October 20, 2009

 

Public Hearings on Bill 177

The Standing Committee on Social Policy will hold public hearings on Bill 177, Student Achievement and School Board Governance Act, 2009 at Queen's Park in Toronto on Monday, October 26th and Tuesday, October 27th.

OCSTA has indicated our interest in making an oral presentation to the Standing Committee.  Boards are encouraged to prepare a submission and to ask for standing to make an oral presentation on this important piece of legislation. Those boards that wish to be considered to make an oral presentation should contact the Committee Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 22nd.

Written comments must be submitted by 12:00 noon on Thursday, October 29th.

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

Standing Committee on Social Policy - Committee Members

Chair - Shafiq Qaadri, LIB / Etobicoke North
Vice Chair - Vic Dhillon, LIB / Brampton West

Sophia Aggelonitis, LIB / Hamilton Mountain
Cheri DiNovo, NDP / Parkdale-High Park
Linda Jeffrey, LIP / Brampton-Springdale
Sylvia Jones, PC / Dufferin-Caledon
Jean-Marc Lalonde, LIB / Glengarry-Prescott-Russell
Carol Mitchell, LIB / Huron-Bruce
Elizabeth Witmer, PC / Kitchener-Waterloo

Access Copyright

Carol Devine,
Director, Legislative and Political Affairs
#
On October 16,  the Ministry of Education issued memorandum 2009: B11 regarding 2009-10 Funding in addition to Grants for Student Needs.

Included in the memorandum is the following section regarding funding for retroactive copyright fees and interest:

OCSTA is grateful to our Catholic boards and our provincial partners in education who joined with us in advocating for this significant Ministry allocation, and to the Minister of Education and Ministry staff who have responded to our needs.

OCSTA will continue to advocate on behalf of Catholic boards for additional Ministry funding to recognize the on-going increase in fees.

News from Across the Province

The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board recently released a new promotional resource entitled Come Grow with Us.  This resource package is similar to the board's welcome package for families of Kindergarten students but is focused on meeting the needs of families new to the board with children registering in any grade from K - 12. 

The package includes a folder, a comprehensive booklet for parents, a welcome postcard for students, a bookmark featuring Catholic values and a DVD celebrating Catholic education.

The Come Grow With Us package focuses on providing a wealth of practical information for parents and students in all grades but the Simcoe Muskoka board also hopes that the information "will provide a sense of what it means to be part of a Catholic learning community."

To view material from the Come Grow With Us package please click on the following address:

http://www.smcdsb.on.ca/cms/One.aspx

OCSTA Regional Meetings

#
OCSTA's 2009 Regional Meetings began on October 2 with the North West meeting in Thunder Bay and will conclude on October 20 with the North East meeting in Timmins. 

This year's meeting agenda included a presentation and facilitated discussion by Director of Catholic Education, Noel Martin on the topic "Leadership with a Difference: The Catholic Factor - Reading the Signs of the Times."  During this presentation Noel explored with participants the distinctive responsibilities of Catholic school trusteeship.

"Just as our Gospel Values are intended to infuse and animate our entire Catholic school curriculum and the milieu and ethos of our Catholic schools, these values should equally infuse our jurisdictional and policy discussions and decisions." (excerpt from session description).

The OCSTA President's report is an essential part of every Regional Meeting. Association President, Paula Peroni discussed a number of current issues including:

• Bill 177 and the questions and concerns the Association has raised with the government regarding this important piece of legislation (OCSTA's submission to the Ministry has been uploaded to this website and can be viewed at this location www.ocsta.on.ca/ocstasubmissions2009);
• Provincial Interest Regulation - clarification, consultation and timing;
  
• Ongoing initiatives to support accurate separate school assessment rolls;
• Local lobbying of MPPs regarding local and provincial priorities for Catholic school boards;
• Unanticipated Access Copyright Costs and Association efforts to address this issue with the Ministry (see update above)
  
• Promoting the success of Catholic education in our communities and across the province;
• The proposed Ontario Early Learning program and anticipating the needs of Catholic schools;
• Finance Brief topics: The Association's Finance Brief is being finalized for submission to the government and will include recommendations regarding specific funding needs and adjustments in the following areas: Special Education, Transportation, Declining Enrolment, Copyright and Capital.

In addition to support materials for presentations, every meeting participant received the OCSTA "Year in Review" report.

Our sincere thanks to this year's host boards:

Thunder Bay CDSB (Nort West)
Ottawa CSB (East)
Niagara CDSB (Central)
Brant-Haldimand Norfolk CDSB (West)
Northeastern CDSB (North East)

Pictures from the Central Regional Meeting held on October 13, 2009.

Niagara CDSB Chair, Kathy Burtnik (l.) presents to OCSTA President, Paula Peroni, a commemorative book celebrating the history of Catholic education in the Niagara region.	Trustees from the Simcoe Muskoka CDSB and Toronto CDSB discuss the issues.
Group discussion: Trustees from the Waterloo CDSB and the Dufferin-Peel CDSB.	Halton CDSB Chair, Alice Anne LeMay and Halton Trustee Rosanna Palmieri.

2009 OCSTA School Board Communicators' Seminar

The Annual OCSTA School Board Communicators' Seminar will take place on Monday, November 23, 2009 at the Dufferin-Peel CDSB (40 Matheson Blvd., Mississauga), from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This event is attended by those individuals who manage and implement school board communications tasks and strategies. We encourage all boards to send at least one representative to this event.

The full-day program will include the following sessions:

OCSTA Projects and Initiatives Update
Paula Peroni, OCSTA President

Round Table Discussion:
Current Communication Issues, Questions and Opportunities at Ontario's CDSBs

Media Panel Discussion: Ontario's Catholic Schools and the Media
Kris Rushowy, Education Reporter, Toronto Star
Moira Macdonald, Education Columnist, Toronto Sun
Mike Wise, Reporter, CBC TV

Digital Communications Boot Camp for Catholic School Board Communicators:

• This session will be led by established marketing communications firm, iStudio.  Account Directors, Eden Spodek and Neil Johnson will share their insights and drive a collaborative discussion around the threats and opportunities associated with digital communications, community relations and embracing social medial.  The goal of the session is to collaboratively provide hands-on experience and tools to help participants develop their own strategic digital communication plans that they can then take back to their individual Catholic DSBs. 
  
  Refreshments and lunch will be provided and parking is free.
  

For more information about the program and registration or accommodation options, please contact Sharon McMillan at (416) 932-9460, ext 232 / smcmillan@ocsta.on.ca.