School Closure Announcement

Dec. 21, 2020

The Ontario Government announced additional lockdown measures this afternoon that will have an impact on Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board schools.

The government has announced that following the Christmas break, our Catholic elementary schools will remain closed from Jan. 4 to Jan. 8, 2021. All students currently enrolled in in-person learning will transition to remote learning during that time period. Classroom teachers will connect virtually with students beginning Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 and will provide students with a schedule and learning expectations for that week. Elementary students will return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. 

Beginning Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, secondary schools will be closed until Jan. 22, 2021 and all in-person secondary learners will transition into remote learning during that time period. Classroom teachers will connect virtually with students beginning Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 and will provide students further direction. Secondary students will return to in-person learning on Jan. 25, 2021. 

For our students currently enrolled in our St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Virtual School, today’s announcement will have no impact. School will resume as normal for our virtual learners, including our e-learning students on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.

Child Care

• Child care will remain open for the duration of the Provincewide Shutdown period. This includes child care offered in licensed centres, in home-based settings (licensed and unlicensed) and by authorized recreation and skill-building providers
• During the period where elementary schools are operating virtually (i.e., from Jan. 4 to 8, inclusive), licensed child care centres and authorized recreation and skill-building providers will be prohibited from serving school-aged children. All before and after school programs are being closed during this one-week period. These programs may resume operation when elementary schools return to in-person learning on Jan. 11, 2021

Mental Health Resources 

We’d like to direct students and families to our COVID-19 Mental Health Resources, including Kids Help Phone, which offers 24/7 counselling and referral services across the province. To use this free resource, children can call 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868. School Mental Health Ontario provides excellent mental health resources year-round for students, parents and families.

Student Transportation

Because both the elementary and the secondary panels will be learning remotely the first week in January, no student transportation services will be provided January 4-8, 2021. Once elementary schools resume in-class instruction on Jan. 11, 2021, student transportation services will resume.

Since the beginning of September, we have been preparing for the possibility of further school closures and our Board has been working with our educators to increase capacity for blended learning. As a result, our educators are much more comfortable using remote learning tools and we are in a good position to offer a more seamless transition from in-person learning to remote learning at this time.

We hope that our students and their families have a safe and blessed Christmas break. Students will connect with their teachers on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 and we will work to ensure a successful start to 2021.

Sincerely, 

Joan Carragher
Director of Education