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HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 Student Trustee Report to Board Dec 20 2011 Public th Student Trustee Report Dec. 20, 2011 Student Senate At our latest meeting, we continued to discuss our Junior Senate final stage, before we begin our consultation with different gro OSTA-AECO We are currently working on organizing our upcoming Board Council Confere are to be held here in Ottawa, in February. Alongside this task, together our student trustee magazine, hÒ© šz-;, of which our board will receive multiple copies for distribution, as we are a member board. See attached the Ontario Student and Parent Surveys that our organization mad Healthy Foods Manual We have been working closely with students and staff to create a manual which will help students better understand the limitations of the Healthy Foods positive initiative, and ways to fundraise successfully while ad In a meeting with Jeremy Dias, the founder of the Ottawa- discussed ways we could make our board a more equitable and incl students, and how we could further our efforts in this directionsion points and potential ideas that we may wish to pursue in the fut Equity and Inclusion / Homophobia: Ideas for Improvement discussions that may help our school board in terms of Equity and Inclusion: Greater Visibility Although the OCDSB has an Equity and Inclusive Education policy, resources on our website. We, as a board, can provide more resouudents, and community members, educating them on the importance of Equitable the possibility of creating a section on our website that shows as race, gender or sexual orientation) regarding equity. This may include: Links to Local Organizations o Special Events in our community o Facts/ Statistics o Community Speakers o How it is being addressed in our Curriculum o http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=5007&p Endorsements to Certain Events Many students in our schools already take part in special eventsor Mental Health Week. The board should look more into spreading mo simple media release suggesting that the board encourages studen although may seem simple, can go a long way in helping students feel included. to grade 8. These documents outline the appropriate subjects rel that teachers could discuss for each individual grade level. Sample activities This may be something worth reviewing, and seeing if we should i Here is the link to the webpage http://www.jersvision.org/en/resources/curriculums OSTA-AECO 2011 Student and Parent Survey Recommendations Question 1 GSAs School administration host student forums to determine areas of improvement towards creating safe, and accepting school environments. Brainstorm ideas and initiatives to combat homophobic-bullying, some of which will be implemented by the school board School boards define a clear policy for the creation of GSAs, anti-bullying or equity group (in support of LGBTQ youth) if students request to start such a group School boards run a professional development session for all administration, teachers, and staff specifically concerning bullying based on sexual orientation Question 2 Civics/Careers School boards create a working list of suggested speakers for Careers classes, of which teachers will have to invite at least one over the course of the term School boards host a board-wide "Civics conference", inviting community politicians, lawyers, and motivational speakers Careers and Civics teachers create a suggestion box to garner ideas in order to make lessons more interesting Careers teachers host a day where they invite speakers from around the community, potentially students, parents or contacts. Incorporate mock election programs into schools; all candidates meetings Teacher training for Civics/Careers course Civics/Careers curriculum update: updating curriculum on the basis of school Board governance & Student Trustee position Question 3 Healthy Food Options parents through various channels of communication, preferably on-line Cafeteria menus with nutrition facts & allergy alerts (mandatory on all cafeteria food) available in the cafeteria The implementation of the Food & Beverage guidelines should involve, both at a Board- level and a school-by-school level, student trustees and student councils (potentially through designated Student Wellness Committees) Eliminate 90/10 guideline and make it 100% healthy School Boards to have days to introduce new foods in cafeterias Reassess the Healthy Food unit in Phys-ed curriculum More education for students about healthy food & living Reassessment of prices for cafeteria foods Education on aspartame/all artificial chemicals/caffeine and the effect it has on students Consider extra-curricular sales or we need to suggest alternatives OYAP should abide by guidelines Question 4 Pressure The Ministry of Education should formally recognize that, for students to take a 5th year, is a perfectly legitimate pathway and sometimes a very necessary step. It should provide Boards with the funding necessary to provide this, and make students aware that this is a viable, acceptable, and excellent option. Likewise, schools boards should make an effort to inform parents that it is acceptable to take a 5th year Courses with prerequisites should be reexamined and kept to the minimum by the Ministry as this is restrictive. Moreover, it is simply unrealistic for all students to make dramatic career choices at a young age Raising awareness about the different guidelines that universities and scholarships have adopted Question 5 Social Media The OCT should reform its Professional Advisory on the Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media (Feb 2011) to accommodate student and teacher interaction on electronic platforms School boards should be encouraged to use social media outlets for educational purposes, as they hold great potential for class engagement and teaching. Teachers and students, however, must not dismiss, the distinction between the classroom and personal life. School boards need to continue to monitor these online relationships. Technology workshops need to be advertised and made an option for teachers with less technological expertise. Teachers need to know how to effectively and appropriately use social media in the classroom. Recognition that social media is useful for additional supports for students Question 6 Teacher Recognition The Ministry of Education should define a policy around merit-pay and incentives for teachers who coach/supervise extra-curricular activities, thereby encouraging all teachers to get involved before and after instructional time. Question 7 Cyber-bullying The Ministry of Education should define a current, up-to-date series of guidelines for School Boards regarding cyber-bullying. It should encompass the central themes that: Th that it is not omniscient- However, students do need help, and schools are responsible for doing everything that they can to ensure that students are able to perform to the best of their ability. Schools should be conscious of bullying that might be going on, with guidance counsellors prepped as someone to talk to; school boards should have connections with local police departments, and forward relevant concerns onto them; disciplinary measures should exist and be put into practice There needs to be clear boundary for bullying Recommends student support systems for students by students Question 8 Sexual Education Should be an anonymous question box in every sex-ed classroom Sex-ed education should be continued into later years, when it becomes increasingly relevant. More relevant issues such as LGBTQ, personal experiences, and sexual emotions should be addressed in the course. There needs to be better training for teachers and instructors, more involvement by heath agencies and school nurses and a balance between facts or anatomy and the role of sexuality in relationships. Parents should be educated about the type of education they are getting in sex-ed classes because they strongly feel they need to be included in the process. Question 9 Mental Health School administration and Board officials should be responsible for ensuring that all students and staff are made aware of the resources they have at their disposal if they are encountering mental health concerns. Teachers should be educated to discuss mental health with their students and they should encourage students to learn about the topic. Resources need to be made clearly available to both parents and students. School boards are encouraged to increase the number of social workers, nurses, etc available to students because many students have expressed their desire for the presence of more trained staff. The entire school community needs to work to break down the stigma around Mental Health, by educating the entire school community and encouraging awareness events. Question 10 Student Fees The Ministry should continue to push forward its new guidelines on Student Fees It should ensure that Boards develop similar policy School boards should develop operating procedures and communication plans to ensure that students and parents alike are aware of the potential financial aid that exists for them School boards should provide a safe, privacy-conscious method for low-income parents to gather financial aid for their child(ren) to fulfill activities Complete funding for supplies/resources for school programs; funds used for basic resources