or a coach, said Kubica.

Their involvement will help build excitement for the event within the schools, youth and all of Whitehorse, said Morrissey.

But unlike other government departments, Education is not providing incentive for the teachers to get involved, said Kubica.

'In some of the other departments they are either encouraging to take holiday time or they are providing time off to work on it if they are non-essential staff. Whereas, with the teachers, this is their own time. So if they volunteer, they are volunteering based on their own time.'

It is holidays for the teachers and it is up to to them how they use the time, that in essence is being chopped from their summer break, said Kubica.

'Teachers don't get holidays in the same sense as other government employees. Teachers get paid for the time that they are working, which is that 950 hours.'

Teachers and other school staff who take part in the Games are not included in the participation policy being offered to other government employees simply because they are not actually working at the time, he said.

Yukon government employees who take advantage of the 2007 Canada Winter Games participation policy, which provides full wages while volunteering, are considered to be on leave from their job, said Patricia Daws, the Yukon's Public Service Commissioner.

The worker compensation package targeted at the government employees does not include coverage for any injury that might occur while volunteering during the two-week event.

Though there is no specific inclusion for loss of wages, the government workers are still entitled to all their benefits and could use their sick leave or disability benefits in the case of injury on the Games, said Daws. The same policy will apply to the teachers, said Kubica.

During the event, they will be insured through the host society, which has purchased coverage for general liability, event insurance, accidental death and dismemberment.

The push by the Games to have teachers involved as volunteers, and schools drive the excitement factor among youth, contributed to the decision to shut down the schools, said Kubica.

The Canada Winter Games are looking for up to 5,000 volunteers for the Feb. 23 to March 10, 2007 event.

The use of local schools is not uncommon when planning the Canada Games, said Morrissey, and the host society will be implementing other initiatives to keep Whitehorse-based and rural schools engaged in all the excitement leading up to the main event.

'We need everyone in Whitehorse, and all of the Yukon, to be excited.'

Keep following the Star's Canada Winter Games series for a future article examining the host society's other academic-driven and school-based pre-events.