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In This IssueParents as Partners. Enhancing Equity. STEAM Fair. Regal Heights Summit. Bike Racks. Excellence Awards. Budget 2017/18. Alternative Schools Review. Excellence Awards.
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| Hello friends, families and Davenport neighbours, Hope you had a terrific International Women's Day! It has been a very busy time in our community. Families, staff, and kids joined me at a special Ward Forum on Childcare to demand the City stop threatened cuts to the childcare occupancy grant. You can view a video of the panel discussion on my Facebook page. We won the battle...for now! the City has granted a one-year reprieve. Now it is up to us to join City Councillors in calling on the Provincial Government to step in and properly fund non-profit, affordable childcare in Toronto. You can email your MPP right now at cmartins.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org or call her Constituency Office at 416-535-3158 to ask for her government's commitment to properly fund childcare. Expect to hear more about this issue. We don't want to find ourselves fighting this battle all over again next year. Schools in our Ward participated in a number of activities for African Heritage Month....
Exploring the experiences, contributions and achievements of African Canadians in our province, city, country and around the world. There were special readings, guests, musical and performance celebrations, and events across the city. In the midst of some very disturbing acts of hate and violence in our country, and around the world, our staff and students joined together to affirm that everyone is loved, everyone is welcome here, and we ALL belong. Bloor CI students delivered a lovely letter (see above) to the Islamic Information and Dawah Centre (their neighbours) opposing bigotry and violence in the wake of the Quebec Mosque attack. I never have enough room in my newsletters to celebrate all the amazing achievements of our schools! please follow me on twitter @maritstiles for regular photos and retweets from our local schools and staff. They really are incredible. This month, a big shout out to Perth Ave Jr PS for hosting another amazing Art Fest... schools from across the downtown west-end shared their performance, dance, song with each other. Learn more about Perth Ave PS's focus on ' Dance to ' by watching this lovely video featuring teacher Arwyn Carpenter. Finally, thanks so much to Principal Marilyn Villett and FH Miller Jr PS for hosting our February Ward Council meeting focusing on Mental Health and Well-being. It was wonderful to hear from TDSB Social Worker Heather Johnson, and to learn how some of our schools are integrating mindfulness and wellbeing into their daily routine. Speaking of mental health and well-being, I will be taking advantage of the March Break to spend some time with my family. I want to wish you all a safe and happy March Break and look forward to seeing you soon! Sincerely, Marit
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Announcing the 2017 Davenport STEAM FairWe are very excited to announce the first Davenport TDSB STEAM Fair, taking place on June 3 at Bloor CI. We are going to roll up our sleeves and delve into science, technology, engineering and math. Why STEAM vs STEM? Art and Design are poised to transform our economy in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century, so we are adding Art + Design to the equation. We will have activities for all ages, and we are hoping to also have some interesting panel discussion. Come and learn/experience how our schools are using STEAM to collaborate, integrate and educate. We'll be looking for the active participation of our local businesses, friends and families, so please email Nahum at nahum.mann@gmail.com if you want to get involved. Nahum is one of our Pauline Jr PS Co-Chairs and is Co-chairing the Steering Committee with Trustee Stiles.
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| Bloor-Dufferin Redevelopment The Bloor-Dufferin Redevelopment has moved into a Community Hub Visioning phase. The Visioning Group has been meeting and is conducting a survey that you can find at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HubVisioning As well, we have learned from the City that a pre-application community meeting is being organized by the developer of the site and that it will take place tentatively on Thursday April 13 in a location TBD. Contact City Councillor Ana Bailao for more information about the development. Many families in neighbours in the area are also interested in plans for the new highschool that is being built for Bloor Collegiate Institute and Alpha II. I want to assure you that Principal Arnott and I will be working close with TDSB staff to ensure this process includes as much community input as possible. I do want community members to be aware that the Ministry of Education restricts to a great extent the design of new schools, but we are confident we can still create a fantastic new space for our students. The RFP for architects closes on March 9 and after that a selection committee will work to determine a shortlist. Those shortlisted will then be interviewed and we expect the Architect Selection Report to go to the Board on April 19. This means that we will have our team meetings -- including the principal, trustee, Superintendent, school parent representatives, teaching staff, school caretaker and may include other community members -- with the architect in June. I have requested a public meeting to provide information to the community about the design, and that is anticipated to happen in Winter 2017/18. However, I will certainly look for other opportunities to consult and provide more ongoing communication in the interim. Importantly, I want to be clear that we do not at this time anticipate that the students at Bloor CI will have to relocate before the new school opens. We believe they will be able to remain in the building until the new school is ready.
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Parents as Partners Conference 2017
This is an event not to be missed! if you haven't already attended a Parents as Partners conference, we cannot recommend it highly enough. There are workshops on everything from parenting to wellbeing, from special education to equity, ecoschools to science and technology. Find out more at parentsaspartners.ca and register here. This year the conference takes place on April 1 (no foolin'!) and there are buses, and fantastic childcare provided. They really make an effort to have great activities and learning for the kids so do bring them and register today.... They even provided transportation!
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Enhancing Equity Task Force
If you are attending the Parents as Partners Conference, be sure to sign up for the Enhancing Equity Taskforce session.
Urban poverty is an issue faced by students in communities across our city and school board. Recognizing that we must continue to find ways to address marginalization and inequity in schools, Trustees passed a motion in Winter 2016 to launch a Task Force that would help address the challenges and remove the barriers faced by students living in urban poverty.
