All Schools Moving to Remote Learning on January 5, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Earlier today the Premier of Ontario announced that at 12:01 a.m. on January 5, 2022, our province will temporarily move to a modified Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen Ontario to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern. Read the News Release here. 

The Premier also announced that all schools will move to teacher-led remote learning on January 5, 2022 until at least January 17, 2022

  • Beginning Wednesday, January 5th and ending on Friday, January 14th, all students will learn remotely from home. 
  • At this time, schools are scheduled to reopen for in-person learning on Monday, January 17th, subject to public health trends and operational considerations. 

Special Education

  • Most students with special education needs will be learning remotely during this period.  
  • Students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated through remote learning may continue to receive in-person support during this period of remote learning.
    • Parents and guardians of students in a specialized class will be invited to complete an online form to indicate whether their child(ren) will attend class remotely or in-person. The invitation to complete this online form will come from your home school. 
    • If your child is not in a specialized class, but has special education needs that cannot be accommodated remotely, please contact your School Principal directly. 
  • School staff (Teachers, Educational Assistants, etc.) as well as board professionals (e.g. Speech and Language Pathologists) will continue to provide support and services for students with special education needs virtually.

Child Care 

  • Child care centres will remain OPEN for the period of remote learning.  
  • All Before and After School Programs will be CLOSED between January 5-14, 2022.

Remote Learning
Remote learning will be provided for all students in accordance with PPM 164: Requirements for Remote Learning, which provides specific expectations around synchronous learning. Learn more: https://learnathome.hcdsb.org/return-to-school-2/remote-learning/

The following links and documents provide some guidelines for parents and students to help ensure safe and effective live online learning:

Access to Your Child’s Learning Platform:

Technology Support for Students 

Families requiring a device and/or internet connectivity to support student learning during the period of remote learning will be invited to make a request through an online survey that will be emailed to parents from their home school.  

Supplemental Learning Resources

The Ministry of Education’s learning portals, TVO Learn and TFO IDÉLLO, apprendre à la maison,provide supports for students learning remotely by accessing additional educational resources developed by Ontario certified teachers. 

In addition, secondary students can continue to access TVO’s Independent Learning Centre (ILC) Open House and Portes ouvertes pour les cours TVO ILC in French-language, which provide access to 144 Grade 9 to 12 courses. These ILC resources are designed to provide flexible learning opportunities to help students keep up with their learning or deepen their understanding of a specific subject.

Faith & Well-Being Resources

I recognize that this period of remote learning will create additional burdens on our families and staff. 

Here are a list of supports for families to access during this difficult time:  

Updates and Additional Information 

We will continue to share information and updates with parents directly via email, as well as post updates on our HCDSB website and through our social media channels: 

Thank you for your ongoing patience and support as we work with the Ministry of Education and our Public Health officials to keep our community healthy and safe for all. 
 

Pat Daly
Director of Education

De Franco, RobAll Schools Moving to Remote Learning on January 5, 2022