OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Catholic School Board is pushing back some of its staggered start dates for students this fall, just over a week before classes are set to begin.
The first day of school for the OCSB is Sept. 3. Students were originally expected to be staggered back to class between Sept. 3 and Sept. 9, but in an update Wednesday, the board effectively pushed the first day of school back to Sept. 8 for the majority of students.
The only children who will attend school Sept. 3 and 4 are first-year kindergarten students, who will be divided into two groups.
All kindergarten students will be in class starting Sept. 8, as will students in Grade 1-3 and students in Grade 7.
Grades 4-6 and Grade 8 students will begin classes on Sept. 9.
The first cohort of Grade 9-12 students will begin Sept. 14, while the second cohort of secondary students will begin Sept. 15.
The OCSB says start dates for in-person and distance learning are the same.
Last night, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board voted to delay the start of its staggered roll out from Sept. 3 to Sept. 8.
There has been no indication from the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est or from the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'est de l'Ontario that school start dates would be delayed beyond Sept. 3, though the CECCE says virtual learning begins on Sept. 8 for secondary school students.
