Dear Waterloo Catholic Families, 

On behalf of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, we are thrilled to welcome you and your family to the 2024-25 school year. Whether you are returning or joining us for the first time, we hope you had a wonderful summer and share our excitement for the year ahead. 

We can welcome our students back to school thanks to the dedication and hard work of our Facilities, IT, Human Resources, Catholic Education Centre staff, and your child’s school staff. Their efforts, both behind the scenes and directly with our students, ensure that we can continue providing a quality, inclusive, and faith-based education. 

This year marks the third and final year of our Pastoral Plan and Multi-Year Strategic Plan. Our faith is the foundation of our work, and this year’s pastoral theme, “Ignite,” reminds us that “we are the People of God, discerning our mission to serve, ignited to be pilgrims of Hope.” This is in alignment with the universal Church and Pope Francis, who has declared 2025 to be a Jubilee Year. This is a time of great spiritual and social significance in the Church. The motto of Jubilee 2025 is Pilgrims of Hope. This Jubilee Year is a special time for us to grow in right relationship with God, creation, and with our brothers and sisters.  We look forward to a year of hope and renewal as we ignite our faith in service to our communities. 

To see how our schools are embracing this theme, follow the hashtag #WCDSBignite for updates throughout the year. 

In addition to fostering civility within our schools and ensuring respectful interactions between parents and staff, we remain committed to respecting the “Right to Disconnect from Work” guidelines. These guidelines help set parameters for employees’ availability, promoting a positive shift in our organizational culture. 

Most of you are aware that the Ministry of Education released updates to PPM 170 (School board communication with parents) and PPM 128 (The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct), last spring. To see how WCDSB has incorporated these changes, please review the recently updated Administrative Procedures below: 

• APC001 (Communication Guidelines) 
• APC052 (Responsible Use of Information Technology and Electronic Data – Student) 
• APC018 (Code of Conduct) 

As always, the well-being and learning of our students remain at the heart of everything we do. We are ready to support students and families as they transition into the new school year and beyond. 

Those interested in becoming part of our vibrant school communities can register online. 

We look forward to continuing to nurture a love of learning and teaching across our schools, which proudly reflect a diverse tapestry of races, cultures, ethnicities, and languages. With the unwavering support of families, employees, and community members, we are confident that this will be another #WCDSBawesome year. 

Welcome back! 

Sincerely, 

Tyrone Dowling
Director of Education 

As Waterloo Region continues to grow, Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has also seen significant growth. This growth is reflected in our number of kindergarten classes, which have increased from 148 to 153 in the last year alone. Interest in the WCDSB Extended Day program has also been steadily rising, leading to the introduction of a waitlist in January 2024. Due to program capacities and the ongoing shortage of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), we had to implement caps on our programs in January 2024 and anticipated that the waitlist would remain active into September 2024.

Throughout the registration period, we have been closely monitoring our registration numbers, with the aim of raising caps wherever possible. On August 21, we increased caps in 4 programs, resulting in 52 students getting space in the Extended Day programs.

WCDSB remains committed to working towards increasing program capacity. Over the summer, we hired 24 new ECEs and will continue to actively recruit additional positions.

We will continue to review staffing and programming capacity regularly and raise caps as we can, to meet demand and move students off the waitlist.

For more information, please see our waitlist policy at the link listed below.

Waitlist-Policy-and-Procedures.pdf (wcdsb.ca)

As we prepare for the Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region Links Fore Learning 2024 golf event, please see below for a link to our online silent auction.   This aspect of our event is a key contributor to our proceeds, which go directly to our programs that benefit our schools, the parishes and our community partners.

New for this year, the online auction will not close with the end of the golf tournament, we will close the online auction on Monday August 26^th; and for those in attendance for golf or lunch, there will still be a small selection of items to bid on exclusively at the golf course.

It is our belief that this format will provide our community partners and supporters who may not be able to attend the golf tournament with a great opportunity to support us.

Items may be previewed at the moment now with the auction opening August 14^th at noon.  Please check daily as we will continue to add items donated by our sponsors.

Link to auction:  https://www.32auctions.com/LFL2024

Link to Event:  Links fore Learning 2024 | Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region (ccfowr.ca)  – Golfers are always welcome!!

Thank you!

Links Fore Learning Committee
Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region

Grand River Transit is mapping out the next five years of transit service investments, as it responds to unprecedented ridership in the fastest growing community in Canada.

Across the Region, community feedback will be gathered to inform GRT’s Conventional Bus and ION Train Business Plan, MobilityPLUS Business Plan and Township Transit Strategy.

