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Committee Meetings This WeekHealth and Mental Well-being Committee - Tuesday, April 24, 2018, 4:30 p.m. Committee Room A, 5050 Yonge Street
For the complete agenda, please click here
Governance and Policy Committee - Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 4:30 p.m. Committee Room A, 5050 Yonge Street For the complete agenda, please click here
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Multi-Year Strategic Plan Joint Ward Forum
Marit Stiles and I held a joint ward forum last Thursday at Regal Road Jr PS. We sincerely appreciated the group's contributions to sharing their thoughts on the Board's proposed MYSP as we worked through the Consultation Guide. To view the presentation shared at the Ward Forum, please click here.
A Multi-Year Strategic Plan acts as a high level statement of intent for the Toronto District School Board relating to: - expectation for high student achievement
- safety and well-being of students and employees
- reflecting the diversity of our students in the school and curriculum
- challenging and comprehensive curriculum
- teaching and learning strategies in schools
- allocation and management of budget and resources
- physical conditions of schools
- staff training
To fill in your own survey, please click here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HYG723B. Meeting notes from the Ward Forum will be posted shortly. The deadline to provide feedback is Monday, April 30, 2018.
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Movement on EDCs?
On February 1st, the Chair wrote to all MPPs requesting amendments to Ontario Reg. 20/98, Education Development Charges to enable the TDSB to receive them, as well as requesting that the Government of Ontario expand the definition of “education land costs” to include growth-related construction costs for new buildings or additions to existing buildings..
In the letter the Chair noted that last November, Toronto City Council passed a resolution in support of the TDSB requesting that the Government of Ontario amend Ontario Reg. 20/98 to allow the TDSB to collect EDCs to support essential school infrastructure in the City; and that OPSBA also supported regulation changes and flexibility provisions within EDCs across the province.
On April 18th our chair received a letter back from the Minister Nadoo-Harris – the letter signals the first time that there is an indication of movement on EDCs… " the province will also announce it will undertake an engagement this fall focusing on supports for pupil accommodation in urban areas experiencing rapid growth and intensification. The engagement will include the challenges faced by school boards and municipalities with planning, partnering and building schools in these changing communities and the range of financial tools available to support the work, including Educational Development Charges.”
In addition they announced in our letter that the funding through the Land Priorities program from $60M to $100M. They also acknowledged that there is great diversity in needs of neighbourhoods and the province said it was prepared to consider the TDSB as having distinct planning areas, each of which would be eligible to submit capital priority project proposals.
The Chair will be responding… and I will share her response in next week's update.
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Highlights from April 18 BoardFor the full message, please click here. And at our last Board meeting we passed our balanced operating budget – as a reminder, we serve approximately 246,000 students in 583 schools and more than 140,000 life-long learners in our Adult and Continuing Education programs.
For 2018-19, the TDSB’s operating budget is approximately $3.3 billion and is divided into the following categories: instruction (78%), school operations (15.5%), administration (2.5%), transportation (1.9%) and other operating costs (1.9%).
The TDSB is committed to aligning resources with strategic priorities like equity, inclusion and student well-being. The soon to be finalized, Multi-year Strategic Plan, will provide further direction to support these priorities and more for the next three to five school years.
Trustees also passed a motion to call on the City of Toronto to establish a School Zone Traffic Safety Steering Committee with all four Toronto school boards, the City and Toronto Police in response to an increase in school zone pedestrian injuries and fatalities. We also voted to adopt a public health approach to addressing the impact of exposure to community violence and asked that the Director enter into discussions with Toronto Public Health in an attempt to undertake research on the extent of exposure to community violence among students. In a related motion, the Board will look into formalizing a Crisis Response Protocol between the Board and the City of Toronto Crisis Response Program regarding violence among students.
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Equity Policy
"This Equity Policy (the “Policy”) is developed to support the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) commitment to the elimination of institutional Discrimination and promotion of Fairness, Equity, Acceptance and Inclusion. The Policy is governed by and fully complies with the legislative requirements of the Constitution Act, 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Education Act, as well as the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Policy/Program Memoranda PPM 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools, and decisions of the Board of Trustees. "The objective is "To ensure that Fairness, Equity, Diversity, Acceptance, Inclusion, and the elimination of all forms of Discrimination are essential principles of our school system and are integrated into all TDSB policies, procedures, programs, operations, and practices."
