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Waking up early, having homework, and catching the bus are regular routines that students are adjusting to as school returned on September 2, 2021.
Students of the Kenora Catholic District School Board have returned to in-class learning for a number of days now.
KCDSB Director of Education Paul White says there has been a sense of excitement as students have returned to the classroom.
“Everybody is settling down in routines of school. The schools and playgrounds have been filled with the joy and laughter of our students. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited our schools on our first few days, and it’s amazing to see the students interacting with their teachers in class and their friends. It’s been a great start,” said White
This was made possible after the Ontario government announced a safe back-to-school plan in the summer. The plan outlined a number of COVID-19 prevention measures for a return to in-class learning.
Mask or face coverings are required to be worn for grades 1 to 12 inside schools and while on school transportation.
Elementary schools students will attend in-person learning five days a week and students will be placed in cohorts and will have one designated teacher. White added that the KCDSB will try to allow cohorting to work while kids are in the classrooms.
Secondary school students will be in class five days a week and school boards will ensure students have two in-person classes.
White noted that the response by the students has been amazing to the COVID-19 preventive measures that have been implemented.
“By now a lot of our students are used to wearing a mask in the community, the only thing that is a little bit different is wearing a mask for longer periods of time. Everyone seems to be adapting really well and I’m happy to see our community coming together to protect each other from COVID-19,” noted White
This return-to-school has been a long time coming as students faced a lot of inconsistently last year with bouncing between in-class and online learning.
White wanted to take a minute to thank the community, KCDSB school administrators, and staff for all the hard work to make it an exceptional start to the school year.