Largest board puts sports, in-person activities on hold
Health officials expected to recommend more restrictions when students return
Sports teams and in-person extracurricular activities won't initially be allowed for students at Ottawa's largest school board when classes resume this fall.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board sent a message to parents on Thursday outlining some of the restrictions it's imposing to protect students from COVID -19.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said he wants elementary and secondary students to return to as normal a school year as possible. The province's backto-school guidelines allow sports teams, in-person extracurricular activities, indoor assemblies, field trips, eating in cafeterias, singing, playing wind instruments and indoor sports without masks, all with some distancing requirements.
However, school boards are allowed to strengthen those pandemic protocols to fit local conditions. In Ottawa, that's turning into different rules at the four boards, even though all operate schools in the same city, and in some cases, the same neighbourhood or even right next to each other.
To further complicate things, Ottawa Public Health is working with other local health units in the province to co-ordinate recommendations on extra school pandemic restrictions to avoid a patchwork approach, Deputy Medical Officer of Health Brent Moloughney told trustees at an Ottawa-Carleton board meeting this week.
He said those recommendations would be made soon. In earlier remarks, Ottawa Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches said she would recommend that students engaged in physical activity indoors should wear masks.
In the meantime, Ottawa boards are making their own decisions about how to keep kids safe as the province faces a fourth pandemic wave fuelled by the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant. Case counts are rising and officials are pleading with everyone who is eligible to get a vaccine.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has warned the province may face a difficult fall and winter as schools reopen and more people head indoors.
Moloughney told Ottawa-Carleton board trustees that parents should feel confident about sending their children back to class. The number of COVID-19 cases in Ottawa is manageable, although cases are slowly rising, he added.
Keeping transmission of the virus low in the community is key because that will drive cases in schools lower, Moloughney said.
Vaccines are unlikely to be approved for children under age 12 before late October, he said.
The Ottawa-Carleton board, the city's largest with 75,000 students, is taking the most cautious approach so far.
In its message to parents Thursday, the board said in-person extracurricular sports and other activities won't be allowed when its schools reopen Sept. 9. That will be assessed after schools have successfully opened.
On Friday, the board clarified that those activities will get started “as soon as possible” this fall after a delay of perhaps a few weeks and consultation with local health partners and other area school boards.
“We agree sports, clubs and extracurricular activities are a vital part of the school experience for physical and mental health and well being.
“The safe operation of in-person extracurricular activities requires consideration of cohorting, group transportation and volunteers.
“But we want to spend the first few weeks of school helping students and staff settle in and ensure safety precautions are working effectively.”
Ottawa-Carleton board schools will hold assemblies either virtually or outdoors. Field trips will be limited to outdoor properties or in the neighbourhood, but no busing is allowed. Meet-the-teacher and school council meetings will take place virtually.
Further pandemic health and safety measures may come next week, when board trustees debate proposals for mandatory vaccines for employees, visitors and perhaps students, as well as an extension of masking requirements for kindergarten students, at a meeting scheduled for Aug. 31. The province's plan makes masks mandatory indoors for students in Grades 1-12.
Earlier this week, the Ottawa Catholic School Board released its back-to-school plan, which also included restrictions beyond provincial guidelines. Large group assemblies won't be allowed indoors and field trips are banned when its schools reopen this fall.
Both English boards say elementary students will continue to eat lunch in classrooms, as they did last year, and visitors and volunteers at schools will be limited to essential reasons only.
The school reopening plan released by Ottawa's French public school board is more closely aligned with provincial guidelines. Clubs, sports teams and extracurricular activities are allowed. More guidelines on physical activities and music programs are still to come, the plan said.
Kindergarten and preschool students are required to wear masks while riding school buses at the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario.
We want to spend the first few weeks of school helping students and staff settle in.