TDSB Labour Update

A tentative agreement was reached on October 6th between CUPE, the Government of Ontario and the Council of Trustees Association. As part of the settlement CUPE suspended any and all central strike action, and as a result TDSB schools remain open to all students and staff. At the TDSB, CUPE represents school support staff including caretakers, lunchroom supervisors, office/clerical staff, and Designated Early Childhood Educators.

Please visit https://www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Labour-Negotiations for the most up to date news and information.

Upcoming Joint Ward Forum

I hope you can join both me and Trustee Patrick Nunziata (Ward 3) for our next Joint Ward Forum!

Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, 86 Montgomery Road, Etobicoke

Guest Speaker: Dr. John Malloy, Director of Education

Light refreshments will be provided. Child Care will be available.

Click here to download the flyer PDF
Click here to download the flyer JPEG

School Zone Safety Kick-off

I spent the morning of the first day of school at Oakridge Junior School. Mayor John Tory, Dr. John Malloy, Director of Education, Chair Robin Pilkey, and many members of the Toronto Police Services were in attendance for the Safety School Zone Kick-off. Police officers will be more vigilant and issuing more tickets to increase driver awareness and encourage drivers to slow down and help protect the students.

School zone speed cameras are coming, but the cameras are only one tool in the larger goal of increased safety. The entire community must share in the responsibility of keeping our children safe. Real change can occur when we modify our habits to slow down, exhibit more patience, avoid distracted driving, and obey the street signs and parking bylaws. Please familiarize yourselves with your school's drop-off and pick-up zones. Your compliance will help to keep our students safe.

Ending Period Poverty

I'm very proud that trustees voted unanimously to provide free menstrual products in all TDSB elementary and secondary schools for the 2019-2020 school year. The TDSB has been able to secure access to menstrual products and educational material at no cost to the Board. Nearly one in seven Canadian girls has either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to the feminine hygiene products they required. Thank you to the many students who brought this important initiative to our attention. I also wish to recognize Trustees Gill and Donaldson for their work in this area which culminated in their motion at the August Board meeting.

iWalk to School Day

International Walk to School Day was held on October 2. I, I hope that many of the families living close to their child's school, were able to take the opportunity to leave their cars at home and get a little exercise. Research shows that students who walk to school are a little better prepared for a good start to their day.

Ward 2 Secondary School Information Nights

School	Date	Time	Specialized Program
Etobicoke Collegiate Institute	28-Nov-19	7:00 PM - 9:00 PM	Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
Kipling Collegiate Institute	07-Nov-19	6:00 PM - 8:00 P	Leadership Pathway (P) LEAP (LP) Math and Science Focus (MST)
Martingrove Collegiate Institute	19-Nov-19	6:30 PM - 8:30 PM	Advanced Placement (AP) Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
Richview Collegiate Institute	12-Nov-19	7:00 PM - 9:00 PM	Regular Program
Richview Collegiate Institute	13-Nov-19	7:00 PM - 9:00 PM	Extended French (ExF) French Immersion (FI)
Silverthorn Collegiate Institute	20-Nov-19	7:00 PM - 9:00 PM	Elite Athletes/Arts (EA)

2020 Prime Minister's Awards

Do you know a terrific teacher or early childhood educator? Please consider nominating him/her for a 2020 Prime Minister's Award! This program honours innovative and outstanding elementary and secondary school teachers as well as many dedicated and creative early childhood educators.

Nomination packages are now available at www.pma.gc.ca (deadline to submit a nomination is January 14, 2020).

Share Your Voice: Exemption on Health and Physical Education Curriculum

On August 21, 2019, the Ministry of Education issued a memo (PPM 162) regarding exemption from instruction related to the Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations in the Ontario Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, Grades 1-8, 2019.

To help us develop a procedure to implement this, we want to hear from our school communities.

The online consultation is now available until Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.

TDSB Releases EQAO and OSSLT Results

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) released achievement results and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is proud that results remain strong.

When compared to the province, 2018-19 EQAO results for TDSB students in Grades 3 and 6 show that a higher proportion are performing at or above the provincial standard in five of the six assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. This has been a consistent trend over the past five years, with a higher proportion of TDSB students continually performing at the highest level of EQAO.

French-as-a-Second-Language: Question and Answers

At the June 2019 Board meeting, recommendations to change the Intensive French-as-a-Second Language programs in the TDSB were passed. For your information, please see the FSL Program Review Recommendations Q & A that has been prepared. Additional details regarding TDSB French programs, including the application process and information on who to contact with any further questions, can be found on the

TDSB French Programs webpage.

Celebrate and Recognize

It was my pleasure to attend both of October’s Heritage Month Celebrations. I made my first visit to the Aga Khan Museum to celebrate and learn more about Islamic Heritage in Canada. The museum is a spectacular building with brilliant art exhibits. I also had the pleasure of joining Dr. John Malloy, Director of Education and Chair Robin Pilkey for Somali Heritage Month celebrations at Pelmo Park Public School on October 2. The level of community engagement was terrific. A big thank you to all the organizers!

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Join the conversations happening on TDSB's social media communities. You'll find the most up-to-date information about us on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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