February 1, 2021

Our new LC3 Manager of Social Work (replacing Shameen) is Yulanda Julien Yulanda.julien@tdsb.on.ca
Reminder that Ruth Bell is our LC3 Caring and Safe School Administrator Ruth.Bell@tdsb.on.ca
Our LC3 Child and Youth Counsellor (CYC), attached to Caring and Safe Schools, is Sara Foster Sara.Foster@tdsb.on.ca Note: Sara specialized in restorative practices.

Request from Ruth Bell: should you need to consult with Caring and Safe Schools re: a potential ORT, please contact Ruth, as she is the Caring and Safe School Administrator.

tdsb CREATES

We are delighted to share with you that the following schools from LN14 & LN16 have been selected to receive a virtual artist residence program as part of the now completely virtual tdsbCREATES festival running from February to June 2021. This year, priority has been given to schools who were selected last year, but were unable to complete the program due to the closure of schools in March 2020.

LN/School/Project

14 Malvern Jr PS for Visual Arts

14 Milliken PS for Music

16 Mason Road Jr PS for Dance

16 Scarborough Village PS for Visual Arts

What is tdsbCREATES?

This system wide arts festival, presented by the TDSB Arts Department and the Toronto Arts Council since 2014, is an arts engagement opportunity for students and a professional learning opportunity for teachers that connects professional artists with classrooms. Please see the tdsbCREATES website for a full overview of the festival.

LN14/16 Calendar

African Heritage Month

~from the TDSB web

Black people in Canada have diverse backgrounds and experiences – while some can trace their roots in Canada for many generations, others have immigrated in recent decades.

Black Canadians are connected by a common African history and ancestry. The African-Canadian population is made up of individuals from a range of places across the globe including, but not limited to, the United States, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Canada.

There were almost 1.2 million Black people living in Canada in 2016. The Black population is diverse and has a long and rich history in Canada.

Among the Black population born outside of Canada, the source countries of immigration have changed over time. More than half of this population who immigrated before 1981 were born in Jamaica and Haiti. Black newcomers now come from about 125 different countries, mainly from Africa.

The African Heritage Month Volunteer Planning Committee continues to name, notice, and disrupt anti-Black racism through their organized initiatives shared throughout the TDSB and commitment to hold space for Black students, staff, parents, families, and elders to heal, to celebrate and to thrive. We are excited to share more information about African Heritage Month.

Calendar of Events:

African Heritage Month Celebration Launch

Monday, February 1, 1 p.m.

Black Student Alliance Webinar: How to Start a Black Student Alliance

Wednesday, February 10, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Stronger than Hate (link to come)

Thursday, February 25, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Know Your Worth Conference

Saturday, February 27, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Know Your Worth Conference for Educators

Saturday, May 29, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Final PP_ African HM Feb_ 2021.pdf

We are thrilled to be sharing this poster with our updated theme. The artwork for the poster was created by students from Downsview Secondary School in 2020 under the leadership of their teacher, Matthew Chapman. See more information on Poster & Theme.

More resources HERE

Chinese Heritage Month Celebration Jan 19 (1).pdf

More information about these initiatives on our official Chinese Heritage Month site.

Chinese Heritage Month

Toronto District School Board is proud to recognize Chinese Heritage Month (CHM) during the month of February 2021. This year is the Year of the Ox: Loyal, Honest, Responsible, Hard-Working and Logical. Many Chinese Canadians will celebrate Lunar New Year on Friday, February 12. Lunar New Year is also known as the spring festival and begins with the first moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar 15 days later. Though celebrations will be altered this year because of the pandemic, the spirit and joyfulness will remain the same through virtual events and in-home family-based festivities.

Copies of the winning posters from our poster challenge with students from all grade levels across the Toronto District School Board will be posted soon.

February is Kindergarten Registration Month

Registration for all TDSB Kindergarten programs begins in February.

To attend Junior Kindergarten in September, children must turn four years old by December 31.

To register for Senior Kindergarten, children must be five years old by December 31.

For more information about the Kindergarten program, registration requirements, and to complete an online registration, please visit: www.tdsb.on.ca/kindergarten

REEL CANADA - Free online workshops for high schools about careers in film and TV

Interested? Reach out to arshile@reelcanada.ca

Please note we have a partnership with REEL

REEL CANADA is offering free online workshops for high schools about careers in film and TV.

