Tag Archives: Longyearbyen School
LONGYEARBYEN SCHOOL NIXES EVENTS AS NORWAY REVIVES STRICT COVID-19 RULES: Resurgence of virus means ‘a difficult Christmas’ as month-long limits on gatherings, more enacted

Photo courtesy of Longyearbyen School
The Grinch is back in his mean mode in the form of the latest COVID-19 varient, as Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Tuesday “it will be a difficult Christmas holiday this year as well” while announcing a series of revived crackdowns for the next month – including limits of gathering sizes and bar hours – due to a resurgence of the virus in the country and elsewhere.
In Svalbard officials announced Tuesday that Longyearbyen School is shutting its doors to public events, due to the potential consequences of infections rather than concern about a large local outbreak.
ALERT – ALL SCHOOLS/KINDERGARTENS IN NORWAY CLOSED: Prime Minister Erna Solberg announces ‘strongest and most radical measures we have had in peacetime,’ details at 2 p.m.

All schools, universities and kindergartens in Norway are being closed due to the coronavirus threat, Prime Minister Era Solberg announced Thursday. She told Norwegian media “we must be prepared that today we are coming up with the strongest and most radical measures we have had in peacetime in Norway.”
The announcement comes only hours after Longyearbyen School Headmaster Frode Westby Thorstad told Svalbardposten “we are not taking any major, major measures yet. The school is still open, but closing is certainly a scenario we must face. In that case, it will not be a decision we make on our own.”
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of April 10, 2014
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of Aug. 22, 2017
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of Dec. 20, 2016
Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of May 31, 2016

Officials response to two kitchen-related fire alarms
Firefighters and police responded to two kitchen-related fire alarms Sunday, one of which was the most recent of ongoing spate of incidents where an intoxicated person fell asleep while cooking something in the early morning hours, according to The Governor of Svalbard.
Mass drilling: At a school with guns and teachers trained to use them, emphasis is on escape during attack
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Students return to school, participate in memorial for avalanche victims; public memorial for Nikoline Røkenes, 2, on Saturday

Students returning to Longyearbyen School for the first time since avalanche Dec. 19 that killed Atle Husby, 42, a teacher at the school, and Nikoline Røkenes, 2, gathered with teachers Tuesday morning to pay tribute to the victims and discuss the tragedy.
“In commemoration, we will light candles for our teacher and colleague, Atle, and a light for two-year-old Nikoline who went to nursery school next to the school,” Longyearbyen School Headmaster Anne Vikanes wrote in a message posted at the city’s website Monday.
A public memorial service for Nikoline, as a well as a commemoration for her sister, Pernille, 3, who survived after they were buried in their father’s home for two hours, is scheduled at noon Saturday at Svalbard Church.