Elementary students at York Catholic District School Board schools in Markham and across York Region will have no classes on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.
The board has scheduled the day as a Professional Activity Day for all YCDSB elementary schools, meaning students stay home while teaching and school staff take part in training sessions.
The day off comes as staff work through a series of Human Resources training modules focused on the safety and well-being of staff, students and the wider school community, according to the York Catholic District School Board.
Topics on the training agenda include bullying prevention, concussion awareness, mandatory reporting of child abuse, and privacy and access training. Staff will also receive sessions on workplace violence prevention, workplace health and safety, and culpable absenteeism for staff.
The board says the training schedule follows the Ministry of Education's Regulation 304, which governs school year calendars and professional activity days. Under the regulation, boards are required to publish summaries of the activities staff will undertake on P.A. Days.
The notice applies to elementary schools only. Families with children in both elementary and secondary grades may want to check their individual school's calendar, as the board's announcement did not list a P.A. Day for secondary schools on the same date.
For Markham families, the Oct. 26 date is the first elementary P.A. Day of the school year to fall on a Monday, giving many students a long weekend heading into the last week of October.
