By Pepper Parr

July 29th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Every household in the city that has children attending a school are faced with the questions:

When schools re-open will our children be in the classroom?

It is a very personal family decision – that is compounded by the realities of the modern family where Mom and Dad both work.

Once the parents are back at their desks – the kids have to be in school.

While the Premier of the province is doing his best to keep the public fully informed he is also being very cautious and quite loud when he learns of some of the really stupid social behaviour.

He wants students back in schools but he also wants to be certain that he gets it right the first time.

The public is wary of a government that wants things opened up for the sake of the economy – the parents want to be assured that there children will be safe.

The Hospital for Sick Children released a report today that represents the views of the medical community.

With a world class reputation – parents can take some comfort in their views on when students can return to school and what the conditions should be.

SickKids has released new proposed guidelines for reopening schools in Ontario come September, including recommendations like staggered lunch times, no large assemblies, and mandatory masks for older students.

It suggests various health and safety protocols for schools that take a student’s age and developmental considerations into account.

The group says it is recommending the use of masks for high school students, with consideration for middle school students, whenever physical distancing can’t be maintained. Around 61 per cent of the authors agreed masks shouldn’t be required for elementary school kids.

“[Mask wearing] probably will diminish the infectivity of some individuals with COVID, however there are also a number of potential harms,” said Dr. Jeffrey Pernica of McMaster Children’s Hospital, saying that masks could distract and interfere with learning, especially for those with articulation problems, neurological issues, or kids who are learning a second language.

He also said that masks would have to be worn correctly in order to be effective, adding that it could be “impractical” for teachers to enforce.

The doctors aren’t recommending that elementary school children wear masks, saying that they could be a distraction and interfere with learning.

Most of the doctors also agreed that if community transmission is low, masking should not be mandatory for students returning to class.

This is the number of students who will fill a classroom under COVIID19 conditions. Will they wear masks?

“The lower the level of COVID in the community … the less benefit there is with masking — but the harms remain the same,” Pernica said. “This is why our recommendations are what they are right now.”  Pernica also added that if the levels change, so will the recommendations.

Dr. Sean Ari Bitnun, a physician at SickKids, further emphasized that one single measure wasn’t going to mitigate things — success relies on the package.

“If we’re not focusing on any of the other recommendations, we are bound for disaster,” he said. “It really is the bundle effect that is going to create a safe environment for teachers and students.”

When it comes to physical distancing, the document says its role “should be discussed with students of all ages,” but added it would not be practical to enforce for kids in elementary school, especially during play times.

Instead, the report says “cohorting” — where kids would avoid mixing with other classes and grades — could be used as a strategy.

“Two metres is optimal, but the transmission at one metre is not significantly different,” said Dr. Charles Hui of CHEO.
Other recommendations include:

Implementing strict screening for students and employees who are symptomatic or have been exposed to the virus.
Teaching kids how to clean their hands properly with developmentally and age-appropriate material.
Arranging classroom furniture to leave space between students.

The wind instruments won’t get taken out of their cases this school year.

Having smaller class sizes.  Cancelling choir practices, performances, and band because of the high risk of transmission from wind instruments.

Continuing sports and physical education classes, but cleaning sports equipment and delaying team and close contact sports.
Implementing a regular cleaning schedule.

The doctors said that it would be up to each school to figure out how to implement changes when it came to aspects like running school libraries or preventing masses of students from rushing out into the hallways at the end of the school day.

Dr. Bitnun also called for local public health units to closely collaborate with schools, saying that “there will undoubtedly be positive cases with the children and for teachers.”

‘Putting out fires as they come up’

The document stresses that opening schools safely — and keeping them open — will be directly impacted by how the virus is spreading in the community.

The recommendations reflect a mark of less than 200 new confirmed cases a day, and experts say that “may evolve” as the epidemiology of COVID-19 changes and new evidence emerges.

The doctors said they haven’t identified a specific level of community spread that, if breached, would means schools would have to close.

