Keeping you engaged and informed
Keeping you engaged and informed
Ward 11 Weekly Update header
Week of June 3, 2019

Happy Eid

Eid al-Fitr, also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. This year it falls on Tuesday, June 4. This religious Eid is the first and only day in the month of Shawwal during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. To all those observing, Eid Mubarak.

National Indigenous History Month

In June, we celebrate National Indigenous History Month to honour the history, heritage and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The TDSB honours this month in recognition of the rights, histories and extraordinary achievements of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The unique cultures and perspectives of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities are celebrated nationally and locally.
On June 21, the TDSB also recognizes National Indigenous Peoples Day. It is held around the time of the summer solstice - the longest day of the year - and is of spiritual significance for many Indigenous peoples. It is celebrated by family and community coming together for a feast, and it reminds people about the importance of staying grounded, humble and appreciative. For more information, including Indigenous history and success stories, visit the Government of Canada website.

TDSB Celebrates LGBTQ Pride Every Day

Our TDSB community has a rich culture and history of celebrating diversity and our LGBTQ community every day. Learn more about the history of Pride by visiting Pride Toronto and learn more about how we celebrate at the TDSB. Join us at the Toronto Pride Parade on Sunday, June 23, 2019. A proud TDSB contingent of students, staff, Trustees and community members will be taking part, just like we've done every year since 2000.
Everyone is welcome! Come out and join TDSB friends and colleagues. More information to come -

June is Portuguese Speaking Month at the TDSB

This year’s theme is “One language uniting cultures/Uma língua a unir culturas.” We’re pleased this year to be reaching out to all 246,000 students from JK to Grade 12 and to all 38,000 TDSB staff with many educational opportunities for them to learn about our rich and vibrant culture. The contributions of the Portuguese-speaking community to Canada’s history are vast as it includes the arts, sports, medicine and public life. Some of our educational opportunities included a launch to kick off Portuguese Speaking Heritage Month held at the Gallery of Portuguese Pioneers, a T-Shirt Design Challenge (winning design from Harbord Collegiate Institute) and the creation of a poster that was shared with all our schools. We are excited to extend an invitation to all students, staff and the TDSB community to attend the City of Toronto Portugal Day Parade: Sunday, June 9, 2019 11:00 am – 1:00 pm - Along Dundas Street West, from Lansdowne Avenue to Crawford Street
TDSB Meeting Location: Gather at 9:30 am at the south east corner of Lansdowne and Bloor Street West

June is Italian Heritage Month at the TDSB

“Learning never exhausts the mind.”
~ Leonardo da Vinci

This year the theme is Italy: Viva L’Italia:  Celebrating Italian Cultural Heritage. During this month, the TDSB celebrates the spirited culture and traditions of the Italian community with students, staff and the entire TDSB community. The TDSB is joined by the Province of Ontario in recognizing Italian Heritage Month since June 2010 when the Italian Heritage Month Act was passed. This Act recognizes the important contributions that immigrants made in building Ontario's communities and the economic, political, social and cultural achievements of Italian Canadians throughout the province.  Italian Canadian immigrants have played a prominent role in supporting Canada's post-war boom and Toronto's emergence as a diverse, vibrant world-class city. Activities for students, staff and the TDSB community are being planned at the TDSB to recognize Italian Heritage Month throughout the month of June. Below are two celebrations that will be taking place in the City of Toronto to recognize Italian Heritage Month:
Taste of Little Italy:  Friday, June 14 – Sunday, June 16
Italian Contemporary Film Festival:  Thursday, June 13 – Friday, June 21

2019-20 TDSB Operating Budget

The Toronto District School Board is projecting a budget shortfall of $67.8 million for the upcoming school year – 2019-20. That figure includes $42.1 million in Ministry of Education funding reductions and the TDSB’s structural shortfall of $25.7 million. Trustees are required by law to approve a balanced budget by June 30.
The Board`s Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee (FBEC) is currently considering TDSB staff’s proposed 2019-20 balanced budget that addresses the $67.8 million shortfall. That proposed budget includes a number of reductions and changes to the delivery of programs and services. These are very difficult decisions as everything we currently do is valued by those we serve. For that reason, the Board embarked on a very deliberate consultation to ensure the budget process would be driven by budget drivers or guiding principles.

FBEC continues to receive presentations at its meetings from delegations consisting of students, parents, TDSB staff, unions representing TDSB staff, community members and various organizations about the proposed budget reductions.

