Hamilton public school board pushes back start of classes

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board has changed its school reopening schedule and has pushed back the start date of classes.

HWDSB sent out the new plan, which includes fewer days for students to get familiar with schools, on Friday evening.

Instead of students starting classeson Tuesday,Sept. 8, the first set of studentswill now beginon Thursday, Sept. 10.

"Our priority is the health and safety of students and staff in the reopening process," notes the release.

Elementary schools

In elementary schools, staff will spend Sept. 8and Sept. 9 adjusting to their new timetables.

OnThursday, Sept. 10 and Friday, Sept. 11 elementary schools will have students with special needs drop in and will also begin orientation for junior kindergarten.

The schedule then dividesthe student bodyinto either Group A or Group B with the goal of having only half of all classes attend. The groups are divided by last name.

Group A is for last names that start with the letters between A an K. Group B is forfor last names that start with the letters between L and Z.

In elementary schools, Group A will attend school on Monday, Sept. 14 while Group B will attend on Tuesday, Sept. 15. On Wednesday,all studentsreturnto school (which is unchanged from the last schedule).

HWDSB told CBC roughly 20 per cent of students in elementary schools will learn via a virtual school.

For families concerned about if their child is properly registered into the system, the board said those who use the Parent Portal can review their choice online,while those who completed the alternate form should have received a confirmation.

HWDSB also notes school will reach out to families before classes start.

High schools

In high schools, administrators will use Sept. 8and Sept. 9to tweak timetables and ready their study hall spaces.

They will welcome students with special needs on Sept. 10and Sept. 11and will also begin orientation for all students in remote learning on those days.

Grade 9 and 10 students in Group A, for both in-person and remote learning, will start class on Monday, Sept. 14.

Grade 11 and 12 students in remote classes will also start.

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Grade 9 and 10 students in Group B start class for both in-person and remote learning, while Grade 11 and 12 students from the remote classes continue learning.

On that Wednesday,all students in Group A return to school, before Group B gets the school on Thursday.

High school runs on an adaptive model, so this rotating between groups will continue for the rest of the semester.

HWDSB explains that students attending in-person classes will receive roughly150 minutes of learning a day.

Cohorts on theiroff day from schoolwill use these 150 minutes to complete assigned work they learned the day before, when they were in school using remote learning tools.

All students from both cohorts will participate in 150 minutes of remote learning each day.

The release says they will receive 40 minutes of direct instruction for each of their three courses each day with their entire class.

Students will also be expected to engage in 10 minutes of independent study per course on each day.

COVID-19 outbreak plan in review

HWDSB and Hamliton Public Health are still reviewing the provincially mandated COVID-19 outbreak plan released earlier this week.

The board also noted PPE is being delivered to schools, which will also undergo inspection before kids start class.

Human Resourcesare also confirming newteacher assignments, the new virtual school and adding additional staff using $9 million from the board'sreserve funds.

HWDSB will hold a special board meeting on Monday with more details about reopening schools.

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We hope you'll use this form to tell us about school conditions, how classes are going or whatever other pressing issues are on your mind this September in Hamilton, Niagara, St. Catharines and Burlington.