5 things you need to know before Ottawa students return to school
As Ottawa students, parents and teachers prepare for the return of in-person learning on Monday, the director of education of the city’s largest school board is preaching patience.
In a note to families on Friday, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board director of education Camille Williams-Taylor acknowledged the recent transitions have been hard for families and “there are mixed feelings about the timing of the return to in-person learning.”
“School staff, like families, are trying to balance their professional responsibilities with their personal safety and family obligations,” Williams-Taylor said. “These are stressful times for everyone and now more than ever, it is so important that we take a moment to pause, reflect and respond, rather than react.”
The rapidly spreading Omicron variant delayed the return of in-person classes for two weeks. The province said this time was used to distribute masks and more HEPA filters to school boards, as well as allow more people to get vaccinated and boosted.
Classes will reopen under different circumstances on Monday, including a new case reporting strategy. Under new provincial guidelines, parents will only be notified of a potential COVID-19 outbreak when about 30 per cent of staff and students in the school are absent.
School buses will also resume on Monday. And school-based vaccine clinics are in the works for later this month.
Here are five things parents should keep in mind when school returns on Monday:
Daily screening tool
Officials are asking students, parents ands taff to use the provincial COVID-19 screening tool every morning to determine whether to attend school in-person. You can find it here.
Mask-wearing
Schools will distribute three-ply cloth masks to students starting next week. The Ottawa Catholic School Board said it has received 120,000 to distribute, along with more than 201,000 N95 masks for staff.
The OCDSB points out that parents may want to send an extra mask for outdoor play, since masks worn outdoors in cold weather can become damp.
Rapid testing
The province is distributing two rapid antigen tests to each student. The OCDSB says it hopes to give them out to elementary students next week once the shipment arrives, and secondary students at a later date.
They are to be used if students show symptoms of COVID-19. If a student receives two negative tests and no longer has any symptoms of COVID-19, they can return to school.
Absence reporting
The Ontario government says parents will only be notified of a potential COVID-19 outbreak when about 30 per cent of staff and students in the school are absent.
When student and staff absenteeism in an individual school reaches that threshold, it will trigger the principal to notify local health officials. At that point, a joint letter from the local medical officer of health and the principal would be sent to the community.
At that point, it’s possible the school would revert to remote learning, though not required.
Possible school closures
Both the OCDSB and OCSB say they will make every effort to keep schools open, but classes may have to move to remote learning if there are staffing shortages.
Parents will be advised the night before, and they are encouraged to have contingency plans in place and monitor their emails for updates.
For more information on the return to school, you can visit the OCDSB and OCSB’s websites.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.