Students in Waterloo Region are frustrated with the on-going tensions between the teachers union and the provincial government.
Now they’re speaking out against the cancellation of after-school activities by staging a day of action on Monday.
Students from at least 16 Waterloo Regional District High Schools will rally together in Uptown Waterloo Square starting at 3 p.m.
The event was organized by Andrew Clubine and Jack Meyer, students at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate & Vocational School (KCI).
“Really what we want to do is educate students on the current labour dispute and we want to let the students know the different avenues that are available to them to make their voices heard,” said Clubine.
“It’s disappointing to us that essentially we are innocent by-standers [in] this situation,” said Meyer. “We seem to be the ones that take the brunt of the effect.”
The Waterloo District School Board announced last week that all after-school activities would be cancelled for the remainder of the year. The decision was made because student safety could be at risk without proper teacher supervision.
Maneh Kara-Yakouvian, a grade 10 student at Cameron Heights, said the conflict hasn’t just affected extra-curricular sports, but also academics. “I used to get math help and I can’t get it anymore because it requires teacher help.”
Teachers at the Avon Maitland School Board have announced a one-day strike on Monday. Other school boards in Ontario have also announced one-day strikes in the coming days.
