Ontario High Schools Will Finally Return To Normal Semesters This Winter

The bells are ringing, it is soon about to be time for Ontario's high school students to head back for a more normal in-person learning experience.

On November 18, the Ontario government announced that students will be able to return to a regular semester of four courses a day starting this February.

"With new guidance and enhanced testing options in place, secondary schools will also be permitted to resume a regular timetabling model of four courses a day starting February 2022," government officials wrote in the news release.

"Doing so will provide a more normal, in-person learning experience for students and promote positive mental health and is supported by high rates of vaccination amongst youth aged 12 to 17, which have helped reduce the number and frequency of outbreaks among high-school aged students."

Previously, high schools had been in a "modified semester" which saw students taking four courses a semester, but only taking two courses a week.

The government is also introducing new measures to ensure students' safety at their schools and will include take-home PCR self-collection kits in Ontario's publicly funded schools for both staff and students.

Millions of rapid antigen screening tests will also be provided before the December break in order to give that extra layer of protection as students head into their holiday breaks and before they come back to school in the new year.

The Ontario government is also updating its COVD-19 guidance as the province moves into the cold winter months, and are including short-term measures like letting everyone know on the school board and who attends the school about Canada's international travel policies and hosting online-only school-wide assemblies for elementary schools starting in the new year.