| Trustee Update David Smith • Ward 17: Scarborough Centre Toronto District School Board 416-395-8787 • David.Smith4@tdsb.on.ca | | | |
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TDSB guidelines on retrieving personal belongings from schools
Since the Government of Ontario announced that schools will remain closed and remote learning will continue until the end of June, the Board has prepared a letter to all parents/guardians to provide updates on the retrieval of personal belongings, report cards, synchronous/ real-time learning and summer school.
If you wish to go and collect your child’s personal belongings, the comprehensive protocol is available in the link below — developed in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Toronto Public Health — that will allow for the retrieval of personal belongings beginning the week of June 8. It is not mandatory to come to the school to pick up belongings and students or parents/guardians should only visit the school if absolutely necessary. Anything that is not collected will be bagged, labelled and stored until schools reopen. In the coming days, you should hear directly from your Principal with additional details, including the schedule for your school for picking up and returning items.
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Report Cards
With schools being closed, the distribution of report cards will look a little different this year. Since it is not possible to distribute hard copies in school, report cards will be electronically distributed via email. For families with no email address on file, a hard copy will be mailed to your address.
- Kindergarten Communication of Learning and Grades 1 to 8 report cards: will be sent home electronically between June 22 and 26, 2020
- Grades 9 to 12 report cards: will be sent home electronically between June 24 and July 3, 2020
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Summer School
TDSB will offer an expanded summer learning program. The Ministry of Education is asking school boards to plan for it to be delivered remotely, however, in some cases, in-person teaching and learning could be possible should emergency measures be eased or lifted.
- Elementary Summer School: Our elementary program focus is to close the achievement and well-being gap and to continue student engagement into July. French programs will also be available for students currently in a French Immersion or Extended French Program.
- International Languages Elementary/African Heritage: The International Languages Elementary/African Heritage Program offers language classes to students Kindergarten to Grade 8.
- Credit Courses for e-Summer High School (online): Ontario high school students can earn credits online this summer. Reach ahead or catch up on high school credits. There are dozens of courses available in July and August.
- Hybrid Remote Summer Credit Program: The program includes courses in all subject areas from Grades 9 to 12, with a focus on compulsory courses. This summer, a variety of upgrading courses are also available to students who completed a course this year who wish to upgrade their passing mark in a 55 hour upgrading course.
- Remote Credit Recovery: This program allows current TDSB high school students to “recover” the credit in a course in which they were unsuccessful within the last two school years. It is a NEW summer program and will be delivered only online. For more information on TDSB Summer School, including how to register, dates available and course details, please visit:
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Student Trustee Elections on June 11
Eight students have been shortlisted as Student Trustee candidates (2020-21) for the online election on June 11, 2020:
- Nain Abdi
- Mays Abusaifan
- Daniel Assimakopoulos
- Adnan Habib
- Mu Lei Mao
- Firdaus Shallo
- Farrukh Sultanov
- Evan Woo
On June 4, campaign videos for each candidate will be released. All students in Grades 6 – 11 should view them. The videos will profile the candidates and their platforms so your kids can make an informed decision on election day. The campaign videos will be available online at www.tdsb.on.ca/StudentTrusteesElection.
Student Trustees represent the voice of 247,000 students in the Toronto District School Board. They are elected members of the Board of Trustees and sit alongside the adult Trustees at meetings and act as a link to students, the Board and school communities. Student Trustees are also members of the Student Senate and work closely with Student Senate Executives and school communities to empower and promote student voice and engagement across the district.
Please note that due to COVID-19, the Student Senate Elections will be held separately in the Fall.
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More Sessions on Digital Tools
Helping parents/families to assist students with remote learning, the Board is offering more online sessions to learn about digital tools. The sessions to introduce Google Classroom and Brightspace were well received.
This week, sessions will continue with Discovery Education and Knowledgehook to share tips on enhancing remote learning. All sessions are for parents/families and videos are archived on the Remote Learning web page for easy access.
Upcoming Sessions
- Discovery Experience, STEM Connects and Math Techbook (Grades K-12) Tuesday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m. Click: Register Here
- Knowledgehook: How to use key features within the digital resource (Grades 3 - 9) Wednesday, June 3 at 11 a.m. Click: Register Here
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Temporary COVID-19 Assessment Centres in TDSB Schools
The Province of Ontario will set up temporary COVID-19 Assessment Centres in three TDSB schools June 4 to 8. The Province will use the three sites listed below as “pop-up” testing centres on June 4, 5, and 8. It’s important to note that they will conduct a hospital grade deep clean after using each site. As a result, staff, student and parent/guardian access to these schools to pick up belongings will be delayed until after the site has been taken down and a deep clean of the areas used has been conducted.
- Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies (720 Midland Avenue) — The school has a gym close to the parking lot. The entrance to the gym is fairly close to an exterior door (#12), which is also close to the parking lot. The gym has change rooms and washrooms, so sinks are nearby. The parking lot is large.
- Lester B Pearson CI (150 Tapscott Road) — The school has a gym close to the parking lot. The gym has an exterior door which is close to the parking lot. The gym has change rooms and washrooms so sinks are nearby. The parking lot is large.
