Dear Waterloo Catholic Community –

We hope this letter finds you and your family well, and that you and your families are managing to stay positive during this most unique of years.

I must begin as I did at the beginning of the month by sincerely thanking all our staff for their exceptional efforts since our return from the break.  It has been a learning curve for so many and we know that learning remotely as a full system, requires a great effort from everyone involved.  In that spirit I also want to applaud our students and parents for their flexibility, as we have all adjusted to a new way of learning.  We all continue to adapt throughout this year but at every turn, our students continue to learn and make strides forward.  But more than that – they are hopefully understanding that there is a foundation of care, where their well-being is our highest priority.

The main purpose of this letter is to inform you that the government and Ministry of Education specifically, have communicated that Waterloo Region will continue learning remotely at this time.  While a number of regions across the province have now returned to face-to-face learning, each region is being assessed based on the COVID positivity rates within that region.  This approach will ensure that when our staff and students do return to the classroom, we will be doing so safely.

We know our schools are safe and there is a desire to ensure they remain safe.  Closing the schools to in person learning for the remainder January and early February will help us contain the cases that come into schools and ensure that when we return to our buildings, we are doing so in the safest manner possible.  It is our understanding that the next window for return will occur on February 11^th.  We would expect to hear approximately a week before then as to which regions will be permitted to return to face to face learning.

The continuing exception to this direction is our students with special education high needs in elementary, and our community active living and ELD students in secondary.  Families who are affected by this option for learning have already been contacted directly.  We offer our sincerest thanks to the staff who have been going into our buildings and serving those students.

The one other relevant update you may be wondering about is the elementary school transition survey.  There was to be one final opportunity for parents to indicate if they wanted their children to learn remotely for the remainder of the year.  This survey was to take place January 27^th to 29^th.  Given that we are all remote at this time and that we will not be well served by any transitions at this time, we will defer the survey until our return date and circumstances are clear.  We will be sure to clearly communicate the survey dates to you when we are ready to administer the survey.

Once again, we encourage you to visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse to learn what public health measures are in place in our community – but also please be aware that these could change depending on the most current public health advice. We also suggest checking out the WCDSB website https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/   and Region of Waterloo Public Health website https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/health-and-wellness/2019-novel-coronavirus.aspx as they contain helpful resources and supports.  If you have any questions about what your particular school is doing, please reach out to your local school principal.

I will also take this opportunity to remind that mental health resources are available to students and families through Kids Help Phone, which offers 24/7 counselling and referral services across the province. To use this free resource, children can call 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868.

If there are any further updates we will certainly share them as soon as possible.  Please know that we continue to be in this together and day by day we will make it through.  Let’s continue to remain people of hope, informed by our Faith and a desire to do the best for the students in our care.  Please reach out to us if you need help or guidance, and remain confident that we are here to support you, as we walk together as a hope-filled community.  #InThisTogether 

Sincerely,

Loretta Notten                                                                       

Director of Education 

Nominations are now open for the annual WCDSB “Distinguished Graduate Award”, “Community Partner Award” and “Chair’s Award”. Information about the awards (including the Distinguished Graduate Award nomination form) is available HERE. There are no nomination forms for the Community Partner and Chair’s Awards.

If you wish to make a nomination in any of the categories, please submit your rationale in writing along with any supporting documentation you feel appropriate, to Alice Figueiredo by Monday, March 31, 2021. Hard copy or emailed nominations are equally acceptable. Alice can be reached via email at alice.figueiredo@wcdsb.ca.

Distinguished Graduate Award

The Distinguished Graduate Award was established in 2005 under the Board’s “Celebration of Excellence” policy. It is presented annually to a graduate of 10 or more years from Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools who has provided an outstanding example of the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations in action. The award is presented at the graduation exercises of the recipient’s Secondary School or another appropriate public venue.

Recipients

• 2020 – Michael Dopp
• 2019 – Richard Hepditch, Chief, Waterloo Fire Rescue
• 2018 – Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
• 2017 – Most Reverend Bishop Daniel Meihm, Bishop of Peterborough
• 2016 – Michael Schmitt, Former WCDSB teacher, Principal, Superintendent & Director of Education
• 2015 – Douglas Letson, C.M., Former President & Vice-Chancellor, St. Jerome’s University
• 2014 – Katherine Bergman, President & Vice-Chancellor, St. Jerome’s University
• 2013 – Mary Jo Fedy, Managing Partner, KPMG — Waterloo
• 2012 – Toby Collins, C.R., Vocation Director for the Congregation of the Resurrection
• 2011 – Teacher / missionary Sister Barbara Paleczny, SSND
• 2010 – David Eby, Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association – and current Attorney General of British Columbia
• 2009 – Paul Voisin, C.R., Vicar General of the Diocese of Hamilton (Bermuda)
• 2008 – Former Ontario cabinet minister – and current Wilfrid Laurier University Professor —John Milloy
• 2007 – Lisa LaFlamme, Anchor – CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme
• 2006 – University of Waterloo professor Brian Orend
• 2005 – Ontario Superior Court Justice Patrick J. Flynn

