On this Friday before Catholic Education Week across Ontario, our #WCDSBAwesome Fr. Joseph de Viveiros, C.R., reminds us that God makes “all things new” again as he reflects on the theme for #CEW2022 and invites us to Rebuild, Restore and Renew Together!
#SentToBuild
Watch video here: https://youtu.be/6QKqH1s1oQc
May 4, 2022 (Submit to your school’s Principal)
Establish boundaries for the new St. Patrick elementary and East Kitchener 7-12 schools in advance of their opening.
To be an official conduit for information sharing, review materials provided by board staff to provide advice, and comment / make suggestions on boundary options.
Review to run from May 2021 to November 2022.
Evening Boundary Review Committee meetings to be held, plus two Public Information Sessions.
Parents & Secondary Student BRC Rep Job Description
Parents & Secondary Student BRC Rep Application
For more information, please visit:
https://wcdsb.ca/about-us/accommodations/east-kitchener-7-12-boundary-review
Subscribe on the webpage to receive email updates!
Email: EastKitchener@wcdsb.ca
Monday, April 4, 2022 – Meeting Agenda Package
Monday, April 25, 2022 — Meeting Agenda Package
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) applied for Capital Priorities funding to address enrolment pressure at St. Mary’s High School and East Kitchener area elementary schools (Canadian Martyrs CES, Saint John Paul II CES, St. Anne (K) CES, and St. Daniel CES).
In July 2020, the Ministry of Education confirmed the capital funding of a new 1,400 pupil place school (400 elementary / 1,000 secondary) for grades 7-12 in East Kitchener.
Since this grade configuration is new to WCDSB, a Program Review was undertaken in 2020/2021 to examine how other boards in the province approach 7-12 schools and develop a series of key considerations for the approach to 7-12 learning environments in WCDSB.
The East Kitchener 7-12 Boundary Review approved by the Board of Trustees on April 4, 2022, is the next phase to establish the Grade 7/8 and 9-12 boundaries for the new school.
Given the historic and projected enrolment growth in the area, the board also applied to the Ministry of Education for funding to construct another elementary school. In January 2022, the Ministry of Education confirmed the capital funding of a new 527 pupil place elementary school on the board owned site that previously housed St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School.
The purpose of this boundary review is to establish the school boundaries for both new schools in advance of their opening and redraw the boundaries of existing schools in the area. Staff must also consider the key considerations of the 7-12 Program Review.
The Initial Staff Report presents the analysis of a series of boundary options including a staff identified preferred option. The preferred option creates contiguous boundaries and reduces enrolment pressure on the existing schools the most. Under this option, Canadian Martyrs CES, Saint John Paul II CES, St. Anne CES, and St. Daniel CES would all become JK to Grade 6 schools, with grades 7/8
being directed to the East Kitchener Grade 7-12 school. This would significantly reduce enrolment pressure in all schools.
The report is available beginning on page 77 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
On November 29, 2021, a 911 call was made from John Sweeney CES in response to an escalating and continuing situation involving a 4 year old child who was in crisis.
On Wednesday, February 23, 2022, in a meeting, a complaint to the school board about the incident was registered. Media were also notified by advocates who attended the meeting.
As a result of that meeting and the ensuing social media campaign, before 9;00 a.m. on February 25th, the WCDSB’s Chair of the Board requested a meeting with the Minister of Education
No reply was ever received to that request.
However, later in the day on Friday, February 25th the Minister of Education ordered a review of the incidents in question.
Without any discussion or prior notice to the Board, the Chair or Director, a media release was issued by the Minister indicating that “under no scenario should police be called to remove a 4 year old.”
It is possible the review may have begun earlier, through discussion with the family, but the inquiry at the school took place from March 7th to March 11th, with some follow up inquiries thereafter.
The WCDSB received a report of the review on March 30th and on March 31st the Director of Education issued this STATEMENT.
On April 4, 2022, the Director presented a detailed report to the Board of Trustees, describing WCDSB’s previous and ongoing efforts to address systemic anti-Black racism, and outlined next steps regarding the recommendations contained in the review report.
The Director’s report is available beginning on page 31 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
Annually a report is provided to Trustees on the activities of the School Travel Planning (STP) team at Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region.