“A specific number in isolation doesn’t really have value,” said Dr. Bitnun. “My view, and I think this is shared by the others, is maybe the most important thing is to have a robust system of testing and contact tracing … in other words, we should focus on, to paraphrase, putting out fires as they come up rather than shutting down everything based on a specific number.”
Staying home could impact already vulnerable students

The experts quoted in the document continue to push for full-time instruction, saying that remote learning would be “insufficient to meet the needs” of youth.

“Thinking about developmental impact and mental health impact has to be in the same equation as the potential harm of COVID,” said Dr. Sloan Freeman, lead pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital.

There are risks to Ontario schools reopening full-time but ways to mitigate them, experts say

Going back to part time, they said, would affect working parents and caregivers, and mean bringing more people into the loop, like babysitters or grandparents.

Not going back, doctors say, could impact already vulnerable students the most.

Difficult children will find it hardest to cope with the changes.

“Medically complex children or children with severe underlying medical or behavioural illness, I think those families are disproportionately affected by what is going on in terms of isolation and trying to manage at home,” said Dr. Jeremy Friedman, a pediatrician at SickKids. “I think that those families, more than any others probably, will not be able to withstand the sort of time period we’re talking about for [when] this pandemic has moved into a more stable phase.”

“The sad irony is that I think that the children who are perhaps the most fragile and most at risk, those children, those families are the ones that probably need to have the normality and the routine,” he said.

By Pepper Parr

July 24th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Trustee Grebenc with trustee Grey at a public meeting.

In an interview with Halton District School Board Chair Andrea Grebenc on the issue of masks for teachers and students while they are in schools Ms Grebenc said: “The Minister and Public Health officials have not decided about whether students require masks. I understand that decision may be coming next week.

“To supply PPE to staff it looks like it will cost about $20M over the year at the pricing we can get. We are asking the Province to help source PPE to get better pricing.

“We have $4M set aside for COVID contingency and as a result, we had to pass another deficit (but compliant) budget this year with a solid plan from our staff to return to the black.

“At this point, the Minister has provided a similar budget funding as previous years with an expansion of funds to help with the new math curriculum and some mental health initiatives. The increase in our dollar amount has more to do with increase in enrollment in Milton and Oakville, the decrease of the class size average(resulting in hiring teachers) and some money to support some positions won at the provincial level through education worker and teacher union negotiations.

Andrea Grebenc during a a first term interview .

“The Minister has added only $56M to the provincial budget for COVID – there are 72 boards – that is $750K each if divided equally (which I hope it’s not – TDSB shouldn’t get the same amount as a small board).

“This is to help with cleaning staff and supplies, PPE and transportation. If HDSB PPE costs $2M a month for staff, you can see how this amount of money from the Minister is completely unrealistic and could not support masking students as well.
We have over 66,000 students. There would have to see a massive influx of cash from the Province to cover that cost.

“If the Minister or public health state that masks were mandatory in schools, as a parent with kids in the system, I would then see masks like I see binders for courses or running shoes for gym class – something I would buy (or make) for my child so they are prepared for school.

“Also, I would want to make sure a mask fits well on my child, is comfortable and won’t get mixed up with other kids’ masks. You can get reusable masks inexpensively at a number of places ($3 each at Old Navy for example) and for Burlington residents, the Mayor and Councillor Stolte, in conjunction with the fire department, have set up a mask donation centre to help those that are having a hard time affording masks. Economically challenged families in our system could also contact the Halton Learning Foundation to help get a reusable mask so that students could attend school (if that is the law).”

Director of Education Stuart Miller during a virtual school board meeting.

Director of Education Stuart Miller points out the principals in ever Halton school (there are 105 of them) know their students and is aware of households where things are tough;” a way is always found to ensure that students get what they need.”

Director Miller and several of his key staff will be doing a virtual interview with Ministry of Education officials on Tuesday at which time they expect to learn what the province is looking for in the way of a safe return to school program.

The province set out several scenarios that HDSB has responded to. “We have to be able to offer a program that meets the provincial mandate and at the same time be flexible enough to shift the way classes are delivered in the event that there is a hot spot in a school or a larger community.

