Snow hampers return to in-person classes in several Ontario school boards
Many Ontario school boards were scrambling to adjust their plans for reopening schools Monday as a winter storm blanketed much of the southern and eastern areas of the province with snow.
The Toronto, York, Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth and Ottawa-Carleton district school boards were among those that cancelled the planned return to in-school learning because heavy snow forced a halt to school bus services.
Environment Canada issued a winter storm warning for the National Capital Region, cautioning that 40 centimetres of snow could fall by Monday evening.
The national weather agency is forecasting 15 to 25 centimetres for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.
The Toronto, York and Ottawa-Carleton boards were still offering the option of remote learning, however the Hamilton-Wentworth and Halton District boards were not.
The Durham District School Board said there would be no classes for elementary students on Monday due to the snow, but secondary students would be learning online.
East of Toronto, the Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board initially said only school buses were cancelled, but later announced schools would also be closed because of the weather.
Parents and caregivers across southern and eastern Ontario are advised to check for online postings from their local school boards regarding closures and the availability of remote learning.
The snowfall in southern Ontario has added a major wrinkle to the province's already contentious school reopening plan.
The province shifted to online learning after the winter break, so schools not shuttered by snow will be reopening for the first time in nearly a month.
In that time, skyrocketing COVID-19 cases overwhelmed Ontario's testing system and led to staff shortages across the workforce, prompting policy changes that will also affect the situation in schools.
Gold-standard PCR tests are no longer available to the general public, and are now being saved for those at higher risk of serious illness, so the province is only offering them to students who develop symptoms of COVID-19 while at school.
The Ministry of Education is instead sending two rapid antigen tests home with each student, to be used if they develop symptoms outside of the classroom.
Parents will no longer be notified if someone in their child's class tests positive for the virus.
Instead, the province plans to post information about absenteeism online starting next week, and parents will be informed if 30 per cent of a school's staff and students are absent for any reason.
The province is also sending N95 masks to teachers and three-ply medical masks to students.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario said educators have mixed feelings about the return to the classroom.
"I have heard from members across the province who are experiencing a range of emotions as they prepare to return to in-person learning or continue to support students who cannot be accommodated through remote learning," ETFO President Karen Brown said in a written statement.
"Some members are enthusiastic and feel safe, others are cautiously optimistic, and some are anxious."
Erika Lopes, a senior kindergarten and Grade 1 teacher with the Lambton-Kent District School Board, said while she misses seeing her students in person, the idea of returning to the classroom has her stressed.
"I don't remember the last time I've actually slept through a night, just because I'm a very big stresser and worrier. So it's all playing through my mind," she said. "And when I'm lying there at nighttime, I'm thinking: Okay, how am I going to do this?"
Kindergarten students aren't required to wear masks and keeping a physical distance while teaching is hard -- particularly, she said, because her board's plan to deal with staff absences is to merge classes.
"On one side, you're telling us keep them all apart, don't let them play together yet," she said. "On the other side, they're saying, 'Yep, we have to put them together."'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.