Dealing with the unknown is tough and that is what school boards and their families are doing as they get ready for a Christmas break.
On Wednesday, a memo from the province indicated that boards and their schools should be prepared to go online if it is needed come January.
In the case of the Avon Maitland District School Board, Director of Education Dr. Lisa Walsh, says they will be following up Thursday with needed communication.
"We're preparing a communication to our families, we're having a meeting this afternoon with our administrators, we are preparing a memo to our staff about how they should be prepared to take things home tomorrow," said Dr. Walsh. "In the case we have to move to an online learning platform."
One of the key messages from Dr. Walsh is not to panic.
"We've taken our silver linings from the spring when we had to do this with no planning," added Dr. Walsh.
But there should be some last minute practice before school lets out for a two week break on Friday.
"Before they (students) leave school, practice logging into Google classrooms so that they are prepared and families know how their child should be able to get online," added Dr. Walsh.
At this point the plan is students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 will get any needed devices in the new year if online learning needs to happen. All other students will bring home devices for the break as would any students with special needs.
All of those details are being put together in the board communication to families.
As for the COVID-19 situation in Huron and Perth, Dr. Walsh says while the numbers are low compared to other regions of the province they have seen an increase over the last month.
"We knew we were not immune but we knew we were doing very well until about a month ago and then we consistently had one or two cases across the district."
