HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Council Update 2017/01/20 - #17School Council Newsletter
January 20, 2017
WHAT'S NEW...
In November, People for Education (P4E) held their annual conference in Toronto. Like most
conferences, there was a wide range of conference topics and speakers and these were all
education related. Recently, P4E posted some conference highlights on their website and I
thought you might be interested in reading them. It's a great list of reflections on key topics in
public education and everyone at the OCDSB can be very proud that our Student Trustee
Kayvon Mihan is one of the speaker's quoted.
"On whether high school is preparing students for their future, from Kayvon Mihan, chair
of the Ontario Student Trustees' Association:
A greater effort needs to be made to make the careers
course more experiential and life based.
Keep in mind the meaning of 40 hours of community service,
and how volunteering doesn't mean just doing unpaid work
for school service hours.
The greatest civics lesson a student can learn is the one
where they are experiencing what is currently going on in the
world around them - be it municipally, provincially or
federally.
Have an open mind! Everybody is working hard to improve
students' experience, and it's important to work with these
individuals (board, ministry staff, trustees, MPPs etc.) instead
of against them."
Kayvon's reflections provide a great foundation to these thoughts:
"On the transition from high school to life, from Bruce Lawson, Executive Director at the
Counselling Foundation of Canada:
In the last several decades, we have seen a dramatic
transformation in the world of employment, with the erosion of
traditional career paths; the World Economic Forum is calling
it the "Fourth Industrial Revolution", where technology is
changing every industry at a pace never before seen.
Educational systems are starting to move towards
competency-based approaches, which are meant to empower
young people to navigate the unknown terrain of the future
workplace.
Given the majority of occupations that young people will face
when they graduate high school don't yet exist, we need a
societal shift away from asking "What do you want to be when
you grow up?" Instead, we need to ask questions that
encourage them to self-reflect:
What skills and competencies have you gained from
your education? What about from your extracurricular
activities?
Based on what you've learned in school and your
experiences in extracurricular activities, what have you
learned about yourself? [Example: do you like working in
teams? Are you a creative thinker? Do you like being the
leader or being assigned task? Are you detail oriented?"
You can read more on the P4E website.
High School Exams
Students in secondary school, grades 9-12, exams run from Tuesday, January 23 through to
Friday January 27, 2017. Check your school website for a copy of the exam schedule. In the
event that an individual secondary school must be closed on a day during the examination
schedule, examinations scheduled to be written at that school on that day, will be written on
the next day that the school is open. Semester 2 begins Tuesday, January 31,
2017. KidsHelpPhone has a great tip sheet on studying that you might want to share with your
child. Parents can't do the studying, but they can help to remind students about the
importance of having a study plan with enough time for proper meals, sleep and some physical
activity.
High School Information Nights
All of our secondary schools host Grade 8 Parent Information Nights. These sessions are an
important opportunity for parents and students to learn more about high school and the
programs and pathways best suited to your child's needs.
Adult High School
If you or someone you know is thinking of going back to school - Registration for semester 2
takes place in January and classes begin on Friday, February 3, 2017. Adult High School is
open to residents of the City of Ottawa who are 18 years old or older. It is a full-time high
school. Classes are held Monday to Friday from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. All of the courses are
credit courses that can be used towards an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Call 613-239-
2707 - to register for second semester early in the new year.
Kindergarten Information Nights
If your child will be age four or five by December 31, 2017, they are ready for junior or senior
kindergarten starting September 2017. Students already in junior kindergarten do not have to
re-register for senior kindergarten. Visit your local school to register. Information on our
Kindergarten program can be found here.
PA Day - January 30th
Monday, January 30 is an OCDSB PA Day for both Elementary and Secondary students. For
more information on holidays, exam dates and PA Days, check our school year calendars.
2017-2018 Student Transfer Application Period: February 6-17th,
2017
If your child wishes to submit a student transfer request, the application period is between
February 6 and the 17th for next school year. Making a transfer request does not mean that
your request will be approved but following the process is essential for consideration.
Check here for the 4 basic steps to the process.
Middle French Immersion Registration Period - February 17th-23rd
Middle French Immersion starts in grade 4. If your child has completed the grade 3
English/Core French Program, together you can choose to enter your child in the Middle
French Immersion Program.
Continuing Education Newsletter - January/February 2017
Take a look at the latest edition of the Continuing Education Newsletter and what is coming up in
our department. It is interactive, so please click anywhere to be linked to our website for more
information on all of our programs.
Ministry of Education's Renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy
Framework and Expansion Strategy
The Ministry of Education is developing a Renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy
Framework and Expansion Strategy to support an integrated system of child care and early
years programs focused on quality, affordability, access and responsiveness. The Framework
builds on important achievements to date and will include an expansion strategy to deliver on
the government's recently announced commitment to create 100,000 new child care spaces for
infants, toddlers and preschoolers over the next five years.
To help guide the consultation, the Ministry has developed a discussion paper, Building a
Better Future: A Discussion Paper for Transforming Early Years and Child Care in Ontario.
The paper outlines the current early years and child care system, provides an overview on the
proposed approach and includes some key discussion questions. Parents, families, early years
and child care partners, as well as the general public are invited to provide written feedback to
the Ministry by January 31, 2017 by accessing the online survey or attend one of the Town
Hall Sessions (one session in English and the other in French occurring simultaneously):
Location: Shaw Centre, 55 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1N 9J2
Date: January 17, 2017
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm (light refreshments will be provided)
Although these sessions aim to specifically to engage parents and families with children under 12
for their feedback, the sessions are open to everyone. Registration is not required.
