CORNWALL, Ontario – In an announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 20, the Ministry of Education announced that students within the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) region will continue with learning remotely until Feb. 10.
“On the advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the government is allowing seven public health units and over 100,000 students to return to class on Monday, January 25,” reads a statement from Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “Getting students back into class is our top priority. According to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and leading medical and scientific experts, including the Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario’s schools are safe places for learning. To ensure schools remain safe, the government is introducing additional measures including provincewide targeted asymptomatic testing, enhanced screening, mandatory masking for students in Grades 1-3 and outdoors where physical distancing cannot be maintained.”
The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) shared the following information in addition to the Ministry’s announcement.
- As announced earlier this month, it is required that all students in Grades 1-12 will need to wear non-medical or cloth masks indoors at school, including in hallways and during class times, on school transportation and outdoors during recess where students cannot maintain physical distancing. Masking in Kindergarten is optional but encouraged.
- For Grade 9-12 students currently using non-digital resources, new packages need to be picked up on Thursday, Jan. 21 and completed packages returned. The final package for the quadmester will need to be returned to your teacher no later than Thursday, Jan. 28 for evaluation. Please contact your teacher if you have any questions.
- For Grades 9 -12 students who go to school in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, teachers will be in touch on the designated PA day on Monday, February 1 to find out if those students want to proceed with Quadmester 3 synchronously or asynchronously with digital or non-digital resources.