July 26, 2010

Letter to the Prime Minister re: Census Questionnaire Issue

OCSTA responded to the federal government's decision to eliminate the federal census's mandatory long form questionnaire by issuing a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the federal Minister of Industry, the Hon. Tony Clement that articulated the Association's significant concerns.

On behalf of the Association, OCSTA Vice President, Marino Gazzola, urged the government to reverse their decision given that boards rely heavily on the kind of comprehensive information drawn from the excellent data provided by Statistics Canada from the long form questionnaires completed by Canadians.

That data enables boards to know what services and programs are required to best meet the needs of our diverse student population and where they are best located.  Data derived from an optional long form questionnaire will be less complete, accurate, and reliable than that drawn from questionnaires that are mandatory, and will not be comparable over time.

Copies of both letters have been sent to all OCSTA member boards, education partners and Ontario's MPPs.

For more information, please contact Carol Devine, Director, Legislative and Political Affairs - (416) 932-9460, ext. 224 / email - cdevine@ocsta.on.ca.

Resources for Trustee Training and Development

Please click on the following link to view an update on the important work being done develop effective development resources for Ontario School Boards.

OESC - Trustee Development Program - Newsletter Update

The Association is planning a session on this topic for the upcoming New Trustees' Seminar (January 14-15, 2011) that will elaborate on the training modules to be offered.  For more information please contact Noel Martin, OCSTA Director of Catholic Education, (416) 932-9460 ext. 225, nmartin@ocsta.on.ca.

Early Learning Program Update

As part of the Ministry of Education's efforts to increase understanding around the new Early Learning Program, a full-day seminar was held for Directors of Education in June.  Carol Devine, OCSTA's Director of Legislative and Political Affairs and representative for the Association on the provincial Early Learning Implementation Committee attended this seminar.  Following are some interesting facts mentioned at this session that may be helpful when discussing this program locally.

• The new full day program is based on intentional, play-based learning.
• The full-day program allows more time for students to explore more deeply areas of particular interest.  It also provides more opportunity for targeted, small-group support, as need. 
• Emphasis is to be placed on learning through the use of found objects from the child's environment an and the natural world, rather than on purchased resources.
• The Teacher and the Early Childhood Educator each bring to the classroom a particular set of knowledge, skills and expertise, all of which can be used to enhance students learning.
• The teacher and the ECE will work together in many different ways.  For example, one may hold a discussion with a group of children while the other observes and records how each child participates. One may work with the class while the other works one-on-one with a student. Teacher and ECE will act as models for the students as they themselves discuss particular topics and interact with each other.
• If the provincial enrolment in the Early Learning Program in September falls below 15% of the total enrolment in JK/K classes, additional EL classes may be approved for boards who due to high numbers are operating more EL classes than their 2010-11 current allocation funds.
• The Ministry expects 10-15% of the students enrolled in ELP's to participate in the extended day program in Year 1.
• Over the next two years, the Ministry will conduct a research project on the implementation of the ELP, to include classroom visits and discussions with members of the EL teams.

Early Learning Program Online Discussion Forum

Reminder: the Ministry of Education has created an area on the Ministry website dedicated to providing questions and answers regarding the Early Learning Program.

Following is the website address for this online resource:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/earllylearning/feedback.html

Fall 2010 Regional Meetings:
Getting in Touch with The Word

Fall Regional meetings dates and locations have been set.  Registration packages have been sent to boards and a full agenda is forthcoming.  Boards are encouraged to invite STUDENT TRUSTEES to this event as the agenda is suitable and the meeting offers a convenient opportunity for professional development (that may not be as accessible for students at other OCSTA events).

If you haven't already done so, please use the information below to mark your calendar for this important meeting with your regional Catholic school board peers.

Date	Area	Boards/OCSTA Region	OCSTA Director / Region #	Host / Location
Sep. 15 9:30am-3pm	West	Brant Haldimand Norfolk (4) Bruce-Grey (4) Huron-Perth (4) London (5) St. Clair (5) Waterloo (4) Wellington (4) Windsor/Essex (5)	Linda Ward (5) Marino Gazzola, Vice President (4)	Windsor-Essex CDSB 1325 California Ave. Windsor
Set. 21 9:30am-3pm	Central	Dufferin-Peel (7) Durham (9) Halton (11) Hamilton-Wentworth (11) Niagara (11) Simcoe Muskoka (9) Toronto (6) York (8)	John Del Grande (6) Catherine LeBlanc-Miller (6) Mario Pascucci (7) Carol Cotton (8) Suzanne Youngs (9) Kathy Burtnik (11) Pauline Houlahan (11)	York CDSB 320 Bloomington Rd. West Aurora
Sep. 23 9:30am-3pm	North East	Huron-Superior (1) Nipissing-Parry Sound (1) Northeastern (1) Sudbury (1)	Colleen Landers (1) Anne-Marie Fitzgerald (3) Paula Peroni,  Past President (1)	Sudbury CDSB 165A D'Youville St. Sudbury
Sep. 28 9:30am-3pm	East	Algonquin & Lakeshore (10) Eastern Ontario (10) Ottawa (12) Peterborough-Victoria- Northumberland & Clar. (9) Renfrew (10)	Suzanne Youngs (9) Andrew Bray (10) Betty-Ann Kealey (12) Nancy Kirby, President (10)	Algonquin &  Lakeshore CDSB 151 Dairy Ave. Napanee
Oct. 1 3-9:30pm	North West	Kenora (2) Northwest (2) Superior North (2) Thunder Bay (2)	Paul Landry (2) Anne-Marie Fitzgerald (3)	Kenora CDSB (in conjunction with the Thunder Bay Diocesan Assoc. Conference) Best Western Lakeside Inn 470 1st Ave. S. Kenora

St. Augustine's Seminary: Catholic Trustee Workshops Available on DVD
St. Augustine's Seminary of Toronto recently conducted a series of six Saturday workshops for Catholic ratepayers interested in becoming Catholic school board trustees.

The sessions were videotaped by St. Augustine's, with permission, and those recordings are now available for purchase on DVD.

The Seminary is offering the complete videotaped series for $500 (copyright 2010, St. Augustine's Seminary of Toronto).  Topics include:

• The Nature and Purpose of Catholic Education
• Running for Trustee
• The History of Catholic Education in Ontario Catholic Schools and Courts
• The Role and Responsibilities of the Catholic School Board
• The Role of the Director of Education
• An Overview of the System of Education in Ontario
• Education Funding and Preparing a Budget
• Other Critical Catholic School Board Functions
• Personal Traits and Skills Required of a Catholic School Trustee

If you are interested in purchasing the complete workshop series, please contact the Seminary by email at: staugustines.reception@utoronto.ca or by telephone - 416-261-7207, ext. 221.