December 17th, 2020

The Waterloo Region District School Board has taken a proactive approach in preparing for any possibly learning scenario for the 2020-21 school year. On December 16, the Ministry of Education provided school boards across the province with notice to encourage staff and students to take home anything they may need for distance learning before the winter holiday break. This is to ensure our staff and students are prepared for any possible learning scenario in January.

Until we have additional information for the return to school in the new year, the WRDSB will not be deploying any additional technology to students in our elementary schools. This is because any deployed device would need to be quarantined for seven days upon the return to the school. Understandably this would negatively impact learning in our schools, should schools remain open. 

A decision to close schools or move from in-person to distance learning is made by the Ministry of Education or Region of Waterloo Public Health. At this time, there is no direction to close or move to distance learning after the holiday break. However, school board staff have started the process of communicating contingency plans to schools to ensure a smooth transition would take place, if required. 

We ask that families remind their students to bring home any of their personal belongings. The break is also a great time to clean backpacks, lunch pails or any other items that students regularly make use of at school.  

We will share any information related to the return to school as soon as it becomes available. Any updates regarding the status of school closures, the distribution of technology, or a move to full distance learning will be posted to the school and board websites, School Day and on the WRDSB’s social media channels: ​Twitter: @WRDSB  Facebook: facebook.com/wrdsb and Instagram: @wr_dsb.

We recognize that these are challenging times and that COVID-19 cases continue to climb across our province. We ask that staff, students and families please continue to follow the advice of Public Health, even though it may mean forgoing traditional gatherings. With your help, we look forward to welcoming students back in person in January.