Ottawa area parents and students react to Ontario school plan
Starting this September, all Ontario students will be returning to class in person and full time under the Ford government's new back to school plan.
Mom Jennifer Bosch Gyuricska says she’s happy her kids are heading back to in-person learning. The bouncing from in-class to virtual learning has been a challenge, she says, something she does not want to repeat.
"I’m very happy that kids are going back to their classrooms and I know my children are very excited to be going back to the classroom," Bosch Gyuricska said. "I know that my children will not enjoy wearing a mask all the time but they know it’s the safest option."
Bosch Gyuricska’s daughter Emily is excited to be headed back to primary school in September. She found virtual classes a poor substitute for the things she liked best about school.
"I don’t like staring at a screen all day. It hurts my eyes and I prefer talking to my friends and going out with them at recess."
Some parents and students CTV News Ottawa spoke to expressed concerns about the possibility of assigning virtual work on snow or heat days, the fact that the government is not going to force all education workers to get vaccinated, and that busses will have few capacity limits.
Emily Patenaude, who has a daughter entering kindergarten this year, believes all school staff should be vaccinated to protect themselves and others.
"I think my biggest concern is not having everyone in the schools vaccinated that can be," Patenaude said. "My priority is making sure the staff that are interacting with my children, who are not yet qualified for vaccination, are vaccinated."
Returning high school students Liliaque Widdup and Emily Gilstorf say they are looking forward to getting back to classroom learning, but they are disappointed the cohort system is returning this year and have mixed feelings about anther year of quadmesters.
"I did pretty good with doing quadmester," Widdup said. "I feel like it’s a lot easier to do classes because you are only focusing on a few classes."
"I’m glad we are going back. I know it’s been really hard to do online school for a lot of people including me," Gilstorf said. "The cohorts--I can understand how we are splitting everyone up and why we are doing that--but it is still going to be hard to not have everybody that we usually do."
The government will be releasing more information regarding the return to school plan in the coming days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.