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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Council Update 2016/10/21 - #7School Council Newsletter October 21, 2016 WHAT'S NEW... At this point in the year, school councils are settling into their role, parents and students are back into routine, staff is busying compiling the first elementary progress reports. Essentially, the school year is in full swing! With that, we can expect many parents have questions about school related issues. Some parents want to know how to support their kids in math and how to help kids be successful at school. Others want to know more about developing resilience and what kinds of well-being supports are available. Perhaps as a parent you are wondering about special education supports. School councils might be looking for some ideas about best practices - or how to re-write the constitution. We're here to help answer those questions at our upcoming Parent Conference and School Council Training Day The conference theme this year is "Bridging Home and School - What we want for our Learners". The conference is an amazing opportunity for parents and educators to learn together about issues related to learning, well-being, special education and school council best practices. The conference is held in partnership with the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) and the Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of School Councils (OCASC). Everyone is welcome and the session is free - limited childcare spaces will be available. This year's conference will be held on November 19th from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Longfields-Davidson Heights School. A limited number of childcare spaces will be available for children between the ages of 4 and 10. You can apply for a childcare space with your registration. Register Now! Canada's Outstanding Principals Award Canada's Outstanding Principals recognizes outstanding contributions of principals in publicly funded schools. It honours principals from every province and territory in Canada who demonstrate innovate, entrepreneurial spirit and who have done something truly remarkable in public education. Nominate a great principal today. We're Looking for Parent Volunteers for the Parent Involvement Committee Are you a parent of an OCDSB student? Are you interested in public education, student achievement and well-being? Do you want to volunteer your time to make a difference in public education? We'd like to work with you. Apply to be a member of the OCDSB's Parent Involvement Committee. The Committee meets approximately 6 times per year. Persons interested in serving in this volunteer position on the PIC are invited to submit an online application by 23 November 2016. Multi-Year Plan for Student Learning and Accommodation Planning Online Community Engagement and Discussion The first phase of our online consultation on the Eastern Secondary and Western Area student learning and pupil accommodation reviews closed on October 9th. Thanks for your input - almost 2,000 people participated and shared close to 8,000 thoughts! The next phase of the consultation begins October 24th - watch for more details. Reminders: Public Meetings A reminder that the first two public meetings are coming up. Western Area Public Meeting - October 27, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Sir Robert Borden Eastern Secondary Review Public Meeting - November 1, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Rideau Please note that there is an Open House from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. on both dates which will include displays and exhibits and staff will be available for questions. The formal part of the meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. Advisory Committee Meeting Dates for Both Eastern Secondary and Western Area Reviews The Advisory Committees for both review areas will meet on the following dates from 7-9 p.m. October 20, 2016 November 9, 2016 December 6, 2016 Eastern Secondary Review Advisory Committee Meetings will be held at Ottawa Technical Secondary School. Western Area Review Advisory Committee Meetings will be held at Confederation Education Centre. You will find more information on the reviews here. Email If you have questions or concerns regarding the proposed changes for the reviews, you can email easternsecondaryreview@ocdsb.ca or westernareareview@ocdsb.ca Getting ready for Post Secondary? Parents of grade 12 students are starting to explore pathways beyond secondary school. There are some great resources available to help you and your child research future pathways. Think about attending one of the college or university fairs that are happening in town between October 24 and October 27. Check out the schedule for the Ottawa Region Ontario Universities Fair or visit the website at www.ouf.ca/.You might also want to explore eINFO - a comprehensive web resource that provides information about university programs, admission requirements, scholarships, residence and more for all 20 Ontario universities at www.electronicinfo.ca . Similarly, www.ontariocolleges.ca is a comprehensive web resource that provides information about college programs, admission requirements and more. Secondary Parents - Scholarship/Bursaries Did you know that there are many free resources available to assist you in your search for scholarships, bursaries and awards? Check out our website for more information or talk to your child's guidance counsellor for more information. Math Facts Ontario's Renewed Math Strategy will help our students, teachers, schools and districts in achieving stronger math results and better position our young people for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The Renewed Math Strategy is an Early Years to Grade 12 strategy that will benefit from and mobilize the latest research and lessons learned regarding effective math learning, teaching and assessment. The strategy will provide new forms of support to all schools, increased support to some schools with greater needs in math achievement, and