Public, Catholic school boards release guidelines for students, parents in Mississauga and Brampton

With just one week before students in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon return to the classroom, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) and Peel District School Board (PDSB) released guidelines for what students and parents can expect this coming year.

For the upcoming academic year, both the PDSB and DPCDSB will require students in kindergarten through grade 12 to wear a mask in school as well as when traveling on school vehicles (students will not be required to wear masks while outside).

The DPCDSB will be sending documents to students and their parents regarding which teacher they will have, what classroom they will be assigned to, and which entrances and exits they will be using before September 7.

Elementary school students for both school boards will only socialize with their own class or cohort, including during recess (during which students will be permitted to remove their masks while outside).

Additionally, some DPCDSB schools may implement staggered recesses in order to ensure students can maintain physical distancing from other classes and cohorts.

As per instructions from the PDSB, elementary school students will be required to complete the Province’s public health screening tool before attending each day.

For secondary school students, DPCDSB schools will follow the quadmester format introduced for the last school year, while PDSB schools will follow a Modified Semester Model, wherein students will take four courses each semester, which is 20 weeks, and they will alternate the two courses they are taking each week (two courses one week, two different courses the next).

Both the PDSB and DPCDSB will allow secondary school students to go off campus for lunches. Those who choose to stay at school will be required to eat with their assigned classes/cohorts.

Elementary school students part of both boards will eat lunch in their assigned classrooms with their class/cohort. The DPCDSB will also allow elementary school students to eat lunch off campus.

Further, both boards have cancelled lunch programs, such as pizza day, hot dog day, etc., until further notice.

Regarding extracurricular activities, the DPCDSB is awaiting further information from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations regarding inter-school and inter-board competition.

However, the board has stipulated masks must be worn during all indoor sports, including contact and high-intensity sports—such as basketball and wrestling.

The PDSB has stated extracurricular sports and clubs will be permitted, but no spectators will be allowed to attend events.

This year, the PDSB will also be allowing parents the option to change their child’s learning model. Parents of elementary school students can request a switch from September 1 to 8, with the change coming into effect September 27, while parents of secondary school students can request a switch from August 30 to September 9, with the switch coming into effect September 9.