KITCHENER -- On Monday morning, thousands of students across Waterloo Region logged online for virtual school.

While all classrooms across Ontario remain closed for provincial lockdown measures following the holiday break, elementary students are expected to return to in-person learning next week, while high school students will go back Jan. 25.

"It's hard to not see your teacher in real life, but you have to get used to it so it's okay," said grade four student Peyton Moonen.

Educators at the Waterloo Region District School Board spent the day connecting with students online or on the phone to plan for the rest of the week.

"Everyone was supposed to have a staff meeting this morning to go over expectations and where things are at," said Greg Weiler, Waterloo Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario president. "The rest of the day was to make contact with students and prepare for the next four days."

Meanwhile at the Catholic board, some schools were already up and running with a schedule. The board says that all secondary students are already equipped with a device if needed, while elementary students were provided Chromebooks ahead of the Christmas break if they needed them too.

Melissa Deneault, a parent in Kitchener, says they have been set up for remote learning since September.

"We already had all the technology in place," she said. "Our daughter had a laptop since September and we have gotten to keep that for the entire time. She had the same teacher as she did before the break so nothing has really changed since before the Christmas break."