The Task Force will put community and public consultation at the centre of the process by working with Trustees, staff, community advisory committees, parents and students, as well as representatives from many stakeholder groups including community agencies, universities, government and youth. Over the coming months the Task Force will assess:- what the TDSB has done to address the impact of poverty,
- determine what this meant for student achievement and well-being,
- develop recommendations for what must be done now to increase equity.
The participation and engagement of the communities we serve is a critical part of the task force’s work. Stay tuned for more information about consultations taking place in our Ward.
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| Bike Racks!Schools can now apply to have bike racks installed at their school free of charge through the EcoSchools Bike Rack Program. The deadline is June 30th, 2017. Schools will be selected to receive bike racks based on need and commitment to promoting active transportation. Successful applicants will be notified in the Fall and the bike racks will be installed in Spring 2018.
Questions regarding the Cycling Education Program and Bike Rack Program can be directed to Cynthia Chan at Cynthia.Chan@tdsb.on.ca or 647-209-8155.
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| Regal Heights Neighbourhood Summit
Please join Trustee Stiles and your Regal Heights community friends and neighbours on Thursday March 30 at 7:00PM for a chance to get to know each other, learn about each other and find out if there are things we can be working on together to make our community even better.
Regal Heights is one of the most engaged communities in the city. This summit is about taking it to the next level.
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| Excellence Awards 2017 Staff at the Toronto District School Board are among the most dedicated and qualified in Canada. Every day, nearly 39,000 professionals support our students and help them achieve their very best.
We want to recognize those staff who go above and beyond every day in support of students, staff, parents and the community. The Excellence Awards is our opportunity to honour and celebrate outstanding TDSB individuals and programs.
We invite you – staff, students, parents, community members – to nominate a TDSB staff member or team who work has made a difference in your life or the lives of those around you for an Excellence Award.
Ready to nominate? To start, you need to gather two letters of reference and one statement of recognition. The statement of recognition is an opportunity to deepen the nomination and can be written by the nominator. Then, you can complete the online nomination form.
The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 4 p.m.
All nominees will receive a personalized letter congratulating them on their nomination as well as informing them of those who contributed to the nomination. The winners are additionally celebrated at an awards ceremony in May.
Check out www.tdsb.on.ca/excellence and read the frequently asked questions
Before you get started, there are a few things you need to know: -
You need two nominations and one statement of recognition in support of your nomination. -
Save these files on your desktop as you will be prompted to upload them as part of your submission. -
Completing the submission will take approximately 15 minutes. -
You cannot save this submission part way through; you must complete and submit it all in one session. -
If you run into technical problems, please contact Irene.fu@tdsb.on.ca
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| Online Budget Survey & Online Forum
The TDSB is hosting an online budget forum to hear from parents, students and the community on the 2017-18 budget.
The online budget forum will take place on Monday, March 20, 2017 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. To access the online budget forum, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca on March 20 and click on the banner on the home page. During the online budget forum, you will be able to ask questions and have them answered by TDSB budget staff.
You can also provide your input by completing the budget survey. The survey was created to give parents, students and the community the opportunity to provide feedback on the TDSB’s 2017-18 budget.
As the Trustee for Ward 9, I value your input and feedback on the TDSB’s budget. I hope that you will take part in the online budget forum or complete the budget survey.
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Alternative School Review – Public Consultation Meetings
A review of Pathways in the Alternative School System is underway at the TDSB and public consultation meetings have been scheduled to hear from parents/guardians in the TDSB community. For more information, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/PublicConsultations/AlternativeSchoolReview• Thursday, March 23 from 6:30–8 p.m. at former Eastern Commerce CI, 16 Phin Avenue (Library)
• Tuesday, March 28 from 6:30–8 p.m. at Western Technical Commercial School, 125 Evelyn Crescent (Library)
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| Mark Your Calendars - Upcoming Ward Council Dates
All meetings take place from 6:30-8:30PM unless otherwise indicated. Locations are all still to be confirmed.
March 23 at Dovercourt Jr PS - Focus on Fundraising! Download the flyer here PDF
April 20 at Regal Road Jr PS
May 9 at Brock PS
Check the following link for the most up-to-date details: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ward9/ward9/wardcouncilmeetings.aspx
And don't forget to join us for the Davenport STEAM Fair on June 3 at Bloor CI. Stay tuned for more information!
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| TDSB Contacts
Superintendent of Education Jane Phillips-Long: Jane.Phillips-Long@tdsb.on.ca, 416-394-2042
Superintendent of Education Sandra Tondat: Sandra.Tondat@tdsb.on.ca, 416-394-2046
Board Office (general inquiries): GeneralInquiries@tdsb.on.ca 416-397-3000
Other Important Contacts
Ministry of Education: www.edu.gov.on.ca, 416-325-2929
Ministry of Health: www.health.gov.on.ca 416-314-5518
Toronto Public Health: www.toronto.ca/health, 416-338-7600
3-1-1 Toronto: www.toronto.ca/311
Toronto Public Libraries: www.torontopubliclibrary.ca, 416-393-7131
Kids Help Phone: www.kidshelpphone.ca, 1-800-668-6868
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| Special Dates
Mar 8 International Women's Day (UN)
Mar 12 Purim* (Judaism)
Mar 12 Magha Puja Day/Lantern Festival** (Buddhism)
Mar 13 Holi* (Hinduism)
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