2021 - 2022 Back to School Plan

Learn more about our Back to School Plan
Posted on 11/17/2021
Explore 2021 - 2022 Back to School Plan


As the Kenora Catholic District School Board gets ready to welcome students to a new school year, the following information is provided to assist everyone in preparing for a safe return to learning. The first day of school for students is Thursday, September 2.

We look forward to welcoming our students back into warm and welcoming learning environments where relationships with Educators and peers are prioritized.

For the 2021-22 school year, the Kenora Catholic District School Board will continue to focus on supporting the health, safety and well-being of students, families and staff. Based on direction from the Ministry of Education and guidance from public health, schools are permitted to open for in-person learning with health and safety measures in place for the 2021-22 school year.


Learning Recovery and Renewal

While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected students differently, there is a need to focus on student mental health and well-being, supports for early reading and math and the re-engagement of students. These focus areas are key priorities for Kenora Catholic.

Educators will continue to assess students’ strengths and areas of need throughout the school year at key instructional times to support students in building foundational knowledge in advance of new content.


Elementary

Elementary schools will reopen with conventional in-person delivery of learning, with enhanced health and safety protocols.

Elementary school students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 will attend school five days per week, with 300 minutes of instruction per day. Cohorted classes will stay together with one Teacher during instructional time, where possible.

Students may be placed into small groups with students from other cohorts. Students may use common spaces such as gymnasiums and learning commons/library). Specialized education staff and teachers, such as French teachers, education support staff (for example, education assistants), with appropriate personal protective equipment, are permitted to go into classrooms and multiple schools to provide the full range of programming for students.

Secondary

St. Thomas Aquinas High School will provide daily in-person learning for the full duration of the school day (five instructional hours). For the start of the school year, St. Thomas Aquinas High School (9-12) will timetable students in the quadmester system (with no more than two courses at a time).


Remote Learning

Students learning at school, in-person, with their educators and classmates greatly benefits their mental health, social and emotional well-being and overall academic success. We recognize the importance of students returning to full-time, in-person learning, and while Kenora Catholic continues to focus on in-person learning as the preferred model for students, remote learning will also be offered at St. Isidore Virtual School and St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

With more students having returned to in-person classes, our ability to offer a similar scope of programming as was offered during the 2020-2021 school year is limited. Students in remote learning will be assigned to multi-grade classrooms.

Transfers into remote learning were closed in June 2021 to allow staffing to be put in place. Transfer opportunities from in-person learning to remote learning during the 2021 – 2022 school year will be limited due to staffing and learning continuation. There will be two mid-year transfer points for elementary students and three for secondary students. These opportunities to transfer align with respective elementary and secondary reporting periods. However, students in remote learning are welcome to return to in-person learning throughout the school year.

Important: When an elementary student (Kindergarten to Grade 8) registers for remote learning, they are transferred to St. Isidore Virtual School, which becomes their ‘home’ school. The student is no longer associated with their previous ‘brick and mortar’ school, its Principal or Teachers, or school activities/events. Secondary students (Grade 9 – 12) registered in remote learning for the 2021 – 2022 school year are registered at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.



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