Community Partner Award

The Community Partner Award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions made to Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools by a community partner or agency serving the students, staff and greater community of Waterloo Region.

Recipients

• 2020 – Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate
• 2019 – Langs Community Health & Wellness Centre
• 2018 – St. Vincent de Paul Store (Cambridge)
• 2017 – Settlement and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region
• 2016 – Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
• 2015 – Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council
• 2014 – Strong Start Charitable Organization
• 2013 – Barrday Inc.
• 2012 – Junior Achievement of Waterloo Region
• 2011 – Nutrition for Learning
• 2010 – Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
• 2009 – Rex Barger
• 2008 – Reid’s Heritage Homes
• 2007 – Congregation of the Resurrection in Waterloo Region
• 2006 – Region of Waterloo Public Health
• 2005 – Waterloo Region Catholic Schools Foundation
• 2004 – St. Jerome’s University
• 2003 – Waterloo Regional Police Service
• 2002 – Catholic Family Counselling
• 2001 – Waterloo Region Catholic Community Foundation

Chair’s Award

The Chair’s Award is presented to a person (or group of people) in the school system who has contributed significantly to Catholic Education. It is given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions made in serving the students, staff and greater community of Waterloo Region and/or to the betterment of Catholic Education in Ontario in general.

Recipients

• 2020 – Paul Cox
• 2019 – Mary Jo O’Brien
• 2018 – Tom Denomme
• 2017 – Glenda Leusink
• 2016 – Nancy Sabo
• 2015 – Joni Grundy
• 2014 – Marianna Worth
• 2013 – Michelle Flood and Mary Stevens
• 2012 – Bruce Cameron
• 2011 – Gai Brown
• 2010 – Theresa Horan
• 2009 – Jeannie McCarroll
• 2008 – Angela Davis
• 2007 – Thomas Forestell, Mervyn J. Villemaire, Charles Van Alphen
• 2006 – Deb Zettel-Schmitt
• 2005 – Allan Hoch, Jennifer Rodrigues, Louise Ervin
• 2004 – Gary Leduc
• 2003 – Pat Brannigan, Michael Schmitt
• 2002 – School Sisters of Notre Dame / Sisters of St. Joseph
• 2001 – Dave Schnarr, Bill Brazeau, Pat Cannon, Warren Grafton, Horst Schweinbenz
• 2000 – Fr. Fred Scinto, C.R.
• 1999 – Ann O’Donnell-Beckwith
• 1998 – Bob Anderson

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, January 25, 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting will be streamed live on Youtube:

It’s time to sign up for the 2021-22 school year – and registering to attend one of Waterloo Region’s 43 Catholic elementary schools has never been easier.

• Children born in 2017 are eligible for Year 1 Kindergarten (JK).
• Children born in 2016 are eligible for Year 2 Kindergarten (SK).

Parents can access the Online Pre-Registration form by clicking on the Register for School link on the WCDSB Homepage and then choosing Kindergarten Registration.

To finalize your child’s registration, please contact your local Catholic school directly, for individual registration dates and times.

QUICKFacts

~~ When registering your child to attend a Catholic elementary school you must be prepared to provide proof of the child’s date of birth and either the child’s Catholic baptismal certificate or the Catholic baptismal certificate of at least one parent or guardian.

~~ If you are non-Catholic, but wish to explore a Catholic education for your child(ren), please review the WCDSB Admissions to Catholic Elementary Schools policy. Our secondary schools are open to students of all faiths.

~~ A complete list of WCDSB schools that will offer the Extended Day Program in 2021-22 will be web-posted before the end of this current (2020-21) school year. Please call your school directly for information about the Extended Day Program. A complete list of WCDSB schools currently providing the program is available via this link: Extended Day Program.

