TDSB to open registration for virtual learning Thursday as it says kindergartners will have to wear masks
Starting tomorrow, parents and guardians of students in the Toronto District school Board system will be able to choose whether their child will attend in-person or virtual learning for the coming school year.
In a notice sent out to families Wednesday evening, the TDSB said emails with a selection form link will be sent out on Aug. 5, allowing families to choose how their kids will learn this year.
The TDSB also said Wednesday evening that all students attending in-person junior and senior kindergarten classrooms will be required to wear facemasks this coming year out of concerns over COVID-19 safety.
“As part of this commitment to student and staff safety, the TDSB will continue to require the use of facemasks by all students in JK/SK classrooms this year,” the board said. “In addition, the TDSB is committed to providing HEPA filters in all occupied classrooms in the coming school year.”
Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Director of Education Brendon Bowe told CP24 that students in TCDSB junior and senior kindergarten classes will likely have to mask as well.
“In Toronto Catholic last year we took a similar approach, where with the support of our trustees and in consultation, we also had a mandate for masks for students who were in kindergarten all the way up to Grade 12,” Bowe said. “There were lots of reservations about it to begin with but we did find the students adapted quite quickly and we were very successful in our students from kindergarten all the way up wearing masks as well. So we do anticipate a similar approach this year.”
The province has said that kindergarteners would be encouraged but not required to wear masks in September, but left room for school boards and public health units to make adjustments according to local circumstances.
The choice to register for virtual learning at the TDSB and the new information about masking comes after Ontario released its back-to-school plan earlier this week.
The plan calls for both elementary and secondary students to be back in classrooms five days a week in the fall in a manner that will allow most regular school activities to resume.
Provincial officials indicated earlier today that there will not likely be any provincially-mandated differences in the activities that vaccinated and unvaccinated students are allowed to participate in.
Teacher unions and opposition parties have slammed the Ford government’s plan, saying it falls short.
The latest government figures show that 67.18 per cent of young people between the ages of 12 to 17 in Ontario have had at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, currently the only vaccine approved for that age group in Canada.
Last week marked the threshold where a student could begin the vaccination process with enough time to be considered fully immunized by the start of the school year. That means that close to a full third of students aged 12 to 17 in Ontario will not be fully vaccinated by the time school resumes.
A little over 49 per cent of those aged 12-17 are fully vaccinated in Ontario.
In Toronto, the figures are slightly higher for the youngest eligible age group, with 68.9 per cent of those 12-17 having received at least one dose and 53.38 per cent fully vaccinated.
No vaccines are currently approved for those younger than 12 in Canada.
Parents will have until Aug. 12 to choose between virtual and in-person learning for the 2021 - 2022 school year, the TDSB said. If no selection is made, then the child will automatically be placed into in-person learning.
Notices asking families of students at the Toronto Catholic board to choose between remote and in-person learning went out in late July and their responses are due on Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.