April 12 - Message from Niagara Catholic

Dear Niagara Catholic families:

As you have likely heard by now, this afternoon, Premier Doug Ford, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams announced that schools would not reopen on Monday, April 19, following the spring break. This is an open-ended school closure, with the reopening date directly tied to the community's transmission rates.

We understand that this information conflicts with messaging sent out by the Minister of Education over the weekend.  However, in response to the escalating number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, which have now grown to levels beyond what was seen in January during the month-long school closure and have exceeded the projections for a worst-case scenario for the third wave, we believe that this is a safe, responsible decision for everyone.

We understand that this is challenging for families and are grateful that the announcement came early in the week to allow parents time to plan for the pivot to virtual for what we hope is the last time this year.

Our Senior Staff and the Board's COVID leads will meet early Tuesday to finalize plans for the coming weeks of learning at home. As you already know, schools will be open for students with complex special education needs who do not learn well online. We also understand that there are families that will require technology for your child(ren) to learn successfully from home. We will provide more information to these families, and all families, about how the return to school will look on April 19 in the coming days.

In the meantime, we hope that you and your family enjoy the change of the break's pace and are safe and well.