Premier Ford sends letter to doctors, scientists seeking opinion on reopening schools
by Lucas Casaletto
Last Updated May 27, 2021 at 3:40 pm EDT
Premier Doug Ford has issued an open letter to educators, scientists, doctors, and unions asking seven key questions in an effort to find a consensus as to whether the province can safely reopen schools for in-person learning.
In the letter, Ford says “no one wants to see our schools reopen safely more than I do,” adding that while his government understands the benefits of having kids return to class, it can only be done based on “sound scientific advice, consensus and considers potential or future risks faced by students and staff.”
TORONTO Several Ontario school boards said Wednesday that they would be able to resume in-person learning with a few days notice if the government decides to send students back to classrooms for the last month of the academic year. Pediatric hospitals and doctors have been calling on the government to immediately reopen schools amid a decline in cases, saying in-person learning is crucial to children s well-being. The province s top doctor said Tuesday that he d like to see schools reopen as early as next week in some regions. The medical officers in Toronto and Peel Region said, however, that they were still watching to see if COVID-19 cases dropped further.
Students push for COVID-19 safe, outdoor graduation ceremonies in Ontario
by Nicole Thompson THE CANADIAN PRESS
Posted May 16, 2021 11:03 am EDT
An undated file photo shows graduating students. (FILE/UNSPLASH/Brett Jordan)
Graduation has been the topic of conversation between 17-year-old Anoosha Keshav and her friends for months.
After their last two years of high school were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississauga, Ont., teen and her peers crave a little normalcy to mark the end of this stage in their lives– not another pared down, online-only event.
“It comes up in almost every conversation,” she said. “The fact that it’s going to be a pre-recorded video you’ll have to watch, it’s really disappointing. It’s not motivational, you know, because we’re almost there at the end, and it’s really sad that this is how our graduation is going to be.”
Graduation has been the topic of conversation between 17-year-old Anoosha Keshav and her friends for months.
After their last two years of high school were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississauga teen and her peers crave a little normalcy to mark the end of this stage in their lives not another pared down, online-only event. It comes up in almost every conversation, she said. The fact that it s going to be a pre-recorded video you ll have to watch, it s really disappointing. It s not motivational, you know, because we re almost there at the end, and it s really sad that this is how our graduation is going to be.
TORONTO Graduation has been the topic of conversation between 17-year-old Anoosha Keshav and her friends for months. After their last two years of high school were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississauga, Ont., teen and her peers crave a little normalcy to mark the end of this stage in their lives not another pared down, online-only event. It comes up in almost every conversation, she said. The fact that it s going to be a pre-recorded video you ll have to watch, it s really disappointing. It s not motivational, you know, because we re almost there at the end, and it s really sad that this is how our graduation is going to be.