Meetings

Committee of the Whole Board

Monday, November 12, 2018 – Meeting Agenda Package

Public Board Meeting

Monday, November 26, 2018 — Meeting Agenda Package

Highlights

Teacher Learning & Leadership Program

The Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) is an annual project-based professional learning opportunity for experienced classroom teachers. Through the TLLP, the Ministry of Education has, for the past decade, supported hundreds of teacher-led projects across the province. The program funds proposals from classroom teachers who seek a peer leadership role in curriculum, instructional practice or supporting other teachers.

Goals:

• Create and support opportunities for teacher professional learning
• Foster teacher leadership
• Facilitate the sharing of exemplary practice with others for the broader benefit of Ontario’s students

There has been no communication to school boards from the Ministry regarding requests for proposals for Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) for 2019-2020. While this leaves the future of TLLPs uncertain, the WCDSB will continue to support current TLLPs and search for ways in which these collaborative endeavours align with other initiatives and priorities.

To view the complete report, please see pages 7-11 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Pastoral Plan Update

We began our three-year pastoral plan with the theme People of Love in 2015-2016. During the 2016-17 school year our focused theme was on People of Hope. Over this past school year our focus has been People of Faith.

Each year of the current pastoral plan has been animated across the district with the use of an artifact that is used in all our schools to unify our school communities around the common theme. In October of the 2017-18 school year, we used the experience of our annual Spiritual Development Day to launch the third year of our three-year pastoral plan, and to introduce the pilgrimage cross, the artifact selected to animate and amplify our theme throughout all school communities.

As we prepare to conclude our present pastoral plan, we are encouraged by the fact that in our most recent Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) survey, 87% of survey responders agreed or strongly agreed that school communities were engaged in understanding and living our three-year pastoral plan. Our goal with the soon-to-be-released new Pastoral Plan will be to carry this same momentum forward.

For a complete summary of the 2016-2018 Pastoral Plan, please see pages 12-14 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Autism Support Plan

Within the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, there are many support services available for students with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through a collaborative approach within a school team, the classroom teacher works alongside the Special Education teacher to develop and provide appropriate programming for students diagnosed with ASD. Other school-level support staff involved may include an Educational Assistant and/or Child and Youth Care Worker.

Additional supports are also available for students who are:

• arriving from another school or school board
• transitioning from Preschool
• newly diagnosed
• covered by an updated assessment result that calls for a review of strategies
• needing Individual Education Plan (IEP) revisions
• needing an IEP (e.g. students who may be experiencing challenges with transitions and the classroom environment).

To view the full report, please see pages 53-55 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

English as a Second Language Update

Trends in the number of newcomer students processed through the Newcomer Reception Centre continue to increase year over year. The vast majority of these students have English as an Additional Language learning needs.

There are more than six hundred students at the WCDSB who are in their first two years in Canada and almost 1,000 students in elementary schools who are in their first four years in Canada. The board currently serves students from 114 different countries who speak a total of 118 different languages.

To view the full report, please see pages 56-59 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

New Ontario Human Rights Policy

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released its new policy on accessible education for students with disabilities, along with recommendations on how to best meet legal obligations under Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The policy:

• recognizes that education is vitally important to a person’s social, academic and economic development
• reflects a broad definition of disability
• provides students and families with up-to-date information about their human rights and responsibilities
• offers practical guidance to education providers to meet their legal duty to accommodate
• reminds schools of their obligation to maintain accessible, inclusive, discrimination and harassment-free spaces

On November 26, 2018 the Board of Trustees received a detailed report on how the WCDSB plans to address the requirements of this new policy. The report is available on pages 60-63 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Student Trustees Report

Student Trustees Izabella Tyc and Meghan Nemeth presented their monthly report on activities in WCDSB’s secondary schools. The report is available on pages 64-65 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Upcoming Board Meetings

Inaugural Meeting

Monday, December 3, 2018

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 49 schools and four adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 182-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

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For more information, please contact:

John Shewchuk – Chief Managing Officer | (519) 578-3660 | john.shewchuk@wcdsb.ca

Meetings

Committee of the Whole Board

Monday, October 15, 2018 – Meeting Agenda Package

Public Board Meeting

Monday, October 29, 2018 — Meeting Agenda Package

Highlights

Renewed Math Strategy Update

An update on Renewed Math Strategy initiatives was presented to the Board of Trustees on Monday, October 15, 2018. The report contains:

• A summary of the 2017‐2018 Renewed Math Strategy
• A description of the Numeracy Initiatives for 2018‐2019
• The intentional purpose of these Numeracy Initiatives
• BIPSA updates in Numeracy and the reasoning behind these additions
• The model for professional learning in Mathematics 2018‐2019 as it pertains to Board needs

To view the complete report, please see pages 7-16 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Information Technology Services (ITS) Summer Projects

The Information Technology Services (ITS) department has had a very busy summer preparing for the 2018/19 school year. ITS successfully completed many technology related projects and initiatives that aligned with the Multi-Year Strategic Plan — which will enable staff and students to excel in the coming year.

