February 2013

TDSB Names Donna Quan as New Acting Director At a special meeting of the Toronto District School Board, Donna Quan was officially appointed as Director of Education of the TDSB in an acting capacity beginning January 16th, 2013 until the appointment of the next Director of Education. Having served as the Board’s Deputy Director for the past 2 1/2 years, Donna now assumes the full duties of Director.

Donna brings 30 years of education experience to the position. She began her education career as an elementary teacher. She has worked at the Ministry

of Education and been a presenter and speaker at International forums.

I have a great deal of respect for Donna, both as an educator and as a person. Please join me in welcoming her as she takes on this latest challenge.

Don’t Miss The Party: Leaside Turns 100! Several months ago I was approached by volunteers who are working on a plan to celebrate Leaside’s 100th anniversary. They wanted to know if our schools were interested in joining in the celebrations. Under the guidance of Superintendent of Schools Rauda Dickinson a school committee was formed to brainstorm ways that the history of our neighbourhood could be woven into the curriculum for our students. Here are some of the initiatives so far

• a Leaside 100 website with historic photos www.leaside100.ca • Displays in Leaside schools • Curated exhibit at the Leaside Library between April 23 - 28 • Tuesday, April 23 the official commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Leaside’s charter

as a municipality. Ceremonies start at Leaside Library at 10 am. • Saturday April 27, Gala Dinner with entertainment and dancing to be MCed by comedians

Dave Sparrow and Deb McGrath. Tickets at www.leaside100.ca .

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PROVINCE RELEASES DISCUSSION PAPER ON HIGHER ORDER SKILLS Michael Fullan is a professor at the Ontario Studies for Education at the University of Toronto, his work is highly regarded in many countries throughout the world. He advises our Ministry of Education on important directions for our students.

Fullan recently prepared a paper at the request of the government for their consideration. He proposes that with strong literacy and math skills established, it’s time to put the focus on “higher order skills” which he refers to as The Six C’s . He identifies these as: CHARACTER EDUCATION, CITIZENSHIP, COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, CREATIVITY and CRITICAL THINKING/PROBLEM-SOLVING.

Fullan states “To be effective in the world is to be effective in those six Cs. The six Cs are also attributes that parents and the public value, and that employers seek.”

In his paper he writes about his concern about the lack of cohesiveness and connection between the educational partners.

“If we don’t get out of the rut we are in now, we’re going to go from great to good. I’m hoping the new premier will work immediately to re-establish that rapport,” so teachers will “have the energies required to get there.” Read the entire report at www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/FullanReport_EN_07.pdf

Conservative White Paper on Education Ontario PC Party leader Tim Hudak and PC Education Critic Lisa MacLeod launched their own discussion paper: Paths to Prosperity: Preparing Students for the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century.

This document includes 18 “paths” or recommendations for the education sector and covers many topics including introducing more standardized testing and scoring rates, changes in superintendent, principal and teacher roles, development of a more specific definition of a teacher’s job, reduction of 10,000 non-teaching jobs, and delaying the expansion of Full Day Kindergarten

Read the full report at ontariopc.uberflip.com/i/105335

Dunlace PS Turning 50…..My It Doesn’t Look that Old! Another school in Don Valley West is celebrating its history this year. Join us at Dunlace PS on Thursday , May 30, 2013 5pm to 8:30pm. Contact Josephine Zammit at 416-395-2370 Josephine.Zammit@tdsb.on.ca And if you know any former Dunlace students or staff, please share this news with them.

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The Kids Are Coming! The Kids Are Coming! A reminder that it is Kindergarten registration month – parents should contact their local school for registration information. To attend JK programs in September, children must turn four by Dec. 31, 2013. To attend SK programs in September, children must turn five by Dec. 31, 2013.

Proms Are A Go! Despite the Labour situation, I want to assure you that all our high schools are moving forward with their spring Proms. There was some concern that due to teacher job action they were in doubt but our dedicated principals are making sure that this important milestone takes place.

