Catholic school board in Mississauga, Brampton keeping schoolchildren home for another day

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Published January 17, 2022 at 8:35 pm

Schoolchildren in the Catholic board in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon will be switched to remote learning on Tuesday, due to “uncertainty” about snow removal.

Instead, pupils in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will be switched to remote learning for the day. The decision followed a massive winter storm that blanked areas of Southern Ontario with more than one foot of snow, with Mississauga reportedly receiving 36 cm of the snow.

As was the case on Monday, which the Ontario government had scheduled as the first day back from in-person learning since the Omicron-fuelled fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, DPCDSB schools and board facilities will be closed. Students were instructed to log on to their learning management system and adhere to a regular daily schedule.

“(Due to) the uncertainty that snow clearing on side streets, where
most of our buses pick up students, will be completed and the additional uncertainty that our own school parking lots and pedestrian walkways will be cleared of snow and safe for students and staff, all DPCDSB schools and board facilities will remain closed to students and staff for one additional day,” a message from DPCDSB said, adding that they understoodthat this could exacerbate stress levels for parents and children.

Children in Ontario have lost more days of in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic than their peers in every other jurisdiction in Canada and the United States. They have not been in class since Dec. 17. The Ontario PC Party government’s announcements of returns to remote learning for the early part of this month, and then the hoped-for return on Monday, drew widespread criticism for being made on short notice.

“We know that today (Jan. 17) did not unfold the way it should have in some cases,” the DPCDSB said. “We appreciate the additional stress that was placed on staff, families, and students today, and we trust that the instructional day, as outlined above, will alleviate a similar situation from occurring tomorrow.”

The announcement said students can expect to follow their regular daily schedule from bell time to bell time, including lunch and/or recess.

The Peel District School Board will also switch to remote learning on Tuesday.

Close by, the Toronto District School Board will have a second successive school day. But Toronto got more snow than Peel Region.

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