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Week of November 29, 2015
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TDSB Organizational Board December 1st
On December 1st, as per the Education Act, trustees will get together to select leadership positions and membership on the formal and adhoc committees for the coming year. First election will be for the Chair and Vice-Chair, after which we will be electing members of the Standing Committees and those members will select their own Chair, Vice-Chair and member to the Planning & Priorities Committee. They include:: (a) Finance and Accountability Committee (b) Program and School Services Committee (c) Human Resources and Professional Learning Committee To see the complete agenda, click here. You can watch the Organizational Board Meeting on Tuesday beginning at 7pm by clicking here.
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International Day of Persons with Disabilities
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) has been commemorated since 1992 to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development. The Day works to promote action to raise awareness about disability issues and draw attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for all. Theme for 2015: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. 1.9 million people in Ontario have a disability of some form. This number represents 1 in 7 people in Ontario and the largest minority group in the province.
The Toronto District School Board is committed to maintaining a learning and working environment which actively promotes and supports human rights and accessibility for persons with disabilities.We are committed to actively removing barriers, whether visible or invisible, so that all members of our community can fully participate in TDSB activities. We have a variety of policies and procedures in place for staff, students and community members that ensures compliancy with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Also, we have created a Multi-Year Accessibility Plan that outlines how we ensure compliancy with the Act and moving the Board towards a more inclusive environment. We can and will do better to ensure inclusive environments.
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Let’s encourage our schools to use coding to support student achievement
I know many of our classrooms have introduced coding… but I though this article might be of interest to those who may have heard the term, but may not understand what “coding” is…
“As early as Grade 1 teachers and students can start to harness the power of computer programming (aka coding) to open new doors to meaningful learning in a dozen subjects, including: - grammar, writing, spelling, and reading,
- arithmetic, geometry, pattern recognition, and other maths
- physics, ecology, chemistry, evolution, and other sciences
- drawing, painting, music, and other arts
- financial literacy and organizing ideas into clear structured arguments
Coding also helps develop the ability to work collaboratively in a team, maintain focus on a goal, defer gratification, and self-regulate. The creativity needed when coding is equal to that needed when writing a poem, composing a song or, painting a picture. Not only can coding improve learning, a student who masters coding is several steps closer to getting a stable well-paying job. With this much going for it, why is coding almost completely absent from our schools, and what can we do to get this?" Read more… "
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Community Use of Schools
Trustee Glover, Co-Chair of the TDSB's Community Use of Schools Advisory Committee (CUSAC) share the following - "Last week, we received a copy of a report that annually goes to the Ministry on Community Use of Schools.There are some extraordinary statistics in it including that in 2014-15, 551 of our schools were open for community use, and during that year, the TDSB issued 128,149 permits, which led to 13.6 million participant visits, and 383,897 permitted hours. These stats cover only some of the community use of our schools. It does not count adult ESL classes or the lease of space to community agencies such as Foodshare and Parent Action on Drugs, and I believe that it doesn't include the General Interest Adult programs that serve 29,000 adult students/year." Thought you'd also be interested.
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Worth Repeating High School Information Nights - To help you make an informed decision when choosing a high school, TDSB schools host open houses and information nights for parents and grade 8 students each year. Open houses take place between October and January and are an opportunity to learn everything you need to know about our incredible variety of schools, programs and courses. This link shows all the open houses. French Immersion & Extended French Timelines - A reminder that the TDSB guarantees an offer of placement in the Early French Immersion or Junior Extended French program (not a specific school) to all on-time applicants. Timelines for the application process to French Immersion and Extended French programs for September 2016 are as follows: - Early French Immersion (EFI): Families must apply on-line (for a JK aged child) Deadline is December 3rd 2015;
- Junior Extended French or Middle Immersion: Families must apply on-line (for a child currently in Grade 3) between January 4th and January 28th 2016. For further information, please click here.
Alyson Schafer - Family Talk About Drinking - Tuesday Dec. 1st, 7:30-8:30 - Northern SS Library Family Talk about Drinking gives parents and educators the tools and strategies required to navigate this important phase of development. The goal is to help adults better understand what is happening in the lives of teens and take an active role to prevent underage drinking.
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