At tomorrow's meeting, beginning at 4:30 p.m., trustees will have the opportunity to introduce amendments to the proposed 2019-20 balanced operating budget. They are not final. All committee amendments to the proposed budget will be considered by the Board of Trustees at the June 11 Committee Meeting beginning at 4:30 and the June 19 Board meeting, starting at 7 p.m., 5050 Yonge Street.

Please note that all meetings are available as live webcasts. To watch the live webcasts, visit https://www.tdsb.on.ca and follow the live broadcast link. If you miss a webcast, it will be posted below under “Watch Our FBEC Meeting Videos”.

We have received many questions and concerns about the $42.1 million in Ministry of Education funding reductions to the TDSB`s budget. The most common question is: Who do we contact if we have concerns about the Ministry of Education funding reductions? These are provincial government decisions approved by the Minister of Education who directs the Ministry of Education to implement the funding reductions. School boards are required by law to balance their budgets. To achieve that balance, the Board must decide where in their budget they will reduce programs, services and staff totaling the shortfall of $67.8 million.
If you have concerns or questions about the Ministry of Education budget reductions, you can also contact the Minister of Education:
Hon. Lisa M. Thompson | Minister | 416-325-2600 | minister.edu@ontario.ca or contact your local Member of Provincial Parliament.

You can learn more about the proposed program, service and staff reductions in the Questions and Answers from FBEC Meetings listed below.
For more understanding of the Budget issues, please visit the budget webpage   https://www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Business-Services/Budgets-and-Financial-Statements/2019-20-Budget.
And as always, you can e-mail me at shelley.laskin@tdsb.on.ca. 

TDSB Board Chair Robin Pilkey has send another letter to the Minister of Education requesting seven specific decisions that would support student -
If you are serious about working with school boards, including the TDSB, to cut back on the anxiety that has been expressed by students, parents and school boards across Ontario, please consider the following decisions that would support students:
  1. Commit to listening to the results of the Ministry consultation on secondary school class size and pay close attention to the analysis you are now getting regarding the impacts on programs, course offerings and student supports;
  2. Put on hold the decision to increase average class sizes in high schools and put on hold the reductions to high school teachers until such time that there is system wide and school-board-by-school board data on the impact on high school programs and course options and the concern school boards have with regard to the potential negative impact on graduation rates;
  3. For the 2019-2020 budget year, restore funding for the Teacher Qualifications and
    Experience Grant that is tied to the high school teacher reduction;
  4. Compensate boards, including the TDSB, whose collective agreements require a smaller average class size in Grades 4-8 than the average class size level being funded by the Ministry of Education;
  5. Reverse the new provincial surcharge on International students – a surcharge that is reducing school board revenue;
  6. Restore Ministry funding of the Priority School Initiative to cover school permit costs in economically challenged communities and ensure the not-for-profit organizations that provide the support for children and youth can continue to operate; and
  7. Allow the TDSB to incorporate into their budget balancing strategies the ability and flexibility to both use reserves and run a 1% deficit to balance over two years.
Minister, taking the above decisive actions will go a long way to reducing the anxiety of parents, students and staff at the TDSB and across Ontario. If you are truly listening then you must seize the opportunity to reconsider the wisdom of the significant school board budget and teacher reductions you have pursued. 

TDSB Meetings This Week

Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee (Special Meeting) Monday, June 3, 2019
4:30 p.m. Boardroom, Main Floor, 5050 Yonge Street
Delegations Timed Item: 6:30 p.m.
4.1 Notices of Motion: Substitutions to the 2019-20 Balanced Budget Plan Appendices
• Appendix A: International Language Programs
• Appendix B: Outdoor Education
• Appendix C: Student Support Services
• Appendix D: Transportation Services – French Immersion/Extended French and Gifted
• Appendix E: Itinerant Music Instructors
4.2 Proposed Balanced 2019-2020 Operating Budget

