Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,
I would like to extend my warmest wishes for the upcoming holiday season. No matter how you celebrate, may this season be filled with joy and health.
May 2022 bring light, renewed hope, and positivity.
Sincerely,
Zakir Patel
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TDSB Winter Clothing Drive
One in every three children lives in poverty in our city, and too many children come to school without proper clothing to keep them warm during the winter months. In addition, many TDSB students are new to Canada and this may be their first time experiencing a Canadian winter.
The TDSB holds an annual Winter Clothing Drive to help ensure that all students have warm winter clothing to get to and from school, and are prepared to participate in all of the fun outdoor activities winter has to offer. This year’s Winter Clothing Drive will run from October 2021 to the end of February 2022. Donations help provide warm winter coats, pants, hats, gloves and boots for our students.
Our need for winter outerwear is greater this year. Canada is welcoming newcomer families from Afghanistan and the TDSB is welcoming many of these newly arrived students into our schools. The newcomer students are adjusting to their first Canadian winter and need proper winter outerwear.
Monetary donations can be made through School Cash Online. We will also accept new winter outwear items. Due to potential health & safety, hygiene, sorting and storage limitations, the TDSB can only accept new clothing items. Contact the Business Development department at BusinessDevelopment@tdsb.on.ca for more information about how to donate new outwear items. 100% of all proceeds and in-kind donations go to benefit our students.
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Middle French Immersion Program - Application InformationImportant Information for Families of Grade 3 Students (Middle French Immersion Program – Grade 4 Entry)
Please note that central messaging about the Middle French Immersion (MFI) Program and the application process takes on many diverse forms in order to ensure we reach not only TDSB families, but the surrounding communities (i.e. those not currently attending). Messaging will be distributed to all families in TDSB via School Messenger with an information package. In addition, this information is being shared via digital advertising, print media (i.e. local community newspapers), child care partners, Community Support Workers, Community Hubs, all Elementary Principals, French Public website, various social media outlets (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) amongst other forms of communications.
For families interested in the Toronto District School Board's system-wide Middle French Immersion Program (begins in Grade 4), we offer an online process to apply. To apply for the Middle French Immersion Program (Grade 4 entry) for September 2022, applications must be completed online between January 3 and January 28, 2022.
An offer of placement in the program (not a specific school) is guaranteed to all on-time applicants and will be made in the weeks following the close of the application window.
Please note: Families with an older sibling currently enrolled in a French program and who will be in attendance next year are still required to complete an online application for the new student. Please select the “sibling option” within the online application.
Families can request interpretation services for this event in advance, by completing this online form before December 17, 2021.
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Specialized Schools and Programs Draft Policy Update (December 9)Below is a status update pertaining to the Specialized Schools and Programs Draft Policy consultation and survey, which were launched on November 1.
Over the last week, our communication efforts to all stakeholders has drawn:
- 440 new unique visits to the Specialized Schools and Program Policy website last week,
- 106 new unique visits to the Policy Consultation website last week,
- 2643 people completing the online survey
Based on feedback from our meeting with Student Trustees, we have expanded our social media outreach to include the TDSB Instagram account in order to encourage participation in the public consultation. Reminder e-mails were shared this week with all parents/guardians/ caregivers, students in grades 5 to 12, as well as TDSB staff to boost participation in the online survey before the December 17 deadline. We had the pleasure holding a consultation webinar with representatives from the Community Advisory Committees on December 7. Community affinity groups have been invited through our Community Support Workers to provide oral feedback at two meetings before December 17.
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Winter Weather and Student Transportation
From time to time, it may be necessary to cancel student transportation, classes and/or programs because of severe weather. On rare occasions, severe weather makes it necessary to close schools, administrative offices or sites. With approximately 246,000 students in 582 schools, any decision to cancel buses, classes and/or programs or to close sites can have a significant impact on thousands of families across Toronto. This decision is not taken lightly. When schools remain open on days with inclement weather, parents/guardians make the final decision on whether to send their children to school and they can keep children home from school if they so choose.
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Learn4Life Adult General Interest Program
Learn a new skill or take up a hobby in-person or online this winter with courses in art, computers, food, languages, fitness and much more! Registration for our winter 2022 is now open! Visit the Learn4Life website for more information and to browse through the online brochure.
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TDSB Unveils $5.9 Million Plan to Support Mental Health and Well-BeingToronto District School Board have approved a $5.9 million plan to support the mental health and well-being of students amid the ongoing pandemic.
During their Special Board Meeting, Trustees unanimously approved the hiring of an additional 106 staff members following the release of a report earlier this week that highlighted the impact of the pandemic on student mental health and well-being.
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Supporting Free Public Transit for High School Students
On behalf of the Toronto District School Board, Chair of the Board Alexander Brown wrote to the Toronto Transit Commission to request the expansion of free TTC rides for high school students as part of the upcoming 5-Year Fare Policy and 10-Year Fare Collection Outlook. Chair Brown also wrote to various levels of government to ask for funding support for the expansion.
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Making School Buildings and Sites More Accessible
On behalf of the Toronto District School Board, Chair of the Board Alexander Brown wrote to the Minister of Education to request the allocation of significant and dedicated financial resources to support the accessibility of all existing schools.
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TDSB Community Use of Schools Resumption ScheduleHere is an update on the current plans for Community Use of Schools. The TDSB will resume community weekday evening permits on January 17th 2022. The attached letter was sent to all our permit holders on Wednesday November 23rd. To ensure we comply with the mandated COVID 19 requirements and the safety of all staff and students while maintaining fairness and equity in the allocation of spaces, we have put in the following conditions:
Permits can start no earlier than 6 p.m. and end no later than 9 p.m. from Monday till Friday.
Usage will be restricted to common areas such as gymnasiums, cafeterias, and auditoriums. No classrooms will be permitted at this time.
Only one group per school per night will be accommodated. Schools with a pool or auditorium may have two groups providing the spaces being used are separated. For example, pools generally have a separate entrance, so the gym and pool could be used on the same night.
Priority will be given to Not for profit groups serving children, youth, and seniors.
All groups are expected to upload their COVID Vaccine Attestation Form at the end of each permit activity.
We will be accommodating COVID 19 Vaccine Clinics and have informed permit groups that this might result in the disruption of their permits.
With the resumption of the weekday permits, here is what the updated TDSB Community Use of Schools Resumption schedule looks like.
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Revised Guidance on Face Masks from Toronto Public Health
On November 24, Toronto Public Health updated their COVID-19: Use of Face Masks fact sheet.
The revisions include:
Clarification that a medical mask or properly fitted 3-layer cloth mask should be worn by individuals who are at greater risk of COVID-19, including individuals who are at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 because of their living or work situation
New guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that "respirators (e.g., N95 masks) can also be considered for people who are at greater risk of COVID-19," however it notes that PPE requirements in a workplace should be followed for workers
Guidance for individuals who wear religious face coverings, such that a mask should be worn underneath religious face coverings
At the TDSB, all staff are required to wear the provided medical masks, or N95 for specific staff groups who work with students when aerosol droplets may be present.
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