~~ For information about French Immersion programs in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, please click here: French Immersion Registration Information.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 48 schools and five adult education facilities serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 185-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, January 11, 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting will be streamed live on Youtube:

Please visit the link below to read a special letter from the Minister of Education, regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:

MINISTER’S LETTER

Dear Waterloo Catholic Community –

As you know we have commenced our well-deserved Christmas Break and we hope that for each of you, it is starting as well as it can under our current circumstances.  No doubt you are likely also aware, the Premier of the Province has indicated that the return to school in January will be remote.  That is, on January 4^th both our elementary and our secondary students will begin the new year learning virtually.  The decision is being made out of an abundance of caution.  We know our schools are safe.  The cases of COVID are not starting, nor are they spreading, in our schools, but we are a reflection of the community.  Closing the schools to in person learning for the early part of January will help us contain the cases that come into schools and ensure that when we return to our buildings, we are doing so in the safest manner possible.

Our elementary schools will return to face-to-face learning on Monday January 11^th, 2021 and our secondary schools will return to face to face learning on Monday January 25^th, 2021.

Just before we left for the break, we were given an indication that the government might choose a remote return in January.   Given the short timelines, we made a “best efforts” attempt to send home Chromebooks with all those students for whom we had a prior request through our comprehensive survey.  If there are outstanding orders that were missed, they will be deployed upon our return on January 4^th.   Schools and Extended Day programs currently remain closed and unavailable to staff, students and parents.  All school staff and teachers are on a well-deserved break and will be available for questions and updates as of January 4^th, 2021.

The move to remote learning will be different than last spring when the face-to-face hours with teachers was limited.  The school day will follow the bell times of your individual school and if not already received, you/your student will be given a clear indication of the daily schedule your child is to follow through your local school.  Again, we might expect that the first day or two back in January may not be perfectly smooth as we all adjust to the new reality.  St Isidore students will continue as per the usual schedule.

For our high needs special education students we would like to provide the following guidance.  In elementary, students with high needs will learn remotely as with the rest of your class and per the class daily schedule, but there will be “break-out” rooms where additional support is possible.  Your return to face-to-face learning will be January 11^th 2020.  For secondary high need students, you will also leaning virtually for the first week back (again with breakout rooms) and by January 11^th we will provide more detail with an option for transportation and face to face learning in your local school setting.

As of today, we are still planning to proceed with our Secondary Transition Survey regarding quadmesters 3 and 4.  The current decision to move to virtual is a short-term strategy and there will be a return to face to face learning on January 25^th (as we near the end of quadmester 2).  Please keep in mind if you choose “face to face learning in the bricks and mortar schools” or if you choose “virtual” that is your choice through to the end of June.

Thank you for adhering to public health and safety measures that have ensured schools remain a safe place for our students and staff.  This will be more important than ever now – both for our schools and for our community at large.  During the upcoming Christmas Break we must adhere to the guidance to limit our contacts and social gatherings.  You can check the government’s holiday web page for more direct and up-to-date guidance on how individuals and families can plan for a safe holiday season, including suggestions for safer holiday activities for children and families.

Once again, we encourage you to visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse to learn what public health measures are in place in our community – but also please be aware that these could change depending on the most current public health advice. We also suggest checking out the WCDSB website https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/  and Region of Waterloo Public Health website https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/health-and-wellness/2019-novel-coronavirus.aspx as they contain helpful resources and supports.  If you have any questions about what your particular school is doing, please let your school principal know upon their return on January 4^th, 2021.

I will also take this opportunity to point out that mental health resources are available to students and families through Kids Help Phone, which offers 24/7 counselling and referral services across the province. To use this free resource, children can call 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868.

This is likely not the Christmas any of us envisioned or desired.  These challenges are real and the hardships can be quite difficult for some.  But we can see the light in the distance.  We can also see the profound light of the manger.  Let us continue to be people of hope who celebrate the birth of a tiny babe who shared a powerful message of love and salvation.  Please reach out to us if you need help or guidance, and remain confident that we are here to support you, as we walk together as a hope-filled community.  #InThisTogether  #WeGotThis

Sincerely,

Loretta Notten                                                                       

Director of Education 

Dear Waterloo Catholic Community –

As I write this letter, we sit on the cusp of our Christmas break and perhaps more than ever, we can all appreciate the need for a pause.  It is a true testament to everyone in the entire WCDSB community that we made it to Christmas with all our schools still open and thriving, despite the reality of the pandemic.  The number of cases in our schools has grown, reflecting where we are as a region, but in all circumstances, the cases are quickly resolved, and all affected individuals return to school in a short period of time.  We have had very, very few cases of “outbreak” which is defined as 2 or more related cases in a school.  So, on behalf of all – thank you for your ongoing efforts which have made the school re-opening process possible, and for adhering to public health and safety measures that have ensured schools remain a safe place for our students and staff.