Should you ever need support with equity and inclusive language, the last half of the policy is a glossary to assist in understanding various terms used in this document... it will be constantly evolving.
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Local School Updates -
Davisville Jr PS / Spectrum Sr Alternative School - As you know, the schools will be relocated to 539 Vaughan Road (former site of Vaughan Road Academy) while the new school will be built. There is a meeting for Davisville/Spectrum parents tomorrow at Hodgson to update the community regarding development of key aspects of this complex project – confirmation of the major milestones for the new school building and information and updates related to the adjustments the school community will made during the construction period including an update on bussing and renovation plans for 529 Vaughan Road. This is another opportunity to obtain information and provide input regarding the project. Board staff and representatives from the school committees will be present to provide information and to answer questions.
Hodgson Middle School - As noted earlier we have been working with the Ministry of Education to add capacity to Hodgson Middle School beyond the addition that was previously approved - we would like to build a larger addition to ensure adequate programming and classroom space - we should have some news to share before the end of May.
Eglinton Jr PS - As you know, the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT has been taking place across from the school, raising questions and concerns among parents. The TDSB shares their concerns and recently communicated to the community that the health and safety of students and staff is our top priority. Therefore, during the last few years, the TDSB has been working directly with Metrolinx and the City of Toronto to ensure all parties do their part to mitigate any potential health and safety risks and minimize the impact on the school community. The school has created a page on its website specific to provide regular updates on the project - Eglinton Safety & Construction Updates. If you have any additional questions or comments, please contact Principal Stevan Ivancevic at Stevan.Ivancevic@tdsb.on.ca or 416-393-9315. To contact the TDSB Project Manager, please email eglintonproject@tdsb.on.ca. Ward 9 PART involving Boundary Changes with Winona Dr Sr PS - click here for detailed information - Explore potential boundary changes involving Carleton Village Jr. & Sr. Sports & Wellness Academy, Regal Road Jr. PS and Perth Avenue Jr. PS to achieve an optimal distribution of students across the three schools while mitigating underutilization at Carleton Village Jr. & Sr. Sports & Wellness Academy. It involves a boundary change between Winona Drive Sr PS and Rawlinson CS to direct the portion of Winona Drive Sr PS ’intermediate attendance area, north of St. Clair Avenue West, to Rawlinson CS. The recommendations will be at the Planning and Priorities Committee on May 16 - forwarded to Board on June 23. There is the opportunity for members of the public to present a deputation to Trustees. The deputation can be made in person or by submitting in writing. In order to depute you must contact Board Services by 4:00pm on May 10th, 2018 delegates@tdsb.on.ca or 416-397-3627.
Ward 11 PART involving Boundary Changes between Eglinton Jr PS and Maurice Cody - click here for detailed information - To discuss the proposed boundary change between Eglinton JPS and Maurice Cody JPS that would redirect the portion of the Eglinton JPS boundary located east of Mount Pleasant Road and south of Eglinton Avenue to Maurice Cody JPS. This would redirect approximately 40 students and help with a short-term solution to the accommodation pressures faced by Eglinton JPS. This boundary change was identified in the 2015 Program Area Review to be implemented while acknowledging that this boundary change does not solve the overcapacity issue at Eglinton JPS. The recommendations will be at the Planning and Priorities Committee on May 16 - forwarded to Board on June 23. There is the opportunity for members of the public to present a deputation to Trustees. The deputation can be made in person or by submitting in writing. In order to depute you must contact Board Services by 4:00pm on May 10th, 2018 delegates@tdsb.on.ca or 416-397-3627.
Introduction of new French Immersion Program at Oakwood Collegiate for 2020 - New Program Study: Explore the introduction of a new secondary French Immersion pathway into Oakwood CI to accommodate growing elementary programs in the area and to reduce current and projected enrolment at Harbord CI. The website for the French Immersion pathway reflects the current situation; it will be updated once the decision is finalized, ahead of the 2020/2021 FI application process. At this time, there is no change to the FI feeder pathways until September 2020. French Immersion programs that would feed to Oakwood CI: Rawlinson CS, Winona Drive Sr PS, Humewood CS (2020) and Carleton Village Jr & Sr SWA (2025). Extended French programs that would feed to Oakwood CI: King Edward Jr & Sr PS, Winona Drive Sr PS, JR Wilcox CS and Rawlinson CS.
