Page 2 - Greg Weiler News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

  WATERLOO -- The Waterloo Region District School Board is hopeful it will be bringing back students full-time for in-person learning come this fall. “And ensure they’re safe and that their mental health and well-being is at the forefront,” Lila Read, Associate Director of WRDSB said. As mandated by the province, remote learning will still be an option for students. WRDSB said dedicated teachers will assist with offering that mode of learning. For secondary students, there will be modified semesters with alternating weeks. “Students take four courses but they’ll only be doing...

  KITCHENER -- Teachers' unions in Waterloo Region say they're still waiting on plans for targeted asymptomatic COVID-19 testing at local schools. "It's certainly frustrating and difficult to understand," said Greg Weiler with the EFTO. The Ministry of Education piloted testing at eight Toronto schools last year. There are plans to test 40 schools a week moving forward. Peel will have testing clinics at four schools and York's public health unit has identified 16 schools getting tested this week. Sudbury has mobile clinics at three schools and 250 Ottawa students were tested before in-...

  KITCHENER -- Students and teachers in southern Ontario are still waiting to find out if they will return to the classroom on Jan. 25. Aakanksha Mandal, who is Grade 10, hopes her exams in a few weeks will be in-person. She said the last time she took an exam online, she had challenges while asking her teacher a question. "She took too long and I couldn't finish my exam on time," Mandal said. The province announced last month that students outside of COVID-19 hotspots would return to in-person learning on Jan. 25, but some now think that might now happen. "Everybody I talk to is assum...

KITCHENER -- The province plans to expand COVID-19 testing to schools across the province. Some parents and teachers are frustrated that it took so long to come into effect, but said it's better now than never. The asymptomatic testing could mean that 18-year-old Hayden Munz, who is medically fragile, can head back to class sooner rather than later. "It's a good start in schools to allow a path for other students to come back at some point," his mom, Rebecca Munz, said. She said targeted testing is overdue, since cases have climbed in Waterloo Region since the first day of school.

  KITCHENER -- Parents and teachers in Waterloo Region are now scrambling to make last-minute arrangements for distance learning. The province announced Thursday that students won't return to the classroom until at least Jan. 25. Melissa Sanderson-Alsbergas' son, Edward, is in kindergarten and has enjoyed online learning so far. However, she's enrolled in an online class that starts Monday. "It's going to be very chaotic," she said. While Sanderson-Alsbergas is disappointed by the decision to keep kids home longer, she said she understands the decision. "I'm just going to have to bite...