Dear parents, caregivers and community members, 

With the weather getting chillier, I hope everybody is staying healthy and safe. For those in our bricks and mortar schools, today (Friday, November 20) is a PA Day, with elementary parents and caregivers participating in zoom parent-teacher interviews. The Virtual School elementary students will have their PA Day on December 4. For our secondary in-school learners, today is a day off with Quadmester 2 beginning on Monday. I imagine many Ward 11 teenagers, like my own daughter, took this opportunity to sleep in! 

Many of you will have heard rumblings of potential school closures or an elongated winter break in the news. The Province has jurisdiction over the school calendar and the closing of school. As of late this week, the Minister of Education stated that at this point in time, he had no plans for an elongated winter break. Should the government announce any change to our schedule or model (such as a pivot to full virtual learning), the TDSB will communicate widely.

The Provincial government did declare new Covid-measures this afternoon, including a 'Lockdown' for Peel Region and Toronto. At this point, schools are not additionally affected by this. As Covid-numbers continue to rise in our city, it is imperative that everyone diligently follow all advice from city and provincial health authorities. Our schools remain open, and we are truly hopeful to be able to remain open and operational right up until winter break and to reopen as planned after the holiday season. And of. course,as the province announced this afternoon, Toronto will enter a "lockdown" as of early Monday morning, but schools will remain open.  

This past week, trustees held our annual Organizational Board meeting where we chose committees to sit on for the upcoming year and elected those who will provide leadership. We acclaimed Chair Alexander Brown to continue on as our Chair of the TDSB, and elected a new Vice-Chair, Christopher Mammoliti.
I was elected Chair of the Program and School Services Committee, and I will also now officially be serving on the Negotiations Steering Committee and the Inner City Advisory Community Advisory Committee. I will be continuing to serve on the French as a Second Language Community Advisory Committee (though in a new capacity as the Trustee Co-Chair), as well as the Trustee Self-Assessment Committee and the Director's Search Committee.
I decided to step down from my position as the trustee lead on the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) after two years of service in that capacity. It was a terrific experience and I loved being so involved with such a dedicated group of parents from all over our city. It was a tough decision, as I believe so firmly in the importance of parent engagement, but I felt the time was right to gain new experiences from different committees. Former Vice-Chair of the TDSB, Trustee Trixie Doyle, has taken my place on PIAC and I am confident that she will be an exceptional lead for PIAC! And, although I've only now been away from PIAC for a few days, I am looking forward to joining their parent conference that starts tomorrow! Please see more details about this conference below, including ward specific sessions on Sunday afternoon's session, where I will be joining our ward 11 reps and constituents for what will surely be an interesting and productive session.  

In this newsletter...

While is has only been three weeks since my last newsletter, there is a significant amount of new information to report. Below, you will find registration for this weekend's aforementioned PIAC Conference on Parent Engagement, updates on Board news (including the unanimous passage of the motion I put forward and reported on last newsletter regarding interrupting systemic bias in our discipline procedures), news regarding midtown planning development applications, and much, much more, including:

• PIAC Parent Conference: March 20/21
• Early French Immersion (SK entry): Registration closes November 27
• Beyond 8: Grade 8 to 9 Transition (and Virtual Open Houses)
• Post-Secondary Information session on November 24
• Special Education & Inclusion update
• Optional Attendance
  
• Midtown: Overcrowded schools, long-term planning, and development application consultations
  
• Returning to School Updates
• Status of Mechanical Ventilation Systems in TDSB Schools 
  
• Elementary Virtual School updates: Newsletter, Progress Reports, Teacher Conferences, Resources, and switching schools
• Secondary Virtual School update: Quadmester 2 starting Monday, November 23
• Virtual Schools Code of Conduct
  
• Health & Safety Measures
  
• Covid-19 Advisories
• Covid-testing sites: Sunnybrook, Thorncliffe, and Flemingdon
  
• City News: TTC - Identification, safety, and March/April PRESTO credits
  
• TDSB: Permanent Director search
• Student Senate Election
  
• TDSB Board Organization & Meeting Schedule/Agendas
• PIAC Meeting March 17
• 2021 Prime Minister's Awards (Teachers, STEM & Early Childhood Educators)
  
• TDSB: Heritage & History Months
  

As always, I encourage everyone to keep checking the TDSB's website and social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) regularly as more information is released and updated

• IPRC/SEPRC Structure 2020-2021
  -  Local (School-Based) IPRCs and SEPRCs
  - System (Learning Centre) IPRC for Reviews and Original IPRCs
  - System (Learning Centre) IPRC –Special Education CAP Chaired
  
• Grade 8 to 9 Transitions for Students in Intensive Support Programs (ISP)
• Annual IPRC (Review) for Exceptional Students

• "Open" - accepting application
• "Limited" - accepting applications but with limited capacit
• "Closed" - no room for optional attendance

 Overcrowded schools, long-term planning, and development consultations in Midtown

As many of you are likely aware, we currently face a shortage of English elementary pupil spaces in midtown Toronto, and almost all Ward 11 schools are at or are well above capacity. As a result, the TDSB, through the Toronto Lands Corporation (the TDSB's real estate subsidiary), actively advocates for "holds" on all development applications in this area until we can accommodate pupils locally. In terms of long-term planning, we are looking at ways to work with our existing schools to make more space, but this is not a simple or a long-term solution, as what we really is a new school site in midtown Toronto. 

Long Term Program an Accommoation Strategy (LTPAS)
Each year, the TDSB prepares a ten-year outlook for development planning purposes, called the Long-Term Program and Accommodation Strategy (LTPAS). The 2020-2021 LTPAS is now available online and can be found here. This plan is a guide to major areas of concern and focus, and provides our blueprint for moving forward this year and in the years to come.
Midtown, obviously, focusses heavily in the LTPAS section for Ward 11. As outlined in the LTPAS, this school year staff will begin the process of a Local Feasibility Team, whereby staff and local trustees will look once again at the problem of lack of English spaces in midtown. Should we narrow down some options, it will be brought to a larger process where we involve school council chairs, either towards the end of this school year or next school year. 
Also noted in the LTPAS, we are looking for a new school site in the midtown area. To this end, TLC is now in discussions with the City of Toronto and Oxford Group regarding the possibility of finding space for a school site in the re-development of the south-west portion of land at Yonge and Eglinton. A community meeting on this development is coming up next week on Monday, November 23rd at 4pm. To learn more about this meeting and the re-development of this block, please click here.  

• a block study consultation between Erskine and Broadway Avenues, and 
• a development application meeting for 241 Redpath Avenue. 

• November 10: much of the information is in the presentation slides. On the Agenda were P/VP compensation, French Immersion/Extended French Reorganization in the Virtual School; and Secondary Model.
  Full webcast: here. 
• October 27: much of the information is in the presentation slides. On the Agenda were a Devices Update; Virtual Schools Update; Fundraising; Leadership and Reorganization Updates; Mental Health and Well-Being; School Open House/Transition Information Nights; and COVID-19 Cases Update & Pop-up Testing.
  Full webcast: here.