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Provincial Issues of Interest (from OPSBA)
Advancing Reconciliation: First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education - The Truth and Reconciliation Committee met on April 9, 2018 to review the curriculum progress that has been made to date, and to provide advice on the process for Phase 2. Training took place for Board staff in December, 2017 and January 2018 on the mandatory curriculum revisions made in Phase 1, and the documents were released this past week. These revisions focused on social studies and history courses from Grades 4 – 10. Phase 2 will revise the Grade 1 – 3 social studies curriculum, Grade 9 Geography, Grade 10 Civics, and a set of courses in Grade 11 and 12 Canadian and World Studies and Grade 11 and 12 Social Sciences and Humanities. A call for writing teams will be made in April, 2018, writing will take place over the summer, editing and revisions made in the fall, and training for the pilots on these programs will take place in December and January. The third phase is anticipated to be revisions to other elementary and secondary curricula in areas such as literature and English courses.
FSL-Labour Market Partnership Project - OPSBA is leading a labour market partnership project, Meeting Labour Market Needs for French as a Second Language Instruction in Ontario, for English and Catholic public school boards. This is a three year initiative and the ultimate goal of this project is to uncover workable solutions to the imbalance between the growing demand province-wide for qualified French language teachers and support staff and the related supply pipeline. The Labour Market Partnership Project is funded through MAESD, in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario as well as in-kind contributions from Ontario’s English public and Catholic School Boards and participating committee members. There should be a Year 1 Report in May.
Education Assessment Review Proces - In 2016-17 OPSBA distributed a discussion document with recommendations for EQAO, and large-scale assessments. Over the last school year OPSBA staff met with Ministry staff and the Minister’s staff to discuss the recommendations and to reinforce the key request, which was to have the Minister facilitate and engage in a dialogue with education partners on the recommendations in the OPSBA discussion paper. Dr. Carol Campbell is leading the review with the other education advisors to the Premier. The final report with recommendations is now with the Minister of Education and we hope it will be released soon.
Provincial Election June 7, 2018 - For the next provincial election there will be a total of 124 ridings and Elections Ontario has now updated their website to include the listing of all electoral districts. The site also includes information for 16 and 17-year-olds to register as an Ontario Future Voter. At the age of 18, individuals are automatically added to the Voters List.
Watch for information soon on Education Day in Ontario - OPSBA advocates for non-partisan strategies to engage politicians in issues that focus on education and the wellbeing of children and youth. The education policies of government are far-reaching: the provincial government decides what is taught in Ontario schools and how much of our tax dollars are used to pay for education. These decisions affect everyone - whether or not they have children in the school system. On "Education Day", candidates from the four major provincial parties will be invited to attend Provincial Candidates Meetings in their ridings across the province. We hope to organize a meeting for "St Paul's" on May 22nd and "Don Valley West" on May 24th.
