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Trustee Pamela Gough’s Update: February 19, 2016

Dear ,

On February 7, 31 Canadian teens received a phone call that changed their lives. They were told that they were selected to be part of this year's Loran scholars. The Loran scholarship is worth up to $100,000 towards undergraduate university expenses. It's been called "Canada's Rhodes Scholarship". Loran scholars are chosen for their character, leadership potential and commitment to service. This year, 4,273 applications were winnowed down to just 31 students, of which four are in the TDSB. This high representation of TDSB students in the Loran group is something to be very proud of. These young people will make a difference for the better in Canada and beyond. Congratulations to the Lorans!

On another note: TDSB trustees have passed my motion to have Bike to School week celebrated as a yearly event in late May. It's well known that only 10% of students today are meeting the physical activity guidelines of Health Canada, and that the physical activity of walking or cycling to school is beneficial for children's health and resilience. As you will see below, Etobicoke-Lakeshore public school communities are involved in a number of projects to make it safer for students to travel to school and back actively. This reflects the global "new urbanism" movement that looks to increase sustainable, healthy "livable" communities within cities. Thank you to all parents and TDSB staff members who are engaged in increasing the numbers of students getting to school actively and safely. Their learning ability as well as their long-term health and efficacy will benefit.

Finally, the board of trustees has been saddened this week by the death of Trustee Sheila Ward. Ms. Ward was a trustee for more than 20 years, representing Midtown Toronto on the former Toronto Board of Education from 1991 to 1994 and Toronto Centre Rosedale since 1997. She was a strong advocate for public education and will be much missed. School flags will be lowered this week in commemoration.

Upcoming ward council February 23 2016
TDSB ratifies local agreement with elementary teachers
PIAC School council appreciation dinner February 25 2016
Minister Liz Sandals visits TDSB trustees
TDSB Excellence Awards: nominations open February 22 2016
Early French Immersion open house at Second Street March 1 2016
Fix Our Schools asks province for funding tools for TDSB facilities renewal
March Break program: Girls app-making workshop at Jean Augustine Centre
John English student Josh Kim selected to be Legislative Page
ESA students achieving international success
Etobicoke-Lakeshore schools piloting walk/cycle initiatives
TDSB Parents as Partners Spring Conference April 16 2016

1. Upcoming ward council February 23 2016

School council chairs, co-chairs, ward council representatives and parents of TDSB students, please join me on Tuesday February 23 for our ward council meeting. Our special guest will be TDSB Associate Director Carla Kisko speaking about the upcoming TDSB budget. We'll also have an update on our local Safe Routes to School initiatives and the new Norseman addition. Children 4-10 will be treated to a pizza program with Chef Sarah. Registration for the pizza program is limited to 12. Please advise Elizabeth Betowski at elizabeth@terradom.ca if bringing children for pizza making. More information is on this poster. See you there!

When: Tuesday, February 23, 7-8:45 pm

Where: Norseman JMS (105 Norseman St just west of Islington), school library.

2. TDSB ratifies local agreement with elementary teachers

Good news. The TDSB has ratified a local agreement with the Board's 11,000 elementary teachers who are represented by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO). This is the fourth employee group to have ratified a local agreement. Local negotiations are still ongoing with high school teachers represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Association, occasional elementary teachers represented by ETFO, and support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

3. PIAC School Council Appreciation Dinner February 25 2016

School council chairs and co-chairs, please join me on the evening of Thursday February 25 for the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee's annual School Council Appreciation Dinner. This delicious and rewarding event is the TDSB's thank-you to our thousands of dedicated school council volunteer leaders. Details have gone out to each school. For more information please contact Central Coordinator Michelle Munroe of the TDSB Parent Engagement Office at michelle.munroe@tdsb.on.ca or 416-397-3529.

4. Minister Liz Sandals visits TDSB trustees

Education Minister Liz Sandals visited TDSB trustees and Director John Malloy last week before the Board meeting of February 10. I was delighted to meet Minister Sandals and have a short chat.

5. TDSB Excellence Awards: nominations open February 22 2016

The TDSB will once again be honoring outstanding staff achievement during this year's Excellence Wards. The 2016 event will be held during Education Week on Tuesday, May 3. Staff, students, parents and community members are invited to nominate a TDSB staff member or team whose work is making a difference in the school community. Nominations open Monday, February 22 2016 and close on Tuesday, March 22 2016 at 4 pm.

Please visit this link for highlights of last year's event, the nomination process, or more information. If you have any further questions, please contact David Hawker-Budlovsky at david.hawker-budlovsky@tdsb.on.ca or 416-396-3408.

6. Early French Immersion open house at Second Street March 1 2016

The number of children who registered for Early French Immersion next September at John English JMS has exceeded the space available at the school. In keeping with TDSB's policy of accepting all applicants who apply within the registration window, the TDSB will open another site. The new site will be Second Street JMS, since it has the space and there is a YMCA daycare. This means that as of September 2016, Second Street JMS will offer three programs: the regular English program, Early French Immersion (starting in SK) and Junior Extended French (starting in Grade 4).

An open house to introduce and tour the new location will be held at Second Street JMS on March 1, for the parents of the new fall entry FI students of the school.