Program and School Services Committee Tuesday, June 4, 2019 4:30 p.m Committee Room A, 5050 Yonge Street
5. Reports from Advisory Committees
6. Toronto Public Health: Student Consent for Immunization - TDSB staff has worked  collaboratively with Toronto Public Health (TPH) staff in support of student health at both a system and school level over the course of the 2018-19 school year. In the fall of 2018, TPH shared their goal of implementing a change in approach to consent for immunization in order to increase immunity in Toronto. Specifically, TPH has requested that students who are 14 years of age and older (beginning in secondary school) be able to sign their own consent form during schoolbased vaccination clinics in the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board. Information about the clinics will be provided to students, parents/guardians/ caregivers in advance of the start of a school-based immunization clinic. This policy change is consistent with public health policies in the Region of Peel and York Region. 
7. Annual Enrolment in Immersion/Extended French Programs 2019-20 & Core French Program 2018-19 - Aligned with the Vision for Learning and the Multi-Year Strategic Plan, equity of access to French programs is a key priority. Through the Access & Secondary Program Review and the FSL Review, Spring 2018, staff has undertaken a review of French programs in the TDSB in order to ensure that we are meeting the needs of students and families across the district. In doing so, consultation has occurred with students, staff, parents and community, including the French as Second Language Advisory Committee.
8. TDSB Global Competencies 2018-2019: Annual Update - Global Competencies and deep learning through technology form a foundation of the Vision for Learning and in the Multi-Year Strategic Plan. TDSB’s Global Competencies are: Communication, Collaboration & Leadership, Global Citizenship, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, and Creativity, Inquiry & Entrepreneurship. Supporting teachers, administrators, and students to learn more about the Global Competencies and how to design and facilitate learning experiences based in the Global Competencies has been a focus this school year for Leadership. Learning and School Improvement, IT Services, the Digital Lead Learner (DLL) program, Hybrid DLL Teachers and the Digital Lead Administrators program. 
9. TDSB International Students 2018-19: Annual Report - The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has been engaged in an internationalization strategy since before amalgamation in 1998. In the six former legacy boards of education, international education programs such as short term, long term, exchanges and international heritage language programs have operated in different formats.
10. School Councils Email Access - The Board could provide School Messenger accounts to the School Council Chair(s) at no additional cost. This would provide both access to parent/guardian email addresses and a mechanism to write and send email messages all in one tool. It is anticipated that accounts for School Council Chair(s) could be provided around mid-October 2019. Information Technology (IT) Services would provide the accounts and work with Communications and school Principals and Vice-Principals in raising awareness of this option along with online training resources to support the use of School Messenger. 
11. Creation of an LGBTQ2S Community Advisory Committee: Update - Based on input from the above meetings, staff will work with interested members of the LGBTQ2S community to prepare a draft committee mandate for approval by the Board in September 2019. The first meeting of the LGBTQ2SCAC is being scheduled for September 2019.
12. Urban Indigenous Community Advisory Committee (UICAC): Voting Privileges - Consistent with the principles of self-governance and sovereignty as articulated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015), the UICAC is recommending that voting privileges at the UICAC be granted by the Committee in the following manner: Indigenous staff will have the ability to vote after attending 3 consecutive meetings. Non Indigenous staff cannot vote. Conflict of interest will need to be declared when applicable.

Finance, Budget and Enrollment Committee, Thursday, June 6, 2019, 4:30 p.m Committee Room A, 5050 Yonge Street
5.1 Contract Awards, Facilities
5.2 Contract Awards, Operations
5.3 Contract Awards, Summer Approval Process
5.4 2017-2018 School Budget and School Generated Funds Update - There are four primary sources of funding that support schools and student
achievement each year:
1. School budget allocations funded through the Grant for Student Needs (GSN) - included under this classification are budget transfers from central departments and their Superintendents of Education.
2. Educational Program Other (EPO) grants - These grants support specific program areas decided by the Ministry of Education on an annual basis. Note this is replaced by the new Priorities and Partnerships Fund (PPF) beginning in 2019-20.
3. School Generated Funds (Non-board) – School-level fundraising directly managed by the school.
4. School Generated Funds (School council) – School-level fundraising managed by school councils.                                                                                                                                  Schools in 17-18 had available funds totalling approximately $87 million from such sources as school budget allocations, prior year carryovers, EPOs (now PPFs) and central department program transfers to support school improvement, as shown in Appendix C. In addition, through school and school council funding provided an additional $42 million to support school programs. In total, schools had access to approximately $130 million to support student achievement and well-being. There are approximately $18 million in total school generated funds surplus balances and $15 million school budget surplus balances as of the 2017-18 fiscal year-end as reported in
Appendix G. This report analyzes the impact of Learning Opportunity Index (LOI) on school budgets and school generated funds in Appendices E and F. The data presented is used to validate whether other funding sources are available to minimize financial disparities across TDSB schools. I always find that this graph confirms that differentiated funding is critical to equity in schools. Please see chart below.
5.5 School Crossing Guard Program - It is recommended that the Toronto District School Board continue to support the important work that school crossing guards perform to ensure student safety but inform the City of Toronto that unfortunately the Toronto District School Board does not have the funding to support this program. 
6.1 Program and Sketch Plan Approval: Building Addition and Renovation to George Syme Community School
6.2 Program and Sketch Plan Approval: Replacement of Dennis Avenue Community School
6.3 Program and Sketch Plan Approval: Building Addition and Renovation to Hollywood Public School
6.4 Update on Cooling Centres - As a follow up to our report of 09 May 2018, we are happy to report that every school that does not have air conditioning (AC), now has a permanent or a temporary cooling centre (refer to Appendix A). Facilities will continue the four year plan to implement permanent cooling centres in all schools that are not air-conditioned. This program is expected to be completed by September 2021. Limited as it is, this program imposes a strain on the renewal program of other system and building components such as roofing, heating plants, sanitary systems, lighting and fire alarm systems, etc. 

June 6 Walk-in 

You may have heard that on Thursday, June 6, 2019, a parent-driven solidarity action related to funding reductions in education in both Elementary and Secondary panels has been planned - a positive display of solidarity among parents, students and education workers starting at 8:15 a.m. on the morning of June 6.
As parents are bringing their children to school and teachers are arriving at school they will converge - some may have signs and slogans. When there is a first bell signalling entry/lining up (or at the normal entry time for the school day), signs will be left on the sidewalk (for pick-up by parents afterward). Then, there will be an orderly procession onto school property to the regular points of entry for safe arrival. Safe entry will occur as usual and teachers will be at their regular posts, prepared to receive students 15 minutes before the beginning of the day as expected.
These Walk-In events may look different depending on the school. The following are some of the possible scenarios:
  • A gathering/rally event;
  • A march around the school;
  • An information leafleting event where participants hand out flyers and/or hold signs and engage parents and community members in conversation.
Thank you to everyone concerned about cuts to public education showing their tangible support in this action on June 6.

Spring Fairs in Ward 8

Below please find a list of the Fun Fairs and school community events this Spring - please support the schools and that the many, many volunteers (parents, caregivers and staff) who put on these events for the students - let's hope for wonderful weather!
Note - if you notice any changes or additions, please let me know!
  • Fairbank Wed 05-Jun-19 afternoon Fairbanks Market Day (followed by school BBQ)
  • Cedarvale Thursday 06-Jun-19 starts 4:30 Fun Fair
  • Deer Park Thursday 06-Jun-19 after school Spring Fair
  • McMurrich Thursday 06-Jun-19 4-7pm Fun Fair
  • West Prep Thursday 06-Jun-19 5-8:30pm Fun Fair
  • Lawrence Heights Thursday 06-Jun-19 5:30 Poetry Slam and BBQ
  • Brown/Forest Hill Jr/Sr Wednesday 12-Jun-19 3:30-6:30pm Garden Fête/Falcon Fest (will take place at Forest Hill Jr/Sr site)
  • JR Wilcox Wednesday 12-Jun-19 4-8pm Fun Fair
  • Hillcrest Thursday 13-Jun-19 4-8pm Fun Fair
  • North Prep JS Friday 14-Jun-19 after school Fun Fair
  • John Wanless Saturday 15-Jun-19 11am-3pm Spring Fair
  • Cottingham Saturday 15-Jun-19 11am-3pm Fun Fair
  • Eglinton Saturday 22-Jun-19 4-7pm Fun Fair
  • Armour Heights (Fall 2019)
  • Humewood (Fall 2019)
Please also note Hodgson MS Community BBQ is Thursday 6-Jun-19 4-6pm (followed by Spring Concert).

School Year Calendar 2019-20

The 2019-2020 school year at the TDSB begins on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 following the Labour Day long weekend. For more information about important dates and holidays for the upcoming school year, please refer to the 2019-20 School Year Calendar.

School Year Calendar 2018-2019

The official school year calendar for the Toronto District School Board runs from September 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, inclusive.
  • The last day of class for elementary students is June 27, 2019
  • The last day of class for secondary (full-year) students is June 25, 2019
  • The last day of class for secondary (semestered) students is June 26, 2019 
2018 - 2019 Dates to Remember: Official Holidays and PA Days 
Remaining PA Days & Statutory Holidays
  • Elementary School PA Day June 7, 2019
  • Secondary School PA Day (Full Year Schools only)* June 26, 2019
  • Secondary School PA Day June 27, 2019
  • Board-wide PA Day June 28, 2019
Also please note Days of Significance - click for the complete list
You may also find this Days of Significance Resource Guide helpful
  • Ramadan 2019 ends in the evening of Tuesday, June 4 (Dates may vary)
  • Eid al-Fitr celebrated at the end of Ramadan will begin on Tuesday, June 4 
EQAO - The following dates have been established: 
  • Gr. 9 Math:  2nd Semester: June 5-18, 2019
  • Primary/Junior EQAO: May 21-June 3, 2019
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