The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, September 26, 2022, at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.

The students, staff and Trustees of Waterloo Region’s Catholic schools sincerely congratulate Superintendent John Klein, who was announced today as the new Director of Education of the Halton Catholic District School Board.

John has been a respected teacher, Administrator and Superintendent in Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools since 1990.

His current portfolio includes Religion & Family Life, FSL & ESL, Healthy Active Living, Arts and Extended Day Programs. He also has an extensive background in special education.

He is currently past president of the Ontario Catholic School Supervisory Officers Association, Chair of the Ontario Institute for Educational Leadership, and is a board member of the Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region.

“John’s versatility, innate curiosity, compassion and faith, make him ideally suited to an educational leadership role,” said WCDSB Director of Education, Tyrone Dowling. “He has touched thousands of lives in his 30-plus years with the board, and he will certainly be missed. We wish him nothing but great success at Halton Catholic.”

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In the days since the death of Queen Elizabeth, there has been much discussion around the world (including here in Ontario) regarding fitting gestures in communities and schools, to mark the passing of a Sovereign who has served the Commonwealth, and as Canada’s head of state, for seven decades.

Each time the Queen appointed a new Canadian governor general — including Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, our first Indigenous governor general — we were reminded of Canada’s unique relationship to the Commonwealth countries around the world, and the United Kingdom.

Accordingly, at the direction of the Ontario government, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will honour Queen Elizabeth on Monday September 19th at 1:00 pm with a moment of silence in our board offices and throughout our schools.

As always, teachers will need to use their professional judgement to consider the complicated and complex relationship that has existed between the Crown and Indigenous and racialized Canadians, which may impact students in our schools.

In every setting, it will be important to strike an appropriate balance between an observance of respect, and a recognition of how certain rituals of remembrance may impact individuals and communities whose lived experience is not one of support for the British Monarchy.

In a faith-based educational setting such as ours — in which our schools stand as “heart of the community”, and promoting “success for each” and creating “a place for all” is a hallmark of all we believe and do — we hold space for both our continued action on Truth and Reconciliation, equity and inclusion, and a dignified recognition of the woman who so selflessly gave to our nation; our Queen.

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Dear Parents and Families,

We want to share an important update about school buses. Due to the ongoing bus driver shortage, some routes will need to be temporarily cancelled.

Most bus routes are operating normally. However, some routes are experiencing more frequent and prolonged delays (30 minutes or greater).

This temporary measure will be effective Monday, September 19, 2022 and will continue until Christmas, at which time our need for cancellations will be reviewed.

We understand the significant impact this decision will have on our students and their families and caregivers. Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) does this only as a last resort. We hope that this proactive message will allow families and caregivers to better prepare for and react to the cancellation of bus routes.

Please note that delays have not been caused by our current bus drivers.  When they are late, it is because they are trying to support students on bus routes that have no driver, with the best of intentions.  They do not have to do this.  They are trying to help.  Please be kind to them!

What Happens If A School Bus Route is Cancelled?

Effective September 19, 2022

A school bus route will be cancelled when the driver shortage causes a route to be late by more than 30 minutes consistently. Affected students and families will be informed immediately of the cancellation period.  Cancellations are done on a week to week basis.

Supporting Student Learning

If a school bus route is cancelled, families are responsible for transporting their children to and from school each day.

Where this is not possible, students should access asynchronous learning materials posted by their classroom teacher on their Learning Management System (LMS), either D2L or Google Classroom. Additional activities can be found here: .

Families should contact their school to let them know if they are unable to get to school.  The school can also help families to sign out a Chromebook if necessary.

Stay Informed

Families will be informed the day prior to any cancellation. Cancellations will be posted on the STSWR website with an expected return date.

•  Register for notifications on the STSWR parent portal
• Check the Bus Delays page on the STSWR website

The Bus Delays page will be updated with cancellation information each afternoon by 4:30 PM.

Questions?

Please contact Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR).