By Pepper Parr
July 29, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Aug 10th, when we know what direction the Ministry has given us
How many people are missing those Back to School Sales flyers that would normally be stuffed inside whatever gets dropped off at your house?
Most parents are wondering just when (some ask if) school is going to start. September 7th is the scheduled resumption of classes but at this point no one at any of the school boards knows what the province is going to dictate.
HDSB Superintendent Terri Blackwell speaking with Director of Education Stuart Miller
School boards from across the province have been meeting with Ministry of Education officials setting out how they would teach under one of the three scenarios the province outlines:
All teaching done remotely
All teaching done in schools with classes limited to 15 students
An Alternative approach that was a combination of the other two scenarios.
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) has prepared a very detailed schema for the elementary and secondary students. They have not released the details because they don’t yet know what the province is going to direct them to deliver.
HDSB Director of Education Stuart Miller didn’t want to confuse parents by sending out information that may prove not to be applicable.
What the School Board will be doing is sending a questionnaire to parents asking if they plan to send their children back to school when the province clears the way. Miller and his staff want to know if the parents will send their children to a school or if they want them to be taught remotely.
We know now that there will not be gym classes, French classes will be limited and that there will not be any extra-curricular or co-curricular activities.
The bigger question for many is: How long will school have to operate under these restrictions? All of the 20-21 academic year?
An announcement of some sort was expected by the ends of this week – the Gazette has since learned that an announcement will be made on August 10th.
