More students have gone back to school in Grey Bruce compared to other areas in the province.
Both the public and Catholic school systems in Grey Bruce have about ten per cent of their students who have stayed home due to the pandemic.
By comparison, according to the Bluewater School Board, the Thames Valley School Board in the London area has about 16 per cent staying home and the Toronto District School Board has 30 per cent of elementary students opting for e-learning, and 22 per cent of secondary students opting to learn online.
The Bluewater board has about 1,600 students (nine per cent) opting to learn online for now and in the Catholic board, about 350 elementary students and roughly 150 secondary students are staying home (ten per cent).
Online learning starts the second week of September.
Meanwhile, both the Bluewater Board and the Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board say there are nine bus routes in Grey Bruce that are cancelled due to a shortage of drivers, and they could be cancelled for some weeks.
Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board Director of Education Gary O’Donnell says the Catholic board decided to bring in half its students on Tuesday and Wednesday according to last name. Families whose last names start with A to L return first with M to Z going back Thursday and Friday, “Just to keep families together, that was our thinking,” says O’Donnell.
Students who chose online learning who want to go back to school in person are able to, however, secondary students learning online must complete the shortened semester they’re in first.
O’Donnell says educators are going over hand hygiene and what’s being referred to by some as ‘respiratory etiquette,’ “You need to ensure that if you do have to cough or sneeze that you’re sneezing into your arm and then you’re sanitizing your hands right away.”
O’Donnell visited a school on the first day back and notes, “It was nice to see people in the buildings and see people in the hallways and it was nice to watch teachers and students interacting together. It was really nice. It’s been a long time since March 13th.”
O’Donnell says for now, Catholic school masses that would normally be held are not happening because of the pandemic, “That’s an area that we’ll have to work on. How is mass going to happen…if it’s going to happen. What can we do in lieu of going to church, so those are all the new pieces that we need to work through so we’re working through them.”
He assures, “We’re looking forward to ensuring that there are opportunities for the faith-life in our schools as we move forward.”
O’Donnell says, a couple of days into the start of the school year, he’s optimistic, “We’re working hard to ensure that we are putting in all the safety protocols to ensure students and staff are safe at school following the good advice from our public health who have done an amazing job and continue to work with us and we want to make sure our students have a safe return to school and enjoy their learning experience.”
As of Thursday, September 9th, Public Health says there were no cases of COVID-19 confirmed in any schools or daycares in Grey Bruce.