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Worth Repeating - French Review This SpringIn collaboration with the TDSB Research Department, this review will focus on the current status of all French Programs, including the structure, content of the teaching and learning, and policies and procedures related to French. For context information on the French Programs in the TDSB, Please click Annual Report: Enrolment, Successes, Challenges of French Programs. You are invited to join any of the consultation meetings available throughout May 2018. All meetings will be led by TDSB staff and held in the school cafeteria from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 1 - Danforth CTI (800 Greenwood Avenue)
- Thursday, May 3 - Etobicoke CI (86 Montgomery Road)
- Tuesday, May 15 - Birchmount Park CI (3663 Danforth Avenue W)
- Thursday, May 17 - Northview Heights SS (550 Finch Avenue W)
- Thursday, May 24 - Advisory Committees Consultation (5050 Yonge Street)
- Wednesday, May 30 - John Polanyi CI (640 Lawrence Avenue W)
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New InvitationsBrown Junior Public School along with the Parent Council would like to cordially invite you and your parent community to our speaker series we have scheduled for Thursday, April 26th at 7 pm at our school at 454 Avenue Road. Refreshments and childcare will be available. We ask that you register for the event using the Eventbrite link below. Dr. Alex Russell is the co-author of Drop the Worry Ball. Please register with Eventbrite Dr. Alex Russell is a clinical psychologist who lives and works in Toronto. He provides assessments and psychotherapy to children and adults, in addition to consulting with schools, teachers and psychologists. Dr. Alex Russel is the co-author of Drop the Worry Ball. He offers a fresh perspective on raising children that is reassuringly familiar and strikingly sensible. The heart of his message is that children learn through the experience of non-catastrophic, painful failure and it is through the process of these failures that they mature into resilient, resourceful and emotionally balanced individuals. Parents need to see failing – whether it’s a test, a course, or a tryout for a team as a normal part of growing up and not a sign of parental incompetence. Alex is a father of two, and an avid hockey player and coach. Free childcare for children 4 to 10 years of age will be provided onsite by Unicorn day care for a maximum of 39 children, on a first come, first serve basis. You must register. We will be dropping off flyers to your school office this week for your convenience. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comment. We look forward to welcoming you to our school! Dimitra Kappos, Co-Chair, Brown School Parent Council dkappos@sympatico.ca
SPEAKER: Ann Douglas, Author, Parenting Expert and Radio
TOPIC: Parenting in the Age of Anxiety
DATE: May 14, 2018 at 7 p.m.
LOCATION: McMurrich Jr Public School, 115 Winona Dr., Toronto
PRESENTATION DETAILS: Stress management and coping skills for parents and kids. All kids experience stress and anxiety. These emotions are part of being human, after all. But one in eight children experiences such a high level of anxiety that the child finds it difficult to manage at home or at school. In this thought-provoking presentation by Ann Douglas, a bestselling parent author who also struggles with anxiety herself, you'll learn how to tell the difference between stress and anxiety (and why this matters); stress management skills for kids and adults; and anxiety management skills for kids and adults (what makes anxiety better, not worse). McMurrich contact: Katie Hayden, katie_hayden@hotmail.com ABOUT ANN: Ann Douglas is a bestselling parenting author, CBC Radio parenting columnist, and mental health advocate and speaker. Ann Douglas sparks conversations that matter about parenting and mental health. She is a bestselling parenting author (her best-‐known book is The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and her most recent book is Parenting Through the Storm) and the weekend parenting columnist for CBC Radio. She is also the mother of four young adults who struggled with a variety of different mental health, neurodevelopmental, and behavioural challenges during their growing up years — and who are currently thriving. A passionate and inspiring speaker. anndouglas.ca
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Worth Repeating - Invitations
FHCI School Council Presentation - Rebecca Higgins - Stress and Mental Health in Teenagers - Signs to Watch For, When to Be Concerned and How to Talk to Your Teenager on Wednesday, April 25 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. 730 Eglinton Av W. Please RSVP fhschoolcouncil@gmail.com
The best community shopping experience Toronto has to offer is coming to Cedarvale Community School on April 25, 2017, from 6:30pm-10pm: 145 Ava Road. Cedarvale Marketplace is a fabulous way to fill an evening. There will be professional vendors selling high quality items available just in time for Mother's Day. Come and shop for beautiful art, giftware, jewelry, apparel, accessories, children's items, and much much more. Check Cedarvale's Instagram and Facebook pages for regular updates to the incredible vendor list: @cedarvalemarketplace, http://www.facebook.com/cedarvalemarketplace.
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School Year Calendar 2017-18
The official school year calendar for the Toronto District School Board runs from September 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, inclusive. Before you set school events, please also ensure you check the Days of Significance Calendar which includes religious holidays.
Ramadan* May 16-June 14
Eid al Fitr* June 15
Victoria Day May 21, 2018
Elementary School PA Day June 8, 2018
Secondary School PA Day (Full Year Schools only) * June 27, 2018
Secondary School PA Day June 28, 2018
Board-wide PA Day June 29, 2018 For the complete School Year Calendar, click here.
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| School Year Calendar 2018-19
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As always, I look forward to your comments, questions and
suggestions for topics to explore at ward forums and in future updates.
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