Hamilton schoolkids, parents warned about school bus delays following storm

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Published January 17, 2022 at 9:11 pm

school bus cancelled

The massive winter storm on Monday could have a carry-over effect for Hamilton schoolchildren and parents tomorrow morning.

Both major school boards in the city are advising community members to be alert for buses running late on Tuesday morning. Hamilton is under a significant weather alert due to the storm that dumped an estimated 41 centimetres of snow on areas of the city, and it is expected that could affect whether bus drivers are able to get down some streets to pick up children, as whether they will be able to travel at regular speeds.

Parents were encouraged to check hamiltonschoolbus.ca for updates from Hamilton Wentworth Transportation Services, which transports chiuldren to about 170 schools across the two boards.

Monday was supposed to be the first day of in-person learning since December for all Ontario school children. The announcement was made last week from the Ontario PC Party government, Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore.

The snowstorm dashed those plans. With buses cancelled, some schools opted to switch back to the remote learning, which students were on from Jan. 5 to 14 after two short-notice announcements from the province, the first by Moore with no Ontario PC ministers present, and the second by Premier Doug Ford on Jan. 3.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board was one board that elected to cancel all instruction, meaning that teachers did not have venture out in order to teach virtually.

Nearby, both boards in Mississauga and Brampton (Dufferin-Peel Catholic and Peel District) are electing for remote learning on Tuesday. The Toronto District School Board will have a second successive school day, but Toronto had more snow accumulation than Hamilton and the Peel Region.

Schoolchildren in Ontario have lost close to 27 weeks of in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is the most in any jurisdiction in Canada or the United States.

The Ontario PCs have promised to deliver more rapid antigen tests (RATs), masks and HEPA filters to schools, students and teachers this week. Many school boards’ employees spent hours last week repackaging the RATs sent by the Ministry of Education, since each student is only allocated two and the packages of RATs are larger than that.

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