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Register Now for the January Professional Development Seminar

OCSTA’s annual Catholic Trustees’ Professional Development Seminar happens January 17-18 at the International Plaza Hotel in Toronto (655 Dixon Rd.).  This year’s theme is Building Community and features the following program highlights:

• Keynote Speaker,  Fr. Raymond de Souza, Columnist, National Post and The Catholic Register and Chaplain for Newman House, Queen’s University
• His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and the Archbishop of Toronto
• Trustee Training Program – Module 11: Conflict of Interest – Legal Aspects of Governance
  • Presented by The Honorable Peter D. Lauwers, Judge, Ontario Court of Appeal – Former Partner, Miller Thomson, LLP and Former Counsel for OCSTA
• Panel Discussion – Building Bridges for Catholic Education: The Home, School & Parish Opportunity
  • Trustee Michelle Griepsma, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland & Clarington CDSB
  • Orlanda Sousa, President, Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education
  • Fr. Phil Smith, St. Roch’s Parish, Toronto
  • Andre Potvin, President, Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario
• Do You See What I See? – The Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Initiative
• Using Social Media to Advance School Board Priorities, Cyrus Mavalwala, ABC, Advantis Communications

The early bird discount ends December 6, 2013.  Don’t delay…REGISTER NOW online.

Nominations Now Open for Premier’s Awards

The Premier’s Awards for Accepting Schools recognizes innovative work being done in schools to create a safe and accepting environment for students.

Learn more about the criteria considered here.

Nominations are now open. Download the nomination from and submit before the deadline of February 21, 2014, 5 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

Catholic Education Week – Advance Kit, Promotions

The 2014  theme for Catholic Education Week is “Serving in the Love of Christ” and this week of celebration is scheduled for May 4 – May 9, 2014.

To help boards promote the themes for Catholic Education Week throughout the year design files have been created to be used on CDSB websites and materials.

Click here to access Catholic Education Week logos and other artwork.

Advance Kit

In order to help all Catholic educational partners engage in prayer and dialogue in preparation for Catholic Education Week 2014, OCSTA has prepared an Advance Kit of prayer services and reflection activities.  Unlike the Resource Kit that is designed for students, the Advance Kit, sent early in the school year, is designed to help adult groups (trustees, school board staff, school staff groups, parent groups, parish groups, associations, etc.) reflect on the theme of Catholic Education Week with prayer services and reflection activities beginning in Advent and concluding in the month before Catholic Education Week.

Download your Advance kit here.

Legislative UPDATE

Bill 122, School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2013, remains at second reading debate. There are now twelve days left before the House rises for the Winter break.

News from Across the Province

Niagara Catholic raises more than $250,000 for their local community and world-wide initiatives…learn how they achieved this.

Durham Catholic’s “Walk of Faith” procession is our website’s home page feature…read more here.

OCSTA School Board Communicators’ Seminar

More than 30 representatives from Ontario’s Catholic School boards and our diocesan communities convened in Toronto on November 15 to discuss best practices in Catholic education communications and public relations.

The event was hosted by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and featured the following presentations:

• The Legislative and Political Landscape for Catholic Education Today, Presented by Marino Gazzola, President, OCSTA
• The Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) – Current Insight and Resources for CDSB Communications, Presented by Michael Pautler, Executive Director, ICE
• The Art of Operating a Small but Mighty Communications Department, Presented by Cyrus Mavalwala, Advantis Communications
• Social Media Strategies for Catholic School Boards, Presented by Jon Juane, Online Engagement & Multi-media Specialist, Ottawa Catholic School Board

News from CCSTA

• Catholic school boards and provincial associations are invited to submit applications to host the 2016 CCSTA Convention/Annual General Meeting. The dates for this national convention are June 2-4, 2016. Applications are due January 15, 2014. Inquires about hosting the convention may be made directly through the CCSTA website.
• Nominations are also being accepted for the 2014 Higgins Award. The Justice James Higgins Award is presented annually for outstanding leadership in Catholic education in Canada. A Catholic school board, provincial association or the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops may submit a nominee for the award to the CCSTA office by January 15, 2014. Criteria and procedures can be found on the CCSTA website.
• CCSTA (Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association) is excited to announce the “Share Your Gifts Contest” – an advocacy initiative operated in conjunction with the Toonies for Tuition fundraising campaign.From November 12th to December 10th, 2013, JK-12 students attending Catholic schools all across Canada (in funded, non-funded, and partially-funded Provinces) are invited to create a performance, piece of art, or media, which answers the question: “What does Catholic Education mean to you?”Great prizes to be won, including two iPad Mini’s!For more information on how to participate, please visit the Toonies for Tuition website.