Together, the plans will be the roadmap to guide transit service expansion and investments from 2025 to 2030. The plans will focus on how to make transit easier to use, where and when GRT can serve the community better, and how and where GRT should prioritize frequency and speed.

Share your feedback on EngageWR!

• Map your ideas for all three plans using the map tool
• Share your feedback by filling out current and future surveys
• Ask any questions using the Q+A tool
• Subscribe to the project page for updates about all three plans as we will add more details on upcoming engagement opportunities.

For more information, visit grt.ca/2025, EngageWR, or e-mail grtinfo@regionofwaterloo.ca.

Please plan to participate or support the 23rd Annual Links Fore Learning golf classic in support of the Waterloo Region Catholic schools through The Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region.

Where and When: Conestoga Golf Club, Conestogo – Thursday, August 22, 2024 – 8:00am Registration – 8:30am Shotgun Start

• Registration, Cart, Lunch: $165
• Lunch Reception Only: $50

Registration & Info: 519.578.3660, ext. 2474 or email: stephanie.medeiros@wcdsb.ca

Link: https://www.ccfowr.ca/news-and-updates/links-fore-learning-2024

Please find below a video message from Minister of Education, Todd Smith.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8W-P0yL5x0

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board’s 2024-25 School Year Budget was presented on Monday, June 24, 2024, and approved on Thursday, June 27, 2024. 

The Budget Book is available via this link: BUDGET BOOK 

Quick Facts 

 The overall budget is as follows: 

• Total Operating: $367.6 M — ($31.2 M change from 2023-24) 
• Total Capital: $29.2 M — ($4.3 M change from 2023-24) 
• Total Operating & Capital: $396.8 M — ($35.5 M change from 2023-24) 

As always, budget decisions are guided by the key priorities captured in the following plans: 

• Multi-Year Strategic Plan 
• Board Improvement and Equity Plan 
• Long-Term Accommodation Plan 
• Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan 
• Information Technology Strategic Plan 

Key funding areas of the operating budget include: 

• Classroom Staffing — $200.6 M 
• Learning Resources – $66.2 M 
• Special Education – $47.7 M 
• School Facilities — $29.7 M 
• Board Administration — $10.7M 
• Student Transportation — $12.8 M 

The proposed budget is aligned with the three pillars of the Board’s 2022-2025 Multi-Year Strategic Plan: 

• Awaken to Belong. 
• Strengthen to Become. 
• Ignite to Believe. 

The budget contains provisions for: 

• Enhancing math performance. 
• Identifying and assisting students with reading difficulties. 
• Investing in technology for grade 9 students to enhance their learning experience. 
• Expansion of Indigenous English courses to all secondary schools.  
• Continued mental health supports. 
• Outfitting the new St. Patrick school in Kitchener which is scheduled to open September 2025.  
• An increased number of portables and associated costs. 
• Salary and benefit increases associated with the province’s remedy payments related to Bill 124. 
• Increasing costs of sick leave. 

As we conclude another school year, it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on our journey as a Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) community. We are immensely proud of our current students and recent graduates. This year, much like previous ones, our students have shown exceptional talent in academics, the arts, clubs, and athletics. Our dedicated staff have been instrumental in providing these enriching opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. 

This is also a moment to celebrate and reflect on how we demonstrate faith in action. The community’s generosity was evident during our Tiny Home fundraiser in the winter, which highlighted the importance of shelter and togetherness, reflecting the Catholic social teaching of the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. More recently, the Nutrition for Learning campaign has enabled us to address food insecurity and raised money to help nourish young minds, embodying the principle of the Dignity of the Human Person. 

This year marks the halfway point of our Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), as we continue to steadily work towards the goals set out in our indicators. Your continuous feedback through the annual MYSP survey has been invaluable, and we are grateful for it. 

Our Pastoral theme for this year was “Strengthen,” and we have strived to live by this theme, reminding ourselves that we are the People of God, listening and responding, strengthened to share the Gospel. Looking ahead, we are ready to embrace the third and final pillar of our Pastoral Plan, “Ignite.” This will be the culmination of our three-year journey, igniting the fire within us, and reminding us of our mission to serve as pilgrims of Hope. 

As we close this school year, let us remember the incredible achievements of our students, the unwavering dedication of our staff, and the profound impact of our collective faith in action. Through our community’s support and dedication of WCDSB staff, we have made significant strides in fostering a nurturing and inclusive learning environment for our students.  

Have a safe, relaxing, and blessed summer, and we look forward to welcoming you back next year.