On September 19, 2024, the St. Peter Catholic Elementary School community and their neighbours gathered to celebrate the completion of a safer access route to the school, made possible through the generous support of a grant from the City of Cambridge.

The “Neighbours Helping Neighbours” initiative brought together students, parents, local residents, WCDSB staff, and municipal experts to collaborate on transforming Brooklyne Road, which leads to the back parking lot of the school. The result is a newly designed, pedestrian-friendly environment that prioritizes safety and encourages walking to school. The project includes traffic-calming measures, a dedicated pedestrian path for students, and the introduction of student safety foot patrollers, ensuring that families feel more confident in choosing active transportation options.

The celebration brought families and neighbours together to explore the newly improved road and share a community meal, highlighting their collective dedication to creating safer public spaces for everyone.

This initiative was made possible through the City of Cambridge’s “Keep Calm” grant, which encourages community-led efforts to enhance local neighbourhoods.

Before and After

Before the project, students had to navigate through vehicle traffic on Brooklyne Road to access the sidewalk.

Now, with the new safety measures in place, students can enjoy a safer and more engaging route to school.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is thrilled to announce that three of our outstanding students have been awarded scholarships through the KW Legacy Scholarship Fund. This year marked the 10th annual Golf for Scholarships event, which collected an impressive $125,000 at Conestoga Golf and Country Club. With this year’s tournament, KW Legacy has now raised over $1 million since the charity was founded a decade ago.

More than 220 golfers and volunteers participated in the event, which took place on September 7, 2024. The tournament was dedicated to raising funds to help local high school students pursue post-secondary education. Over the past 10 years, KW Legacy has awarded more than 100 scholarships of $5,000 or more to deserving students.

We deeply value our partnership with KW Legacy and are incredibly proud of our students who earned this year’s awards:

• KW Legacy John Heffner Sr. Automotive Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Luke De Sousa (Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School)
• KW Legacy General Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Aeva Rennie (Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School)
• KW Legacy General Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Jenna Haveman (St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School)

These scholarships will provide invaluable support to these talented students as they pursue their academic and career goals. We congratulate them on their achievements and sincerely thank KW Legacy for their ongoing partnership and generosity in supporting the future success of our students.

Aeva Rennie

Jenna Haveman

How School Climate Surveys Can Help WCDSB Prioritize Student Success 

At the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB), student success is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that students thrive when they are nurtured in safe, inclusive, and supportive environments. In alignment with provincial guidelines, the WCDSB regularly seeks input from students about their school experiences. This survey coincides with the Ministry of Education’s requirement for Ontario school boards to administer School Climate Surveys every two years to students, parents/guardians, and staff. These surveys provide valuable insights into the student experience and anonymously help us assess the overall culture within our schools.  

Introducing the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) 

The MDI is a unique self-report questionnaire that engages students from Grades 4 to 12, asking them about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences both in school and within the broader community. Designed to offer a comprehensive view of how children are doing in key areas of their lives, the MDI focuses on five critical dimensions of development: 

• Social and Emotional Development 
• Physical Health and Well-Being 
• Connectedness 
• Use of Out-of-School Time 
• School Experiences 

These dimensions are closely connected to overall well-being, health, and academic success. By focusing on these areas, the MDI helps identify strengths and areas for improvement within the school environment.  

Children’s voices are vital. The MDI is founded on the belief that children deserve to be heard, and their input should inform the environments they live in. By asking them about their feelings, relationships, and daily lives, we gain valuable insights into their well-being that might otherwise go unnoticed. This firsthand information helps guide evidence-based decisions, shaping programs, practices, funding, and policies that promote children’s social and emotional health. 

It’s important to note that the MDI does not assess individual children. Instead, it offers a snapshot of how groups of students are faring across important areas of development in both school and community settings. The MDI serves as a tool for exploring how communities support children and is meant to spark conversation, rather than act as a definitive assessment tool. 

Exploring How the WCDSB Utilizes the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) 

At the WCDSB, we utilize tools such as the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) not as a means to rank schools, but to amplify student voices, ensuring that each school has the supports necessary to foster student well-being and success.  

The insights gathered from the MDI allow us to tailor our approach to meet the unique needs of each school community. Developed to address the lack of population-level data on the health and well-being of children in middle childhood, the MDI goes beyond academic performance by giving children a voice and an opportunity to share their experiences both inside and outside of school.  

This focus on the ‘whole child’ enables us to better understand and support their social, emotional, and physical development. Moreover, we collaborate with community partners to address these needs, ensuring that our students have access to a broad range of resources and support systems that contribute to their holistic development. 

Understanding the MDI Results 

MDI results are used to track trends at a population level, such as within a school or district, rather than providing individual assessments. Each school’s results are reviewed independently, recognizing that each community has its unique strengths and challenges. District-wide results are also examined to better understand broader trends and opportunities for growth. 

Releasing MDI Survey Results 

The 2024 MDI survey results at the school level will be released on each school website on September 16, 2024, and will be available at the Board level (by division, by race, and gender) on our About Us webpage. 

For further information, please contact communications@wcdsb.ca.