Officials with Waterloo Region's public and Catholic school boards say they're preparing for the possibility of moving to remote learning to start 2022.

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) have both told students to take home any necessary items ahead of winter break.

An update on the WRDSB's website said they have not received direction at this time from the Ministry of Education about moving to distance learning after the winter break. However, officials said they want to "have prepared schools to ensure a smooth transition."

"We ask that families remind their children to bring home their personal belongings," the update from the school board said. "It is also a great time to clean backpacks, lunch bags or any other items that students regularly make use of at school."

The WRDSB will send elementary students home with devices if they need them.

Any decision on school closures isn't up to the boards.

"We are waiting on news, whether that would come from the ministry or local public health," said Loretta Notten, the director of education for the WCDSB.

The province is providing five take-home rapid antigen screening kits to children at publicly funded schools, regardless of their vaccination status. Students won't need to provide rapid test results in order to return to the classroom. However, the WRDSB sent a note to parents saying they will need to report their child's COVID-19 screening results online each day if they return.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said they feel confident about the precautions the school boards are taking.

"We will continue to follow the advice of the chief medical officer of health to support safe in-class learning," a statement from the ministry read in part.

“People are really nervous,” said Patrick Etmanski, president of the Ontario English Teachers Association of Waterloo. “We have not seen as many cases in schools ever, as we have in the last couple of weeks,”

Etmanski said he hopes a decision is made soon, either way so that parents, students, teachers and staff can start to prepare themselves.

Winter break is scheduled to run from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2.