Trustee Pamela Gough’s Update November 24, 2015
With the recent change in federal policy, Canada is going to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of December. Many are expected to arrive in Toronto. TDSB schools are preparing to welcome hundreds of newcomer families over the next few months, and many community organizations are rising to the challenge of sponsoring families and helping them with settlement.
The TDSB's Dewson Street Public School parent community is leading the way, and has challenged other school parent communities to join them nationally in the "Thousand Schools Challenge". I am very supportive of this initiative. If your school community is interested in finding out the details of sponsorship from the Dewson Street parent leaders, let me know. It's important that school parent communities share information and lessons learned. Contact me at .
In this issue:
1. Ward council meeting Nov. 24 at Islington JMS
2. Director of Education Donna Quan moves to York University
3. Labour update: elementary report cards return (mostly)!
4. Grade 4 Extended French community meeting Dec. 3
5. TDSB gives new opportunities for parent volunteers
6. Research report on learners in TDSB French Immersion programs
7. ESA hosts guest speaker on teens and drugs November 25
8. Gifted program boundaries changes at the secondary level
9. Upcoming local specialized program application dates
1. Ward council meeting Nov. 24 at Islington JMS
My next ward council meeting is today: Tuesday November 24. Childcare and refreshments will be
provided. All welcome, for the ward council concept of intersecting communities to work, school council chairs and ward reps should attend if at all possible. For maximum networking impact, WE NEED EVERY SCHOOL TO SEND SOMEONE. Special note: there will be a presentation on the specialty schools/programs in our area, and Richard Christie of TDSB Ecoschools will attend to help facilitate a ward-level street safety/traffic control committee. Schools will have lots of time to network.
Where: at Islington JMS Library, 44 Cordova Ave (Bloor and Islington)
When: 7- 8:45 pm, Tuesday November 24
2. Director of Education Donna Quan moves to York University
After more than 30 years with the TDSB, Director Donna Quan is leaving in mid-December to head up a very compelling York University research project on understanding provincial student demographics, reporting to the Deputy Minister of Education. The trustees have immediately started the search process for an interim director.
3. Labour update: elementary report cards return (mostly)!
Both the elementary teachers (ETFO) and CUPE have reached a settlement. As a result, schools are being cleaned thoroughly again, office staff are back to normal duties and teachers and education support workers have taken up a number of activities suspended during the lengthy labour action. Report cards will be sent out December 10 for all elementary grades except Jr. and Sr.Kindergarten. Although the normal process of parent-teacher interviews will not happen this term, parents are always welcome to contact their child's teacher about progress. Teachers will proactively contact parents for interviews if there is a concern about their child's progress.
The high school teachers' union (OSSTF) has reached an agreement at the provincial level, but has not yet done so locally. Teachers began a partial withdrawal of administrative services on Wednesday November 4, 2015. For the report cards, teachers uploaded all marks and attendance records as is normal practice, but did not provide Learning Skills or Comments. Negotiations are ongoing and hopefully a settlement will be reached soon.
4. Grade 4 Extended French community meeting Dec. 3
To relieve increasing congestion at John English JMS, the Grade 4 Extended French program will be phased out of the school and moved nearby, starting September 2016. Early French Immersion will stay at John English. Students currently in the Extended French program will stay at John English until the end of Grade 8. The program will start the new Grade 4 class at Second St. JMS, which is also in Mimico and has space for it. The new program will be fully resourced with highly trained, bilingual teachers and French learning materials. A community information meeting will take place at Second St. School at 7 pm on December 3. All are welcome.
5. TDSB gives new opportunities for parent volunteers
The trustees are looking at a revision to the TDSB's policy on parent and community involvement to allow parent volunteers to have greater independence in supervising extracurricular activities at schools. A report on this will be coming to the board meeting this Wednesday, November 25th 2015. The report recommends that parent volunteers who apply to be independent supervisors for extra- curricular activities such as sports be allowed to do so, providing they are approved by the principal and meet certain criteria such as a police record check, full credentials with organizations that are affiliated with the activity, and adherence to all safety guidelines. The report can be found here.
6. Research report on learners in TDSB French Immersion programs
The TDSB's research department has released a research brief on the characteristics of students in French as a Second Language (FSL) programs, specifically Early French Immersion (starts in Sr. Kindergarten) and Extended French (starts in Gr. 4). The report found that these two FSL programs attracted more girls than boys and had a lower proportion of students with special needs than is found in the general TDSB student population. The Extended French program attracted more newcomer families than Early Immersion, and both FSL programs were effective in promoting academic achievement. Both FSL programs had higher levels of student engagement, lower levels of absenteeism and suspensions, and a higher proportion of students in the academic stream of high school than the regular English program. The report can be found here.
7. ESA hosts guest speaker on teens and drugs November 25
ESA's school council is hosting a parent education evening on youth substance abuse and its effects. Learn answers to questions every parent needs to know. Make sure you and your teen understand the impact of substance use on teen minds, bodies, and still developing brains. Gayla Forer of Breakaway Addiction Services in Toronto will lead a presentation focusing on youth substance abuse and its effects. She will also discuss parenting issues and communicating with your teen about this very important topic. All welcome.
Where: Etobicoke School of the Arts Library, 675 Royal York Rd (Royal York/Queensway area) When: 7-9 pm, November 25, 2015
8. Gifted program boundary changes at the secondary level
Clarification on this item from my newsletter of last month: the expansion of the number of high schools offering the gifted program in other parts of the city, and the boundary changes happening as a result, will not affect the pathways taken by students in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Gifted programming will continue to be offered to Etobicoke-Lakeshore students at Broadacres for junior school, John G. Althouse for middle school, and Martingrove C.I. for high school. Staff have clarified that the city- wide changes will relieve local congestion so that overflow diversions mentioned in my earlier newsletter are not expected to take place. You can view the full report here
9. Upcoming local specialized program application dates
Arts Programs: Middle School and Secondary
Karen Kain School of the Arts (Queensway/Royal York area) Entry grade: 6
Apply by: Thursday Dec. 11, 2015
Etobicoke School of the Arts (Queensway/Royal York area) Entry grade: 9
Apply by: November 27, 2015
Early French Immersion Programs (SK entry)
John English JMS (Mimico), Sir Adam Beck JS (Alderwood), Islington JMS (Islington/Bloor area) Apply by: December 3, 2015
Junior Extended French Program (Entry grade: 4)
Second Street JMS (Mimico area) Information night: 7 pm, December 3, 2015
Apply by: January 28, 2016
Enriched Secondary Academic Programs: Pre-Advanced Placement (Grade 9)
Lakeshore Collegiate (New Toronto) Apply by: Dec. 18, 2015
For more education news, go to my website or follow me on Twitter @pamelagough!
I welcome feedback.
Share this email :
Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
5050 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario | M5N 5N8 CA
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.