When: Tuesday March 1, 2016, 6 pm to 7 pm

Where: Second Street Junior Middle School, 71 Second Street (Lake Shore Blvd. W. /Dwight Ave. area)

7. Fix Our Schools asks province for funding tools for TDSB facilities renewal

On February 2, local public education advocacy organization Fix Our Schools gave a presentation at Queen's Park to the Standing Committee of Finance and Economic Affairs as input to the development of this year's provincial budget. You can see their presentation here.

TDSB has a growing capital repair backlog of over $3 billion and wants the province to change the Education Development Charges (EDCs) legislation to allow it to access EDC revenue for school repairs and additions. Current legislation mandates that EDCs can only be used for the purchase of land to support schools in growth areas, not to support the cost of building new schools or renovating/adding onto existing ones. With access to EDCs for school repairs, millions of dollars in desperately needed revenue could be used to accelerate school repairs and renovations or replacement of older schools.

Toronto city planning figures indicate that 275,000 residential units are in the building process, which could generate EDC revenue of approximately $300 million in funding for TDSB school improvements. Currently, school boards must meet several conditions before being eligible for EDCs. The first condition is that the board must show that the number of students that it needs to accommodate is larger than the space available. The TDSB does not meet this condition because due to its vast size and constantly changing neighborhoods, there is space in spots across the system. Despite this, there are many neighborhoods where there are significant enrolment pressures on schools and there is no space left.

8. March Break program: girls app-making workshop at Jean Augustine Centre

Tech Spark Youth Technology and Design School is offering a free "Girls making Apps" course over March Break at the Jean Augustine Centre on Portland Street in Mimico. Girls 9-12 will be introduced to the world of technology and will learn how to make a clickable app from Apple/IBM Senior UX Designer Michael Dedrick. Registration closes March 1. For more info and to apply, click here.

9. John English student Josh Kim selected to be Legislative Page

Josh Kim, a John English JMS Grade 8 student, has been chosen to serve as a Legislative Page this spring at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. During his term of duty, Josh will serve as a messenger on the floor of the Legislative Chambers, meet key parliamentary figures and learn about Ontario's parliamentary system of government. Each Legislative Page earns a spot in the program by submitting an application and 750 word essay. Josh was thrilled to have been selected, noting "I am really looking forward to the opportunity to learn about the Ontario legislative process and understand how provincial government works." Congratulations Josh!

The Legislative Page program is open to students in grades 7 and 8 who have an interest in current affairs, have a high grade average, and get along well with their peers and adults. For more information, click here.

10. ESA students achieving international success

Etobicoke School of the Arts students are being recognized for their abilities at an international level. Here's a quick summary of some extraordinary student achievements over the last five months:

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: ESA students won about 800 awards, including 28 Gold Keys (top award) in writing and 157 Gold Keys in Visual Arts. Again this year, ESA students won more awards than any country, with the exception of the United States.

2016 Saatchi Gallery/Deutsche Bank Art Prize for Schools (London, England):Student Max Perone will have his work displayed in the gallery as a result of being one of 20 students shortlisted from over 22,000 entrants. The top prize for the winner of the group is £12,000.

Photo Life Magazine: Four ESA students named to the Photo Life list of Top 25 Emerging Artists in Canada.

Albright Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo): Two upcoming group shows of ESA visual artist students.

Toronto Art Galleries: Five solo exhibits will open in the next two months, including one Grade 11 student participating in the Artist Project later this month.

11. Etobicoke-Lakeshore schools piloting walk/cycle initiatives

Participants at my last ward council meeting on January 12th heard a presentation from two staff members from TDSB Ecoschools: Kristen Evers and Katie Wittmann. They spoke about the many new initiatives taking place in the ward to teach safe walking/cycling, and make streets safer so children can make their way to school actively. Katie is developing a Guide to Safer Streets and she put out a call for schools to volunteer to pilot it over the next month. Four schools put their names forward and Katie determined David Hornell to be the best candidate. A number of other Etobicoke-Lakeshore schools are working with TDSB's Ecoschools department to pilot a new Active Transportation section of the Ecoschools program.

NEW this year! Schools can now apply to have a free skills-based cycling education program presented to their school this spring, free of charge! All schools are eligible and it's first come, first served. Applications for spring 2016 programs close February 28. More information is here.

Increase sustainable transportation at your school with new bike racks! All schools are eligible. Apply now for fall 2016 installation. The application deadline is February 28. More details are here.

12. TDSB Parents as Partners Spring Conference April 16, 2016

Save the date of Saturday April 16 for this year's amazing TDSB Parent Conference. The location will be the beautiful Enbridge Centre in the CNE grounds. This year will be very special as three large TDSB groups are joining together for the first time to offer more workshops than ever before, These groups are the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee, the Special Education Advisory Committee and the Model Schools for the Inner City program. There will be dozens of workshops to choose from, and a dizzying array of topics. Admission is free. Bussing and childminding programs will be provided for free. More details to come.

Please share this newsletter with others. For more education news, or to join the newsletter list, go to my website. Follow me on Twitter @pamelagough! I welcome feedback.