intensive support to a select group of schools with the greatest needs in math achievement. It will promote greater collaboration between everyone, including educators, students, leaders and parents. Learn more here. SCHOOL COUNCIL BUSINESS School Council Reminders If you have not already done so, please send your school council contact information to Susan Baker at susan.baker@ocdsb.ca - School name, chair/co-chair name(s), phone number(s), and email address(es). School Councils are also required to submit to the District an annual report on its activities, including fundraising activities on or before October 30, 201. Please ensure to submit your school council annual report to school principals and forward a copy to Susan Baker, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, ON K2H 6L3 or by email at susan.baker@ocdsb.ca BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS Meetings that Matter.... Board and Committee of the Whole Meetings The next Board Meeting will be held October 25th. The Public session will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information about the meeting please read the full agenda. Gifted Program Review Recommendations - parents interested in the Gifted Program will want to know that the report went to Committee of the Whole on October 18th and the item was referred back to staff. Staff will review the feedback from the discussion and bring forward a revised report later this fall. T Elementary Program Framework - this report outlines the framework for the delivery of our elementary programs. The framework focuses on the importance of 2 school configuration models, K-6 and K-8 elementary schools supported by 7-12 and 9-12 secondary schools. The elementary program framework also establishes the range of elementary programs available in the district. Upcoming Committee Meetings: 10/24/2016 7:00 PM Advisory Committee on the Arts 10/26/2016 10:00 AM Ad Hoc Committee to Develop an Adovacy Strategy 10/26/2016 7:00 PM CANCELLED: Audit Committee NOTE: meeting has been cancelled Boardroom Highlights can be found here. EVENTS AND REMINDERS Places to Go...Things to Remember NEW: Leslie Park Public School 50th Anniversary Celebration - Saturday, October 22nd, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - 150 Harrison Drive Current and former staff and students are welcome to attend. Please RSVP with the number of people attending to leslieparkps@ocdsb.ca. Come join the party and take a journey through the decades. The LPs will be performing! Cake, refreshments and lots more! 11th Annual Pleasant Park /Hawthorn Used Book Sale - October 29th 9:00 a.m. The popular Pleasant Park/Hawthorne Used Book Sale is on Saturday, October 29th at 9 a.m. This important fundraiser features thousands of gently used books. It also helps to enhance the student experience at both schools in a variety of ways. Funds collected go toward a number of initiatives including new gym equipment, electronic supplies and library books. The sale takes place at Pleasant Park Public School, 564, Pleasant Park Road, (at Lynda Lane). In addition to books there will be a bake sale, chili lunch and free coffee courtesy of Starbucks. There is ample free parking. People who wish to donate books for the event can drop off books between October 24th - 27th at Pleasant Park Public School (8 a.m. - 4 p.m. through the front doors or 6:30 - 8:30 p. m. through the gym door). Churchill Alternative School presents - Beyond Measure - November 9th 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Churchill Alternative School invites you to a special screening of Beyond Measure, an inspiring documentary that challenges the assumptions of our current education story. Imagine an education system that values personal growth over test scores. Inquiry over mimicry. Passion over rankings. What if we decide that the purpose of school is not the transmission of facts or formulas, but the transformation of every student? Meet the public schools that are daring to reimagine education. And making it happen. November 9th 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Nepean High School 574 Broadview Avenue., Ottawa ON Click here to view the trailer: https://vimeo.com/141805506 Click here for tickets: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-measure-presented-by-churchill- alternative-school-tickets-28695203125 REMINDERS: OCDSB International Certificate Program Information Session - November 16th 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Join us for an information session Wednesday, November 16, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Confederation Education Centre in the Cafetorium - 1645 Woodroffe Avenue. Looking for more information? Contact Kathy Scheepers, International Education Coordinator at 613-239- 0592 or kathy.scheepers@ocdsb.ca. Stay Connected OCDSB staff, students and community members can view the District's website. Keep in touch by following us on Twitter, visiting our Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and watching our videos on YouTube. About the Newsletter We get a lot of feedback about the newsletter and we are always happy to hear from you. Anyone can receive the newsletter. If you are not on our distribution list and would like to be please clickhere or email Communications@ocdsb.ca. At this time of year there are many changes on school council, please be sure to notify us about any change of email address. Many people forward the newsletter to others in their community. If you forward this message, please delete all of the text from the "forward e-mail" link at the bottom left of the newsletter (just outside of the purple border). Otherwise, anyone who receives the message can click the opt-out button at the bottom of the newsletter and will actually unsubscribe your name from our distribution list. This may explain why some regular users are being dropped from our distribution list. Have a wonderful weekend. Michele Michele Giroux Executive Officer, Corporate Services Ottawa-Carleton District School Board 613-596-8211 ext. 8607 michele.giroux@ocdsb.ca