11 Thursday,January 27,2022 durham region.com Work is underway to plan Durham's school bell times for 2022-23, and one of the main goals is scrapping the unpopular 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. high school bell times that have become a source of angst for parents and students. Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) -- which buses more than 18,000 students from the Durham District School Board and Durham Catholic District School Board -- has completed a review and released a list of recommended bell times for next year. Start times of between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. are being proposed for high schools. "DSTS has been working over the past few months to address the secondary bell times of 10 a.m. that were implemented to address the COVID pandemic concerns as well as an anticipated driver shortage," says Kelly Mechoulan, chief administrative officer for DSTS. She says the bell times suggested for 2022-23 allow DSTS to "reduce the number of required buses and limit the risk of service interruptions due to a driver shortage in the new school year." Out of 170 schools in total, bell time changes are proposed for 49. DSTS is recommending that most high school bell times shift earlier or later from their pre-pandemic schedules. Some of thepotential changes are minimal, while others change bell times by almost an hour. "We're stuck in a dynamic where we're forced to push secondary bell times either early or late based on our desire to mitigate changes to elementary bell times," says DDSB associate director David Wright. Proposed bell time changes of more than 10 minutes require public consultation. Whitby trustee Niki Lundquist said more broad consultation might be needed this time around, because it has been two years since local high schools used their pre-pandemic schedules. "I think we need to keep in mind students who are in Grade 9 or 10 have not known anything other than a 10 a.m. start. They've spent half of their high school careers starting at 10 a.m.," she says. For example, Brooklin High School is technically looking at a 10-minute time change from an 8:10 a.m. start to an 8 a.m. start. Lundquist says that change could seem very dramatic to families that have become used to a 10 a.m. bell. The move to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. bell times angered many students, who say the late bell impacts their ability to work at part-time jobs, do extracurricular activities or provide after-school care to younger siblings. Close to 4,000 people have signed a petition calling on Durham's school boards to change the bell times. DDSB student trustees spoke out on the issue this fall. Trustee De-Mario Knowles says students have been "significantly impacted" by finishing the school day at 4 p.m. "Picking up younger siblings and getting to work on time are examples of the conflicts that have been created from the school hour changes," he said. "I've heard from quite a few students that they have to leave class early just to get to work on time," added student trustee Kayla Malcolm. NEW BELL TIMES PROPOSED FOR DURHAM HIGH SCHOOLS FOR 2022-23 JILLIAN FOLLERT jfoller t@durhamregion.com NEWS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SAY 4 P.M. FINISH IMPACTS ABILITY TO WORK PART-TIME JOBS, CARE FOR YOUNGER SIBLINGS New bell times are being proposed for some schools in Durham for 2022-23, including Brooklin High School, which would move to a proposed 8 a.m. start time after starting at 10 a.m. for the last two years. Jason Liebregts/Metroland Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the local community has remained #DurhamStrong through our resilient spirit. As we look to the future -- and economic and community recovery -- the Region of Durham is calling on residents to share their unique experiences on a new, interactive platform: durham.ca/Pandemic- Stories. You can write a story, share a photo, video or artwork; and connect with other members of the community to learn about their pandemic experiences. STORIES OF THE PANDEMIC: THAO NGHIEM Before her move to Toronto, Vietnamese immigrant Thao Nghiem lived in Oshawa as a student at Durham College. She was enrolled in the music business management program, and upon graduation, became one of the executive directors for the Oshawa Music Awards (OMAs). Here's her pandemic story. "When the pandemic hit Canada in March 2020, we were about to run our award show in April, to announce the award winners together with a lineup of music performances. Due to the close down for almost everything, we also had to cancel our in-real-life event. This decision affected everyone working with us, including the venue, hotels, performers, partners, sponsors ... everyone. Our team at the OMAs always wants to continue our mission to support the music community in Durham region, in good times and bad. We decided to move our entire award show online through eight livestreamed broadcasts in 2020, and four broadcasts in 2021, to keep our local music alive. In September 2021, with the partial opening of the facilities, we ran a hybrid model of livestream award show with limited in-person participants. It was fantastic! What inspires me the most is that during the darkest time of our pandemic, the music never stops. The songwriters keep writing their songs in their bedrooms, the producers keep making music in their basements, and the artists/performers keep sharing their voice and talent through online and social media platforms. Seeing that strength and resilience, hope and positivity, energy and just simply good vibes, I find peace and gratitude. Our team at the OMAs, and I myself, have been learning more about our wonderful artists and music professionals in Durham region and what they have been doing in order to recognize and celebrate them on our platform. It's inspiring and empowering to showcase these wonderful stories and share them with our community. After the pandemic, I can't wait to go out and see more live music! It's been almost two years. And I believe it goes the same way with our team at the OMAs. We are excited to prepare for our award show next year, which is our five-year anniversary. We are going to make a stellar show with the recognition of everyone who has been supporting our journey in the past five years of celebrating music in Durham region. For me, I find myself reaching a whole new level of empathy and sympathy for others. Virtual and from-home working brings certain challenges and difficulties; it's a new experience. I learn to listen more and understand others before even bringing out my own judgments. It is beautiful because I can see other team members at the OMAs start doing the same thing to me. Going through this experience together, our team is stronger and better than we have ever been." Story collected by Will McGuirk on behalf of the Region of Durham's Stories of the Pandemic project. Read more local stories and submit your own at durham.ca/PandemicStories. COVID OR NOT, THAO NGHIEM SAYS 'THE MUSIC NEVER STOPS' OPINION Former Oshawa resident Thao Nghiem is also a co-executive director of the Oshawa Music Awards. Durham Region photo