October 26, 2020

Ontario is home to more than 400,000 first, second and third generation Canadians of Hispanic origin. As early as 1914, Canadians who originated from the 23 Hispanic countries began immigrating to the province and today the Hispanic community is one of the fastest growing in Ontario. Hispanic-Canadians represent a dynamic community that has made significant contributions to the growth and prosperity of the Province of Ontario.

October is a significant month for the Hispanic community. Each year, during the month of October, peoples of Hispanic origin around the world come together and pay tribute to their shared culture. Celebrations are held around the world, such as Hispanic Day (Dia de la Hispanidad), the Day of the Cultures (Dia de las Culturas), Day of the Race (Dia de la Raza), Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity (Dia del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural), Day of Indigenous Resistance (Dia de la Resistencia

Indigena), and the commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month in North America. In 2014, the City of Toronto joined in this commemoration and officially named October as Hispanic Heritage Month.

By proclaiming the month of October as Hispanic Heritage Month in Ontario, the province recognizes the rich contributions of Hispanic-Canadians to our social, economic, political and multicultural fabric. Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to remember, celebrate and educate future generations about the outstanding achievements and contributions of Hispanic people in the province.

Islamic Heritage Month (City of Toronto)

October is Islamic Heritage Month at the TDSB

IHM Resource Guidebook
Daily Announcements
TDSB Professional Library: Link: bit.ly/PLIslamicHeritageMonth

Muslims have been contributing to all aspect of Ontario’s prosperity and diverse heritage for generations. Islamic history and culture encompasses a broad range of individual and collective experiences, as well as important contributions to literature, math, science, art and history. In 2007 the Government of Canada declared the month of October in each year as Canadian Islamic History Month.

The Province of Ontario recognizes and wishes to affirm the important contributions that Muslims make in Ontario as part of the vibrant social, economic, political and cultural fabric of our province.

Proclaiming a month to be Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario will provide all Ontarians, both today and in future generations, with an opportunity to reflect, celebrate and learn about the rich and longstanding Islamic history in the Province and the diverse roles and contributions of Muslim people in communities across Ontario. This new understanding will in turn help combat anti-Islamic sentiment.

Somali Heritage Month

October is Somali Heritage Month at the TDSB

Somali Heritage Month poster
Somali Heritage Month Daily Quotes
TDSB Professional Library Resources: Link: bit.ly/PLSomaliHeritage

At the Regular Board meeting held on 22 June 2016, the TDSB Board of Trustees resolved that the month of October, in each year be declared as Somali Heritage Month. The TDSB affirms our commitment to celebrating Somali Heritage Month, and encourages students and staff to take this opportunity to learn about the history, heritage and diversity of the Somali heritage. As well as celebrating, facilitating and encouraging education excellence with Canadian students of Somali descent, Canadians of Somali descent have made and continue to make significant contributions to the City of Toronto, province of Ontario and Canadian society at large. The month of October will provide an opportunity for Somali-heritage communities to share their vibrant culture and traditions with the TDSB communities and the City of Toronto.

Women’s History Month

Women's History Month was proclaimed in Canada in 1992, where its purpose is to give Canadians "an opportunity to learn about the important contributions of women and girls to our society – and to the quality of our lives today". October was chosen to coincide with the celebration of the anniversary on October 18 of the decision of the court case Edwards v. Canada, more commonly known as the Persons Case, in which it was established that Canadian women were eligible to be appointed senators and in general had the same rights as Canadian men with respect to positions of political power.

Mary Shadd honours Canadian Legend Terry Fox

A pandemic won’t stop Mary Shadd from honouring a Canadian Legend Terry Fox. Over the course of 2 days, cohorts of classes got outside and participated in the Terry Fox Run, showing their spirit and sharing all of that amazing positive energy with our school community!

Parents as Partners Conference!

Conference Summary

Congratulations to the organizing committee for the virtual Parent as Partners Conference that occurred over the weekend. Valuable learnings were shared - please note that the presentations will be available on the website www.parentaspartners.ca in the next few days.

Joseph Galiwango, head of English at Cedarbrae CI is featured in Toronto Life Magazine about returning to school after the shutdown.

Give it a read:

"I often feel like adrenalin is the only thing getting me through my classes": A Toronto high school teacher on his classroom experience so far

Celebrating Halloween...

Don't forget to send us your Halloween photos!

This year, as a result of COVID-19, Toronto Public Health has provided direction on celebrating Halloween in schools should schools wish to celebrate. While there will not be Halloween dances or parades so we can continue to practice physical distancing, there can be many ways to have fun and celebrate safely in the school setting including art activities, celebrating virtually with other classrooms, reading Halloween stories or watching a movie. Read more from Toronto Public Health about celebrating Halloween safely this year: TPH Celebrating A Safer Halloween During COVID-19.

2021 Prime Minister's Awards

The Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence - These awards honour outstanding and innovative elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines for their remarkable educational achievements and for their commitment to preparing their students for a digital and innovation‑based economy.

For more information, please click HERE

The Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education - These awards honor outstanding and innovative early childhood educators for their leadership, exemplary early childhood education practices, and their commitment to help build the foundation children need to make the best possible start in life.

For more information, please click HERE

Nomination packages must be submitted to the Prime Minister's Awards program office by January 12, 2021 — 11:59 a.m. Pacific Time

Staff Directory – TDSB Elementary Virtual Schools

As you know, there have been a significant number of staff changes across all roles in the Virtual Schools the past few weeks. To assist you in communicating, please find the detailed directory of Elementary Virtual Schools Administrator Teams, including areas of responsibility. The addition of 41 Vice Principals have been helpful to align more effective communication. At this time there is a total of 66 administrators in Elementary Virtual Schools, which works out to be 955 families per administrator. More resources will continue to be added to support students.