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier CI (145 Guildwood Parkway) — The school has a gym close to the parking lot. The entrance to the gym is close to an exterior door (#9) which is close to the parking lot. The gym has change rooms and washrooms, so sinks are nearby. The parking lot is large.
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Food for Kids – Phase 9 Rollout
This week, the TDSB and TFSS continued the rollout of the Food for Kids program, with 21 new schools added to the program as part of Phase 9. The program has now been rolled out to 214 schools across the TDSB, including 17 in Ward 17. Here is the list of TDSB schools that participated to date. Given that gift card distribution is based on the 2017 Learning Opportunities Index (LOI) and direct donations, the distribution numbers vary among wards.
As of this week, approximately 54,600 $50 grocery store food cards have now been issued to TDSB families, totaling $2.7M. This number continues to increase every day as more families register for the program. The grocery store gift cards will remain activated for three months.
Phase 10 is expected to launch next week and we will provide Trustees with the list of schools in advance of the launch.
For more information, contact my office.
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Secondary Program Review Interim Report
The Secondary Program Review Interim Report is now available.
Users can click here:
Click here to read report:
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Ontario announced ratification of OSSTF Central Agreements
On May 22, Ontario’s minister of education announced the ratification of the final central agreements with teachers and education workers. The teachers' agreement is between the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA). The other agreement is between the OSSTF education workers, OPSBA, Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA), l'Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l'Ontario (ACÉPO) and l'Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques (AFOCSC). Ontario has ratified central agreements with all of its education labour partners. This ratification ends the 2019-2022 teacher and education worker negotiations
Support for Parents has financial support available to parents who were affected by the education strikes. All paper applications must be received by June 12, 2020 and all online applications must be received by June 26, 2020. Parents can continue to apply to Support for Families for funding to support learning during self-isolation and physical distancing.
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Liberation75 is modified during COVID-19
As many of you are aware, the TDSB was planning on sending thousands of our students to Education Day at Liberation 75 (a global gathering of Holocaust survivors, descendants, educators and friends @ the Metro Convention Centre) on June 2, 2020. Sadly the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. In acknowledgment of this upcoming special date (75 years since the end of WW II, liberation from the Holocaust) here are some additional resources which may be of interest. For more information check out the website for online resources.
Now, more than ever, the lessons of the Holocaust remain paramount. The 75th anniversary of Liberation reminds us of the need to fight hate, racism and antisemitism – and to create a caring society. We hope these resources will help you achieve your goals, and make your life a little easier. Please see attached pdf which contains a guide for a liberation film as well as interactive reflection activity for students.
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Are you having issues with computers preventing downloads of key tools?
Families can receive assistance with questions about student devices, through:
Questions about digital learning tools such as Google Classroom, Brightspace etc. should be directed to your child’s teacher. If you are having trouble, please contact my office.
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TDSB Sport Fields/Tennis Courts/Basketball Courts
The City of Toronto announced the re-opening of its park amenities. As a result, we have made a similar decision and began reopening our sports fields and basketball and tennis courts for individual/non-organized use on May 21. Permits for these amenities continue to be cancelled until further notice. While on TDSB property, people must continue to practice physical distancing and signage highlighting the importance of physical distancing will be posted at all schools. Please note that TDSB play structures remain closed at this time. If you witness large gatherings and/or people using play structures please call 311. And please note that the City of Toronto may dispatch bylaw enforcement officers to inform citizens of the rules. The City of Toronto will prioritize its property over that of the TDSB given limited resources. Please contact my office if there is an ongoing issue that is not being addressed.
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Community Support Workers COVID-19 Help for Families
TDSB Community Support Workers (CSWs) aid schools, students and family caregivers. Below are the ways they can help you.
To support your needs
- The Food for Kids program is a partnership with the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, to buy and distribute food cards to our neediest families. CSWs contact and communicate with family caregivers and staff to ensure the distribution, delivery and access of cards to families.
- CSWs are representing the TDSB at all ten cluster tables organized by the Community Coordination Plan - United Way Greater Toronto and City of Toronto to provide supports to the city’s most vulnerable and isolated residents. They identify essential needs of family caregivers, enable the help available from agencies and connect families to supports in or closest to their community.
- Family caregivers who reach out to their school in need of essentials such as food, employment, housing, access etc., are directly supported by the CSW or provided with a referral.
Seek equity of technology access for communities:
- Universal Wi-Fi and access to devices have emerged as equity issues during COVID-19. The Board has distributed thousands of devices to students and families, there are many families that still need them and/or Wi-Fi access. CSWs are connecting home and school in remote learning environments (digital and non-digital) by linking schools, families and students to organizations distributing the equipment, mobile Wi-Fi hubs and to the TDSBs device support team.
- Identifying and connecting family caregivers with multi-lingual supports has also been a priority for staff. Whether connecting a teacher and/or family to an interpreter to ensure communication, CSWs have been instrumental in bridging needs and services.
We are grateful for the CSWs, and all the TDSB staff that have been engaged in these efforts. If you need these supports, please contact my office.
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