The Canadian film and television industry is experiencing a boom (yes, even during COVID-19), with studios and production houses opening across the country at unparalleled rates. There are more job opportunities than ever for young Canadians in this sector, but the vast majority of students might never know about the hundreds of different roles that they could take on in film and TV production.

The Reel Opportunities programme, presented by REEL CANADA and Bell Media, provides free, interactive, online workshops about these career areas. The sessions will introduce your students to young, enthusiastic film industry professionals eager to share their own career insights, experiences and pathways. All workshops:

Are 20 to 60 minutes in length, tailored to your needs.
Feature guests selected to best match the interests of each class.
Include Q&A sessions and visual examples of the amazing work being done in Canada today.
Share some of the educational and apprenticeship-based pathways to film.
Provide an overview of many jobs, as well as an optional focus on specific job areas or positions.
Are available in English or French.
Come with lesson plans about careers in films, filmmaking vocabulary, and more.
Can be booked between now and April 2021.
Accommodate groups of 10 to 100 students.
Are suitable for grades 9 and above (age 14+).
Take place on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.
Are completely free of charge.

We’ll make every effort to match your group with industry professionals who reflect the student communities they’re speaking to. If you are specifically interested in guests who are Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour, female, from your region, etc., let us know.

Over the past 15 years, our work in schools has taught us that students love interacting with the cast and crew of Canadian movies, as it’s a reminder that films are made by people just like them. Reel Opportunities harnesses that same excitement while offering practical insight into jobs for students of all interests, skills and educational backgrounds.

In response to last week's question

Welcoming Students at The Door

How teachers can do this virtually?

~from Lori McGrath, Teacher @ Macklin PS:

Here are some slides you can use to check in with your students each morning. It's the virtual idea of our welcome doors. Ask the students to hold the number up with their fingers or post the number they relate to in the chat. This promotes discussion with your class first thing in the morning and helps build community with your students. It's also a good way to check in on how they are doing emotionally while at home. If someone is not happy, or always selecting the sad images, this may prompt some further discussion with the individual student to see if they need support i.e., social work"

Hearts & Minds Newsletter

Click on the links below to see current and previous issues of the TDSB's Psychological Services newsletter Hearts & Minds – which aims to provide TDSB’s parents and caregivers with information, tips, and ideas to use at home with their children.

January newsletter

Past newsletters

Upcoming Committee Meetings

The Toronto District School Board is committed to developing opportunities for our wider school community to connect and engage in conversations about education issues. Meetings will be broadcasted live to the public. Click HERE at the start time to view.

Regular Board Meeting

Wednesday, February 3, 2021
4:30 PM

Special Planning and Priorities Committee

Tuesday, February 09, 2021
4:30 PM

Governance and Policy Committee

Wednesday, February 10, 2021
4:30 PM

Worth Repeating

Virtual Schools Staff Directories

Please note that Virtual School administrative team directories are available online and are updated on an ongoing basis. A number of new staff have been welcomed to the teams this week. Please continue to refer to the links shared below for the latest directories:

Learning Centre 1 Virtual Elementary School

Learning Centre 2 Virtual Elementary School

Learning Centre 3 Virtual Elementary School

Learning Centre 4 Virtual Elementary School

Virtual Secondary School

Ongoing - Call Out!

Real Equity Case Scenarios

The equity committee is looking for submissions of real equity case scenarios. These will be (anonymously) shared during our LN meetings together. If you have an experience from your school that would be valuable for our collective learning, we welcome the submission. Please email it to my attention violet.mari@tdsb.on.ca

Submissions can be ongoing,as our committee work with happen monthly.

Thank you

Request Support

Equity Referral Form

As we work together to further serve students and families, the Equity, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression Team continues to offer central supports to school communities. To connect with the Equity, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression Team, please complete the referral form.

Referral Forms are analyzed to identify areas of need that are tied to SIP goals, collaborative teams, actions and next steps.
The school will be contacted after the request has been reviewed.
The Equity, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression Team will make arrangement for initial conversation with the school administrator and school team for planning. The school team might consist of the Administrator(s), Lead teacher(s), Wrap-Around Support (if applicable), and Central Team (if applicable).

Page updated

Report abuse