The 2020-21 school year started with goals set during the blurred circumstances of the pandemic, with the understanding that the work would likely be impacted by school closures. In that context, the following goals were set to deliver core activities and to leverage the disruption to focus on special projects during the 2020-21 school year:
In the past year, STP delivered certificates of achievement to 49 participating schools, created online Trailblazer training, promoted the Discover Your Superpower campaign, created 30+ new Drive-to-5 maps, and completed many school-level action plan items.
In addition to completing work towards those goals, the STP team developed a Community Road Model Program, worked with the City of Cambridge on an Enhanced School Zone project, planned, scripted, casted, and scouted locations for a special video project, and secured grants and sponsorship funding totaling $106,500 for special projects intended to deepen and broaden active school travel work over the next two years.
The report is available beginning on page 30 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
On Wednesday March 9, 2022, the Ministry of Education provided all school boards with an update on the lifting of COVID-19 health and safety measures in schools. We continue to receive direction through the Ministry of Education, as well as our local Public Health department, while also continuing meetings with Region of Waterloo Public Health and the Waterloo Region District School Board to attain a measure of understanding and alignment regarding the most prudent courses of action.
There has been no significant change in direction to school boards since the March announcements.
We have continued to make updates to our Operational Guidelines, based on the most recent guidance we receive from local and provincial health authorities.
The report presented on April 25, 2022, provides detailed information concerning the following key issues:
The report is available beginning on page 100 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
Student Trustees Sarah Simoes and Sarah Wilson presented their monthly update – covering activities in WCDSB’s secondary schools. It is available beginning on page 104 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
Each month, the Chair of the Board reports on the activities of the Board of Trustees. Chair Jeanne Gravelle’s report for April 2022 is available on page 107 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package
Monday, May 9, 2022
Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre
Monday, May 30, 2022
Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 48 schools and four adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary, and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 186-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.
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The WCDSB Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) will be hosting guest speaker Paul Davis presenting on Social Media Safety on May 12th at 6:30 p.m.
Paul is a well known speaker who has presented at multiple schools, corporations and law enforcement organizations in four provinces and five states on topics of Online Safety, Social Media and Cyber Security. He is the author of the book Online Safety for Grade 3/4/5/6.
Please register for this virtual event using REGISTRATION LINK before May 5th, 2022.
For more information about Paul Davis, please visit: https://socialnetworkingsafety.net/
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, April 25, 2022, at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.
General Information About WCDSB Board Meetings
Information About the Board of Trustees
(Agenda files can be large. If you are experiencing issues downloading a file, right click on the link and choose “Save Target As…”.)
Dear Waterloo Catholic Community
We hope that you are well and that you have been enjoying a pleasant start to the spring season, even if spring has not fully informed winter it is time to step aside. Today’s letter is primarily focused on an invitation to invite your feedback, however before I discuss that, I will provide a brief update in relation to the pandemic.
As previously communicated, the province has altered its expectations, in regards to masking and to some of our in-school protocols. While we are all at the point where we would like the pandemic to be done with us, I remind everyone in our community that daily screening is still necessary and anyone not feeling fully well should not be attending school. Further, while masks are optional, they are still highly encouraged in our schools and classrooms.
As a Board we like to continually review and assess how effectively we are meeting our strategic priorities. We have opportunities to do so on a regular basis through our various trustee Board meetings and in other venues, but on occasion we also like to reach out to our full Waterloo Catholic community for your feedback. This has been less frequent – in relation to the strategic plan – over the past 2 years, due to the pandemic. This year we would like to return to that practice.
From Monday April 11th to Thursday April 21st we will have available a community survey on our Multi-Year Strategic Plan. It will be an opportunity to rate and comment upon our progress to stated goals, as well as a key opportunity to help shape the future strategic plan. Depending on your role and place in the WCDSB community, you may wish to reflect upon the goals in relation to your own school or reality. We realize that the pandemic has impeded our ability to fully realize some of our goals, and perhaps that may be part of the consideration when completing the survey, but we welcome your impressions so that we can continue to improve and be as responsive as possible to the voice of our community.
The survey should not take much more than 10 minutes to complete and will be available at this link MYSP Survey as of April 11th. It will also be featured prominently at www.wcdsb.ca.