Committee Meetings This Week

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.

Committee of the Whole (Special Meeting)

Tuesday, October 27 2020
4:30 PM

Governance and Policy Committee Electronic Meeting

Wednesday, October 28, 2020
4:30 PM

Program and School Services Committee

Thursday, October 29, 2020
4:30 PM

Policies to be Reviewed in 2020-21

The Board currently has seventy-five (75) active policies and five (5) policies under development. There are 164 operational and governance procedures that support implementation of the policies. Click on the link for the TDSB Policy Development Process. Click here to read the Procedure for Policy Development and Management.

In progress, Phase 2 - Obtaining Trustees’ Directions and Drafting Policy

Allegations of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct
Alternative Schools
Budget Approval
Communication
Employment Equity
Executive Signing Authority
Fair Dealings (Copyright)
Fundraising
Human Rights
Naming Schools and Special Purpose Areas
Parent and Community Involvement
Purchasing
Recognition of Culturally Significant
Observances Policy
Records and Information Management
Student Attendance and Safe Arrival
Transportation of Students
Trustee Constituency Communications
Workplace Harassment Prevention (Annual Review)

In progress, Phase 4 - External Consultations

Advertising
Distribution and Display of Materials for Students and Parents From External Groups
Specialized Schools and Programs

In progress, Phase 5 - Committee/Board Approvals

Optional Attendance

To be reviewed in 2020-21

Accountability for Student Achievement
Architect Selection
Learning Opportunities Index (LOI)
Occupational Health and Safety (Annual Review)
Respectful Learning and Working Environment

Workplace Violence Prevention (Annual Review)

Teaching & Learning with iPad

~ See Flyer

More than ever, teachers are using digital content and tools to create interactive, engaging experiences for their students. Teachers are reimagining instructional practice and creating powerful digital resources that help students develop deeper understanding and improve engagement. Which means students can connect to subject matter and demonstrate their learning in exciting new ways. Features built right into iPad—such as the camera or HD video recording, Speak Screen, Safari Reader, and many more—let students access information in new ways. And free apps from Apple such as Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Clips, and Swift Playgrounds give them creative opportunities to show what they’ve learned.

This series is presented by the Apple Education Leadership and Learning teams and Apple Distinguished Educators. Each virtual workshop is designed to help teachers use Apple products and their built-in features to enable remote and in-class learning for all students, as well as how iPad can support existing teacher and student workflows.

Workshops will run every Tuesday at 7pm for approximately 60 minutes and will provide an opportunity to learn and share with other educators as well as engage in dialogue with our teams about the content provided during the session.

Virtual Workshop Topics

Everyone Can Code

We believe that coding is an essential skill for helping students thrive in a technology-driven future. Learning to code unlocks creativity, fosters collaboration, develops problem-solving skills, and opens career paths.

Join us to learn about Everyone Can Code — free resources from Apple that introduce students to the world of coding through project-based classroom learning. We will explore lessons in the student and teacher guides, and dive into interactive coding puzzles and activities for both in and out of the classroom.

Accessibility: Improve Reading Fluency

iPad can be used to create interactive and engaging learning experiences for all learners. Powerful built-in assistive features on iPad help support students’ vision, hearing, motor skills, and learning needs. Discover innovative teaching strategies for personalizing learning and building literacy through early reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills for primary students.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how features such as Speak Screen, Safari Reader, and Speech Controller enable reading fluency, comprehension, and composition for every learning style.

Create Engaging Videos with Clips

Clips is a free app that lets teachers and students easily create and share fun and engaging videos.

We’ll hear how educators can use Clips for storytelling and formative assessment — and show how students can make videos to share what they’ve learned through existing workflows.

Engage STEM Learners with iPad

Teaching STEM builds creative, scientific and mathematical thinking—job skills that are in high demand. iPad is ideal for teaching STEM topics because it supports the whole learning journey—from data collection and mathematical analysis to design thinking, prototyping, collaboration, and content creation.

Join us for a workshop to explore the built-in tools and free apps on iPad that allows students to take video, annotate with photos and drawings, organize data into spreadsheets, apply critical thinking, and visualize data with charts and graphs. All on one device.

Create Engaging Content with Pages

Pages is a free app that provides multiple modalities of communication and creating content that can be personalized to a variety of learners.

This workshop will provide a hands-on exploration of built-in creative tools that allow multiple means of engagement, representation and expression, as well as best practices for sharing artefacts through existing workflows. We will explore how to create rich, multi-media digital publications that can be used as digital portfolios for documenting student learning, or as interactive books to be shared with family and friends.

Create Engaging Presentations with Keynote

Keynote is a free app that makes it easy for teachers and students to create and deliver engaging presentations and learning materials for the classroom.

Learn how to use Keynote on iPad to empower students to create interactive portfolios, presentations, movies, and more—with fun animations, personal illustrations, and customizable shapes. More than a presentation tool, Keynote gives students a powerful way to visually think through stories and ideas.

Teach Math with iPad

Join us to learn how educators use iPad to create and deliver engaging learning experiences in math class, virtually, or in-person.

iPad can help middle school learners connect with content, demonstrate their learning, and express their understanding. Discover new resources to personalize learning and help students of all learning styles grasp challenging math concepts.

How To Participate

Review the schedule provided to register for any workshop. The schedule will be updated as additional topics are posted. Educators are encouraged sign up for Apple Teacher prior to joining a virtual workshop.

If you are attending a virtual workshop for the first time, please visit the link provided in your registration email to install any necessary software.

Email us at EduCanada@apple.com for more information.

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