She Did It! Our own Kathleen Wynne, MPP is now Premier of Ontario. She was successfully elected by the Liberal Party of Ontario and became Ontario’s first woman premier on Monday February 11.

I was delighted to be invited by Kathleen to her historic swearing-in ceremony. It was a very moving experience to witness and also was great fun especially when she scooped up her beautiful granddaughter as the vice regal party exited the council chambers. Just one more reason to be proud of Don Valley West.

And an added touch: Kathleen appointed Guelph MPP Liz Sandals to become the new Minister of Education. Liz is a former Trustee in Guelph and President of the Ontario Public Schools Association. Since I was President of the Ontario School Boards Association just after Liz, I worked very closely with her for many years and know she has a strong depth of knowledge about education. Liz will be a real asset in her new role.

New Kindergarten School to Get a Name A school naming committee has been working hard to solicit suggestions for the name of the new kindergarten school beside Thorncliffe Park Public School. Many names were suggested by community members, teachers, and students-some were historical figures and others represented the location’s history (a race track). The name chosen by the committee is the Frazer

Mustard Early Learning Academy. This suggestion will go to the board of Trustees for final approval.

Frazer Mustard who died in 2011 was a Canadian physician and scientist. He did research into Heart disease and founded the McMaster University medical program. He is widely regarded in the educational community for his work on early child development. The paper that he coauthored called The Early Years Study led to the introduction of full day kindergarten in Ontario. Dr. Mustard was passionate that educators should understand the amazing progression of brain development in very small children. He knew with the proper stimulation that all children could reach their full potential.

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A Day In The Life…of TDSB Facilities. I thought you might be interested in the following account of a school emergency as it happened. Although you may have read some negative stories about the skilled trades and maintenance staff the real and more pervasive story is the men and women who come to work every day and do amazing jobs in our schools. With hundreds of buildings the TDSB staff responds to events like these each day. Sometimes it is broken water mains, power outages, no heat, flooded toilets, or a front door that won’t lock late at night.

A recounting of the Emergency action “in action” at Grenoble PS as reported by Principal Ted Goldring The water main out in front of Grenoble PS broke as school started Jan 22. City workers consulted our caretaker Mario Barone and decided to manage the break

until school closed. If repairs started immediately, the water would be shut-off to the school. Within an hour Ed Kong, Mario’s supervisor was at the school to help with next steps. The primary problem was that we could only keep 4

toilets working (bucket dumped down the back method) for over 800 students and 60+ staff A letter informed parents that we would stay open for

families that had no other choice but to send their children to school. Bill Kennedy, a Caretaking Team Leader arranged for a

Board plumber to be put on standby Justin Gratton, our evening caretaker, stayed

overnight, so that a fire watch could be maintained. The City workers contacted him at 4 am to say that the break was repaired. TDSB plumber, Martin Bosch, arrived at Grenoble just before 5 am and started to flush the school’s water system Word was sent to the Media outlets and Vice Principal, Jeff Little, set up a phone out

starting at 7am that school was opened.

Pink Shirt Day Wednesday February 27, 2013 marks Pink Shirt Day. Canadians are asked to wear something pink on this day. Pink Shirt Day is just one of the many initiatives that schools across Canada use to prevent bullying. The day helps raise awareness and discussion on issues of bullying with students, parents and staff. Teachers use their Tribes training and Character Education each day to encourage empathy and inclusive behaviour. To learn more go to: www.pinkshirtday.ca and think pink!

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Staying In Touch

Email: Gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca Twitter: @GerriGershon Telephone: 416-395-8408 On the web: www.tdsb.on.ca/gershon

FUTURE MEETINGS

TENTATIVE DATES Future Ward Forums “Come to an evening session on timely education topics of concern” Wednesday, March 20

Community Coffee Meetings “Join me for a cup of coffee & a friendly chat about your schools & education issues”

Wednesday, May 29 Thursday, February 21 Tuesday, April 23

Hope to See You Soon:

Gerri Gerri with teachers… at a

Professional Development session for new teachers lead by mentor

teachers

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