Border Land School Division announced on Feb. 4, 2026, that students at Altona Parkside Middle School (listed by the division as “École Parkside School”) will have a day off on Friday, April 17, 2026, while their parents meet with teachers to discuss their children’s schoolwork. The division said the early notice gives local families more than two months to arrange childcare or adjust work schedules.
There will be no regular classes for students on that day so teachers can focus on one-on-one meetings. The conferences are intended to help parents understand how their children are performing in class and what they need to work on before the school year ends in June.
The timing is intentional, falling about two weeks after students return from spring break (March 30–April 3, 2026). That gap allows teachers time to assess students’ return-to-school performance and provide targeted feedback as the final part of the 2025–2026 school year begins.
Under provincial rules in the School Days, Hours and Vacations Regulation (M.R. 101/95), school divisions may schedule non-instructional days for teacher in-service, parent-teacher conferences, administration and pupil evaluation (the regulation limits these to a maximum of 10 days per school year). The April 17 date appears on the 2025–2026 Manitoba school calendar filed by the division.
The division says Parkside typically uses an online booking system (for example, Schoolinterviews.ca or a similar portal) for conference appointments. Parents should watch the BLSD website, the school’s communications, or the BLSD Parent Portal for specific instructions on how to reserve time slots as the April date approaches.