Key areas of focus for introduction of new technologies, upgrades and maintenance were:

• New StaffNet Portal Transition
• Minecraft EDU, Technology Pedagogy and Intune Rural Pilot Projects
• Broadband Modernization Project
• Implementation of School Messenger
• Educational Space Technology Updates, Refreshes and Moves
• Data, Systems and Information Support Team Projects
• Administrative Team Projects

To view the complete report, please see pages 17-26 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Learning Commons Transformation Project

The 2015-2018 Multi-Year Strategic Plan committed to creating and engaging in a multi-year plan to transform school libraries into collaborative student-friendly spaces called Learning Commons. The transformation consists of minor renovations to library spaces and investments into furniture, technology, and equipment that support 21st century learning practices.

As part of preparing the multi-year plan, each school was visited by the Library Support Services Supervisor to scope out proposed changes as well as to draft an annual budget for the investments. Administrators, library technicians, and other school staff at each site were part of the planning process.

Year 1 of the plan was undertaken in 2017-2018 with all schools projected to be completed by the end of the 2021- 2022 school year.

The complete project schedule is provided on pages 17-19 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Student Success – Intermediate Update

Towards the end of the 2017-18 school year, the Ministry of Education increased funding to school districts to increase the number of guidance and other teachers in elementary schools to better prepare students for a successful transition to high school, and to help Grade 7 and 8 students take their first steps in career planning.

With this funding increase, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board was able to expand the number of student success consultants from two to five, moving from a model of support for only those fifteen schools who require more intensive support, to being able to support all our elementary schools using our Family of Schools model, with some adjustments for equity.

In this new model of support for intermediate students, the Student Success Consultants (SSC) offer a variety of supports to intermediate students and teachers. These areas include the following:

• Pathway & transition planning
• Individual/small group social-emotional academic support
• Restorative Justice, mediation & conflict resolution
• Capacity building and instructional coaching (e.g. restorative justice, myBlueprint implementation, Engagement Through Innovation Initiative)
• Intensive support for individual students in-risk (“Check & Connect”)

For a deeper look at the work of the Student Success Consultants, please see pages 20-22 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Student Trustees Report

Student Trustees Izabella Tyc and Meghan Nemeth presented their monthly report on activities in WCDSB’s secondary schools. The report is available on pages 34-35 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Upcoming Board Meetings

Regular Committee of the Whole Board Meeting

Monday, November 12, 2018

Regular Public Board Meeting

Monday, November 26, 2018

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 49 schools and four adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 182-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

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For more information, please contact:

John Shewchuk – Chief Managing Officer | (519) 578-3660 | john.shewchuk@wcdsb.ca

WATERLOO REGION (October 30, 2018)

District 8 is proud to announce that the senior boys football Most Valuable Player award will be renamed the Father Mike Award after the late Father Michael Cundari, C.R., who tragically lost his life in November 1986 in an automobile accident.

Better known as Father Mike while serving as principal of St. Jerome’s High School, he was a strong supporter of high school sport and football in particular.

“Father Mike was a tremendous supporter of football programs at every school he was part of,” said Dan Hutter who sits on the District 8 Board of Directors. “As a student, teacher, priest, athlete, Principal or coach, Fr Mike lived by the principles of faith, integrity, honesty, commitment and teamwork, and was always first to celebrate the achievements of his staff and students.”

A ceremony to commemorate the naming of the football MVP award will take place at the District 8 football championships. Joining District 8 and Waterloo Catholic District School Board representatives will be some of Father Mike’s living relatives; Laura Campigotto (sister), Rita Cundari (sister) and Mike Campigotto (nephew).

“Our entire family is both grateful and humbled at the creation of this new award that remembers Fr. Mike,” said Mike Campigotto. “We hope that it will inspire athletes to become leaders in sport, to win with humility and to embrace losing with the pride of giving their all.”

This sentiment of ‘Winning with dignity and losing with pride’ is one regularly repeated with the athletic departments of local high schools, even painted on walls outside of gyms, as it was Father Mike’s motto.

Father Mike taught history and religion at St. Jerome’s and was named the school’s principal in 1980.

“Once he assumed the role of principal, his love for his students became very evident,” said Bernie Farwell who was named principal following the passing of father Mike. “He began each school year speaking to every student at grade-level assemblies impressing upon them the wisdom of setting goals and working hard to achieve them. In this way, each person builds upon the strong reputation of the school and has no regrets at graduation.”

As a supporter of high school sport and the coach of the football and hockey teams, Father Mike would meet with all teams to begin each sport season.

“Father Mike did not emphasize winning in his personal philosophy although the results of his guidance with students consistently saw them reach the top of their game. His motto lives on within so many of us who knew him, worked with him and highly admired him,” said Farwell.

The ceremony will take place on Thursday November 8, 2018 during the halftime of the District 8 senior boys’ football Championship at Warrior Field in Waterloo. Resurrection is set to take on St. David’s or St. Mary’s with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 P.M.

For more information contact:

Derrick Stryker

District 8 Coordinator

e: derrick.stryker@wcdsb.ca