BARRIE, ONT. Premier Doug Ford s announcement on Wednesday giving outdoor in-person graduations the green light left school boards across Simcoe Muskoka scrambling and confused. It takes months of preparations by a committee and staff to prepare for one evening of Grade 8 graduation, said Janet Bigham, Simcoe County Elementary Teachers Federation president. The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board sent a letter to parents Thursday stating that outdoor ceremonies go against public orders, despite Ontario s announcement. The board s letter went on to say it would not change its plans, which it has worked hard to put in place. It is important for families to understand any outdoor ceremony would be in direct violation of the restrictions that the government currently has in place, the letter stated.
BARRIE, ONT. The Ontario government s announcement about a new option for remote learning starting in September left school boards reworking plans yet again and parents weighing the options. I m leaning towards online school for September, said Grade 11 student Kennedy Watson. The Huntsville High School student said if given a choice, she s staying home for her last year of high school. I think it s way safer. Ontario education unions and advocacy groups argue the change to a permanent online learning option would divert funds from in-class learning and ultimately undermine the public education system. Simcoe County Elementary Teachers Federation president, Janet Bigham, said the on-again, off-again lockdowns have been difficult. It s been very stressful for staff. It s been very stressful for students and families, and we hope everyone is safe.
ORANGEVILLE, ONT. Select health units across Ontario are making the call to close schools and opt for remote learning. School boards in Peel Region, Toronto and now Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph have shifted temporarily to online learning while the Ontario government maintains classrooms are safe. Teachers in the Upper Grand District School Board prepared students to return to virtual learning starting Wednesday. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph s medical officer of health, Dr. Nicola Mercer, said she issued the order for schools to close Monday night after seeing data from the past six days. We ve had nearly 300 cases since Thursday. We closed more classrooms in one day than we did at any time in the pandemic. What we saw, also, was our seven-day rate of cases quadrupled, Mercer said.