Here's what you need to know about school reopening plans for the region

Back-to-school can be a stressful time for everyone — whether you're a parent, a student or a teacher.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the level of stress is no doubt heightened this year.

Health experts have already put everyone on notice that COVID-19 cases are bound to pop up in schools. But the province has outlined a plan for what happens when they do.

As students go back to in-person or remote learning, people may still have many questions about what exactly the local school boards have planned.

Masks will be required for all students in the Waterloo Region District School Board and for students in Grade 1 and up in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.

Students who are taking the bus should also learn a routine of handwashing, wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer. Physical distancing won't be possible on the buses, says Benoit Bourgault, the general manager of Student Transportation Services Waterloo Region.

Waterloo Region District School Board

Waterloo Region District School Board says staff are excited to welcome students back to the classroom. WRDSB wants students and families to know that every effort is being made to ensure that the health, safety and well-being of students and staff remains their top priority and is at the heart of its planning.

By now all confirmation of attendance forms should have been completed by families for their child/children and submitted.

• Elementary students will return to school with enhanced safety measures and a maximum of 30 students per class.

• Secondary students will return to school in a hybrid model, where students will attend in one of two cohorts on an alternate schedule that will include in person attendance for at least 50 per cent of instructional days.

There will be a staggered start to the year and the first day of elementary school will be Sept. 14 for children with a last name starting from A to L and Sept. 15 for children with last names starting with M to Z. 

Sept. 8 and 9 will be for staff to prepare for the safe arrival of students, adapt to the new environment and transition to their new assignments.

Sept. 10 and 11, there will be in-person classes for students with special needs, English language learners in the ABLE Program, and other vulnerable learners will return to school. Staff will also be taking these two days to connect one-on-one with students and their families.

Students who will not be returning to school in person will have an option to participate in distance learning. They will connect with their teachers during the first week of school and classes will begin on Sept. 14.

Secondary school students:

For Grade 9 students, Sept. 9 and 10 will be Grade 9 orientation.

Bussed Students:

Cohort information for students taking the school bus is available on the Student Transportation Services Waterloo Region (STSWR) website by clicking on "Student Login."

Non-Bussed Students:

Schools will release cohort information for non-bussed students on the following days:

• Grade 9 students will be notified of their cohort on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

• Grade 10 – 12 students will be notified of their cohort by Thursday, Sept. 10.

Schools will use a variety of ways to share this information with students.

Student Timetables:

Student timetables for both bussed and non-bussed students will be available through student MyWay accounts on the following dates:  

• Grade 9 students will be able to access their timetable on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

• Grade 10 – 12 students will be sent their timetable by Thursday, Sept. 10.

Students who have chosen distance education in either Cohort C (technology-enabled distance education) or Cohort D (distance education through technology-free or print materials) will receive student timetables on the following dates:

• Grade 9 students will receive information on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

• Grade 10 – 12 students will receive information by Thursday, Sept. 10.

Waterloo Catholic District School Board

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board announced this week that the start date for secondary students will now be Monday, Sept. 14 instead of Tuesday, Sept. 8.

In a letter to parents and guardians on Tuesday, director of education Loretta Notten said in addition to wanting to ensure buildings are fully ready to welcome students, they have also been transitioning to a new student information system.

"The process of both the transition to the new system and of adapting our student information system to the new quadmester model was somewhat more time consuming than we had hoped," Notten wrote in the letter.

"We need to have full confidence that we know where each student is supposed to be and to ensure our cohorts have been balanced appropriately in terms of numbers."

Notten added that for all these reasons, and out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to move the date forward.

The elementary school staggered start is not changing from what was previously announced, the board says. That plan has Grades 1 and 2 starting on Tuesday, then Grades 1 to 4 on Wednesday, then Grades 1 to 6 on Thursday and Grades 1 through 8 on Friday.

For kindergarten students, there will be visits on Tuesday for junior kindergarten, all senior kindergarten students will attend on Wednesday. On Thursday, all senior and half of junior kindergarten students will attend. On Friday, all senior and the other half of junior kindergarten students will attend.