“We will be working with the public health unit on a daily basis to monitor the students – watching for the tell-tale sign of a student who is not well.

“It is going to be a stressful time but we have done our homework and we believe we are prepared for students who will return to classes in one form or another on the 7th of June.

“We haven’t given the parents all that much in the way of information” said Miller, “because we don’t have decisions from the province.”

“Once we know what the program is going to be – we will communicate at every level with the parents.”

By Staff

July 23rd, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

A batch of mosquitoes trapped this week in Oakville has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). This is the first batch of WNV positive mosquitoes for Halton this year.

The Public Health Unit is swamped with COVID19 matters – then we are reminded that West Nile Virus has returned.

“Halton is committed to reducing West Nile virus in our communities through education and preventative programs such as larviciding,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “Until the hard frosts of fall set in, Halton residents should continue to protect themselves against mosquito bites and remove mosquito breeding sites.”

Urban areas are more likely to have mosquitoes that carry WNV. The types of mosquitoes that transmit WNV to humans most commonly breed in urban areas such as bird baths, plant pots, old toys, tires and other locations that hold water.

Residents can take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes:

• Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric.
• Avoid being outdoors from early evening to morning when mosquitoes are most active and likely to bite, as well as at any time in shady, wooded areas.
• Reduce mosquito breeding sites around your home by getting rid of all water-filled containers and objects, where possible. Change the water in bird baths at least once per week.
• Use an approved insect repellent, such as one containing DEET or Icaridin.

By Pepper Parr

July 23rd, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

We are busy enough with the six feet thing; we’ve never washed our hands as often and there is a leeriness about going out for dinner and being inside the restaurant.

Can we invite friends of long standing over for dinner – perhaps sitting outside on the patio and cooking on the BBQ would be Ok.

Add to all that the concern with getting the kids back to school.

Are the schools going to open? What will the class schedule be and how am I going to find dare care if I need it.

Parents are frustrated – they want information – but the school boards don’t have much in the way of information they can share.

The Halton District School Board met in a Special Session yesterday. In a four part series, this being Part 1, we will tell you what we have learned.

The Halton Board is to meet with the Ministry of Education on Tuesday of next week (they have a two hour time slot) to present to the Ministry how they have responded to the three scenarios the province set out.

They are Conventional, Remote and Adaptive – Conventional being kids in the school, in classrooms all day with fewer kids in each class; Remote being everything will be done on-line with close teacher involvement in what is being called synchronous learning – everyone learns the same thing at the same tome – on-line.

These are the models the Ministry set out. HDSB prefers the Adaptive and will be taking their ideas to the Ministry next week.

The school boards now have all kinds of technology to manage teaching in this manner.

The Board at this point doesn’t have much to go on other than trying to read the tea leaves and figure out where the Ministry of Education is going to go.

Once the Board knows which students are going to return – and then which form of instruction they prefer classes can be organized.

The Halton Board’s understanding is that they will know very early in August which model the Ministry has approved.  August 4th was a date mention – but nothing is carved in stone at this point.

With the model in hand the Board then needs to know what parents plan to do.  Will their children return to school orwill they opt for remote learning.

If they plan to attend what is their preference – conventional classes or the adaptive model.

The Board also needs to know how many teachers are going to return to a classroom.  Director of Education Stuart Miller did say that the Board has a solid list of occasional teachers they can call upon.

French is likely yo be limited.

Extra curricular and co-curricular are likely to be limited as well.

The Board and the trustees are critically aware of how important the “extras” are – they are concerned at this point in opening up classrooms and teaching students with mathematics and literacy being the focus.

This is student life. How do you change it? This group represents what a classroom size is likely to be.

Among the unknowns: are teachers going to have to wear PPE?  Will students be expected to wear masks?  What happens if an infection hot spot develops?  The Board is in constant contact with the Medical Officer of Health.

Classroom cleaning has to be included in the schedules.  The additional costs can only be guessed at today – but they are very real.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that at this point – most questions don’t have an answer – nothing can be decided upon until the Ministry approves the teaching model.

Until then, treat all this as background and begin thinking about what you are your family want to do.