The start of the school year will be staggered for students with the Renfrew County District School Board.
Director of Education Pino Buffone says students who are doing online learning will be introduced to their teachers on the first day of school (Tuesday, September 8th).
Parents and guardians will have three more opportunities in November, January and April to select if they want their children to continue with online learning.
Buffone says at the elementary level Senior Kindergarten and students in Grades 1 to 8 will start on Tuesday, with those entering Junior Kindergarten starting later in the week.
The Director of Education for the RCDSB says secondary schools will also have a staggered start. Grade 9 and Special Education students will start on Tuesday, Grade 10 students will start Wednesday and those in Grade 11 and 12 will be back to school on Thursday, September 10th.
Buffone says they’re trying to balance health and safety, with a focus on academics and the well-being of staff and students.
Some of the measures the local school board has taken includes providing personal protective equipment for staff, signs to manage the direction of students and staggering transportation and the start of the school year.
The Director of Education thinks it will take some time to adjust and adds staff will handle bumps along the way as they come.
Buffone would like to thank all the staff at the RCDSB for all the hard work put in to ensure a safe restart to the school year.
