Toronto Students Won't Have Lockers, Sports Or Field Trips When They Return To School

Going back to class will come with some huge adjustments this year. The TDSB released their guide to safe school reopening, and have outlined some key changes that students will be seeing this fall. Toronto school reopening plans will mean no lockers, sports, field trips, and other services.

According to the Returning To School document from the TDSB, schools will be operating according to advice from public health when they open on September 8.

To help limit the spread of COVID-19, students will be asked to screen themselves for symptoms before leaving home, and will also be checked once they arrive. 

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Furthermore, physical distancing will be a top priority. The multiple services being cut are so that safety issues don't come up in the future.

Lockers are out because of the physical distancing difficulties they bring up.

The same goes for sports and field trips because they both often function and travel in large groups, which the board is prohibiting. 

Lunchtime will also be different, but it will depend on the school.

Some schools will be asking students to eat in the classrooms, and not share food.

Other options will propose that lunch and recess times be staggered into groups to promote crowd control.

This will depend on the number of students and the amount of available space at the specific school.

Sports will be postponed "until the board receives explicit direction from the Ontario Medical Officer of Health (MOH)" to resume, says the report.

This will also postpone in-person assemblies and dances, as well as school concerts. 

The new regulations may change depending on the situation, said Carlene Jackson, the interim director of education at TDSB. 

"We do not know what this year has in store and we will need to be responsive to ensure the safety of our community," Jackson said in the report.

"This may mean changes to the model throughout the year, and while we cannot avoid it, we can be prepared for it."

Students in high school will also do remote learning for half of the day, and semesters will be changed to "quadmesters," meaning shorter class terms and four exam periods a year. 

Students will also be organized into cohorts of about 15, which will rotate their presence at school on alternating days.