As we continue to journey through the Lenten season, we pray that the love of our Lord, who sacrificed His life for us, might fill your hearts and homes. We continue to be grounded by our pastoral theme – Sent to Build – and reflect on our symbol of the bridge. We rejoice on the journey of encounter and accompaniment that we are all on, as a community at Waterloo Catholic.
Sincerely.
Loretta Notten
Director of Education
Dear Waterloo Catholic Community
We hope that you are well and that you have been enjoying a pleasant start to the spring season, even if spring has not fully informed winter it is time to step aside. Today’s letter is primarily focused on an invitation to invite your feedback, however before I discuss that, I will provide a brief update in relation to the pandemic.
As previously communicated, the province has altered its expectations, in regards to masking and to some of our in-school protocols. While we are all at the point where we would like the pandemic to be done with us, I remind everyone in our community that daily screening is still necessary and anyone not feeling fully well should not be attending school. Further, while masks are optional, they are still highly encouraged in our schools and classrooms.
As a Board we like to continually review and assess how effectively we are meeting our strategic priorities. We have opportunities to do so on a regular basis through our various trustee Board meetings and in other venues, but on occasion we also like to reach out to our full Waterloo Catholic community for your feedback. This has been less frequent – in relation to the strategic plan – over the past 2 years, due to the pandemic. This year we would like to return to that practice.
From Monday April 11th to Thursday April 21st we will have available a community survey on our Multi-Year Strategic Plan. It will be an opportunity to rate and comment upon our progress to stated goals, as well as a key opportunity to help shape the future strategic plan. Depending on your role and place in the WCDSB community, you may wish to reflect upon the goals in relation to your own school or reality. We realize that the pandemic has impeded our ability to fully realize some of our goals, and perhaps that may be part of the consideration when completing the survey, but we welcome your impressions so that we can continue to improve and be as responsive as possible to the voice of our community.
The survey should not take much more than 10 minutes to complete and will be available at this link MYSP Survey as of April 11th. It will also be featured prominently at www.wcdsb.ca.
As we continue to journey through the Lenten season, we pray that the love of our Lord, who sacrificed His life for us, might fill your hearts and homes. We continue to be grounded by our pastoral theme – Sent to Build – and reflect on our symbol of the bridge. We rejoice on the journey of encounter and accompaniment that we are all on, as a community at Waterloo Catholic.
Sincerely.
Loretta Notten
Director of Education
During the April 4th Committee of the Whole Board meeting, WCDSB trustees received a comprehensive report on the independent investigation into the police involvement concerning a 4 year old student in crisis.
As a board of Trustees, there is much that we have concerns about regarding this very difficult situation. But first, Trustees acknowledge the pain of the family involved and that of the Black community of the school and of Waterloo Region. We must fully understand the wide-reaching implications of all that occurred before we begin to move forward toward healing and growth.
We understand that systemic racism exists in our board, in our communities, in the society in which we live. It is our role as Trustees to ensure good governance through the continual reviewing of policies and procedures, as well as monitoring the actions of the board itself to eradicate systemic racism for the good of all WCDSB staff, students, and their families.
We also acknowledge that the journey we are on to remove systemic anti-Black racism did not start last night, or after the review was called. We hold staff accountable, and we believe actions speak louder than words. We were pleased to see in the report of April 4th, 33 discreet actions and initiatives that are currently underway in WCDSB, specifically focused on eliminating systemic racism. The work crosses the priority areas of Nurturing our Catholic Community; Equity and Human Resources; Professional Development; and Student Achievement and Engagement. These are all steps in the right direction, and in keeping with the recommendations we received. We appreciate the hard work that has gone into these many initiatives, even if we have not yet landed where we ultimately strive to be.
Through the Recommendations that came out of the provincial investigation and the many good works already underway in our schools, we are confident that WCDSB is moving in the right direction. WCDSB Trustees are committed to supporting, advocating, and monitoring the progress that WCDSB will be making over the next few years to become a leader in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in education.
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The next meeting of the Board of Trustees (Committee of the Whole Board) is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, April 4, 2022, at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.
General Information About WCDSB Board Meetings
Information About the Board of Trustees
(Agenda files can be large. If you are experiencing issues downloading a file, right click on the link and choose “Save Target As…”.)