Minister's Student Advisory Council (MSAC) applications are open
Students in grades 7-12 can apply to advise Ontario's Education Minister. Apply online today.
Deadline: February 9, 2017.
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) Immunization
A reminder that parents are required to report all immunizations done at the doctor's office to
OPH. Under this Act, OPH has the authority to suspend students from school. Due to the size
of our District, OPH is dividing its surveillance campaign into two phases. The first phase of
notification letters to parents alerting them of missing documentation was sent out on
November 15, 2016 and the second on November 22, 2016. Suspensions for the first group
will commence on February 8, 2017 and for the second group on February 22, 2017 so it is
very important to ensure your child's immunizations are up to date. Immunization protects
children from many serious diseases that are easily spread in schools. Learn more here.
Updating your child's immunization record
Any time your child gets a vaccination or booster shot you need to update their record with
Ottawa Public Health by:
Completing the Online Immunization Reporting to Ottawa Public Health
Fax: 613-580-9660
Mail: Immunization Program, 100 Constellation Dr., Ottawa, ON, K2G 6J8, 7th floor,
mail code 26-44
Phone 613-580-6744 Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm
ImmunizeCA App: appottawa.immunize.ca
CANImmunize has also launched an action comic, Immunity Warriors: Invasion of the Alien
Zombies, to educate elementary school students about the immune system and the r ole of
immunization in defending against illness.
Math Facts
Math and Picture Books
Reading to your child is both a wonderful way to spend time together and also an effective way
to engage your child in conversation. Students of all ages love stories and love to talk about
stories. "Literature provides students with opportunities to make connections with their own
lives, provides a context to think and practise mathematics, and enriches students' view of the
world of mathematics." A Guide to Effective Instruction in Mathematics, Kindergarten to Grade
6.
Listed below are a few titles to begin the conversation about mathematics at home. These
picture books are connected to several math strands of the Ontario mathematics curriculum
from your child's report card:
Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina (Number Sense and Patterning)
The Doorbell Rang, by Pat Hutchins (Number Sense)
Count to 10 with a Mouse, by Margaret Wise Brown (Number Sense)
Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There IS? by Robert Wells (Number Sense and
Measurement)
Actual Size, by Steve Jenkins ( Measurement)
One Grain of Rice, by Demi (Number Sense and Multiplication and Division)
Grandfather Tang's Story, by Ann Tompert (Geometry)
Stone Soup, by Heather Forest (Data Management and Probability)
If you and your child are more comfortable in a language other than English, then read
to your child in that language.
Your local public library may be helpful in choosing books connected to mathematics. The link
below may also be helpful to access digital books online in a number of languages:
International Digital Library: http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
SCHOOL COUNCIL BUSINESS
Reflections for School Councils and Parent Involvement
Committees
Also from the P4E conference and I believe it also applies to school councils,
"On working with Parent Involvement Committees, from Josh Duijvestein, past-chair of the
Halton Catholic Parent Involvement Committee:
Make relationships with everyone, from superintendents to
caretaker. The more people you know and have a
relationship with, the easier it will be to navigate the system
when you are trying to accomplish a task.
Remember that everyone sitting around the volunteer table
brings something different to the table. People around the
parent volunteer table all have different levels of education
and a different concept of how education should be for their
children.
People are volunteering their time; this is unpaid, so make it
fun as well as productive."
Funding for Play Structures and Playgrounds
Funding is available to assist school communities in developing their school grounds and
installing or replacing some of their play structures. Please submit your application using Form
700, as soon as possible. Approval will take into account equity, special circumstances and
other funding already in place. Project applications that did not receive funding in previous
years will be carried over; however, it is important to update the application to reflect the
current status. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Fournier at 613-596-8211 ext.
8690 or at daniel.fournier@ocdsb.ca.
BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Meetings that Matter....
Board and Committee of the Whole Meetings
The next Committee of the Whole Meeting will be January 24th at 7:00 p.m.. There are
several items of interest on this agenda including a report on the Elementary School Program
Framework, the Complaints Resolution Policy and reports from the parent Involvement
Committee and the Special Education Advisory Committee. For more information about the
meeting please read the full agenda here.
Upcoming Meetings:
1/23/2017
6:00 PM Parent Involvement Committee
1/23/2017
7:00 PM Advisory Committee on the Arts
1/23/2017
7:00 PM Alternative Schools Advisory Committee
1/25/2017
7:00 PM Audit Committee
1/26/2017
6:00 PM Advisory Committee on Equity
1/30/2017
7:00 PM Committee of the Whole, Budget
Boardroom Highlights can be found here.
EVENTS AND REMINDERS
Places to Go...Things to Remember
Speaker Series 2017
Parents, guardians and caregivers are invited to join us for our free Speaker Series
Presentations. The presentations will begin at 7:00 p.m. Please save the date; more details will
be added to our website in the near future.
First Nations, Métis, Inuit event
Thursday, March 2nd
Rideau High School auditorium, 815 St. Laurent Boulevard
Gender Identity and Expression
Thursday, May 8th
Sir Robert Borden High School auditorium, 131 Greenbank Road
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 great weekend.
Michele
Michele Giroux
Executive Officer, Corporate Services
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
613-596-8211 ext. 8607
michele.giroux@ocdsb.ca