The holidays are going to look a little different this year. We understand that there may be challenges as the winter break approaches but we encourage all families to consider what we can all do to make the return to school in January 2021 as safe as possible. I would also like to remind you about the actions we are taking to reinforce the health and safety protocols aimed at protecting our students, educators and staff while limiting the spread of COVID-19 at schools.

Throughout this challenging time in our history, I have used the refrain #InThisTogether and it has been a way to emphasize that we are a team in all of this.  That we do have each other’s back.  What one of us does, affects all of us.  During the upcoming Christmas Break we must adhere to the guidance to limit our contacts and social gatherings.  You can check the government’s holiday web page for more direct and up-to-date guidance on how individuals and families can plan for a safe holiday season, including suggestions for safer holiday activities for children and families.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to speak to you about our upcoming Transition window in secondary.  As indicated, we have one further transition window in both elementary and secondary.  Our secondary survey will be open January 4^th to January 6^th.  At this time, you will have the opportunity to indicate if you wish to move your child back to face to face learning (adapted model) in their community school or if you wish to move to St Isidore (virtual school).

This choice will apply for the remainder of the year – including into the warmer spring months of April, May, and June.  We have to limit ourselves to one final transition window to be able to facilitate the challenging student and staff scheduling that needs to take place.

As a reminder, anyone feeling ill should not attend school. All children, students, staff, and visitors must be screened for symptoms of illness every day before attending school or childcare. To help meet this requirement, you may use the provincial COVID-19 school screening tool.  Self-screening will still be a requirement when we return to school and we will continue to reinforce masking and hand hygiene, as well as cohorting and physical distancing with students and our staff.

We encourage you to visit Ontario.ca/covidresponse to learn what public health measures are in place in our community – but also please be aware that these could change depending on the most current public health advice. We also suggest checking out the WCDSB website https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/   and Region of Waterloo Public Health website https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/health-and-wellness/2019-novel-coronavirus.aspx as they contain helpful resources and supports.  If you have any questions about what your school is doing, please let your school principal know.

Once again, I want to share that it is perhaps inevitable that when the provincial and regional numbers rise, we too will see some cases.  I realize that if you get a letter saying there has been a case of COVID in your school that it is most unsettling.  If we ask a cohort to quarantine it is to ensure that they remain safe and that the rest of our school community remains safe.  Our safety protocols are working.

We sincerely thank you for journeying with us.   May each of you and your families enjoy a beautiful Christmas Season.  Perhaps it is entirely fine that it will be less social, less focused on material goods, much simpler in every way but firmly focused on family, for isn’t it true that the very first Christmas was exactly that.  Let us continue to be people of hope who celebrate the birth of a tiny babe who shared a powerful message of love and salvation.  Please reach out to us if you need help or guidance and remain confident that we are here to support you, as we walk together as a hope-filled community.  #InThisTogether  #WeGotThis

Sincerely,

Loretta Notten, Director of Education

Meetings

Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Trustees

Monday, December 7, 2020 – Meeting Agenda Package

Public Board Meeting

Monday, December 14, 2020 — Meeting Agenda Package

Highlights

Election of Chair and Vice Chair

On December 7, 2020, the Board of Trustees elected Waterloo / Woolwich / Wellesley Trustee Melanie Van Alphen as Chair of the Board, and Waterloo / Woolwich / Wellesley Trustee Jeanne Gravelle as Vice-Chair of the Board.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of the following representatives:

• Bill Conway (Cambridge / North Dumfries) – Past Chair
• Manuel da Silva (Cambridge / North Dumfries)
• Kevin Dupuis (Kitchener / Wilmot)
• Jeanne Gravelle (Waterloo / Wellesley / Woolwich) – Vice-Chair
• Wendy Price (Cambridge / North Dumfries)
• Greg Reitzel (Kitchener / Wilmot)
• Brian Schmalz (Kitchener / Wilmot)
• Melanie Van Alphen (Waterloo / Wellesley / Woolwich) – Chair
• Tracey Weiler (Kitchener / Wilmot)
• Abby Barbosa and Kate Morrison (Student Trustees)

FSL Program Update

English-language school boards in Ontario are required to provide students with a minimum of 600 hours of French instructional hours by the end of elementary school. In Secondary, one FSL credit (110 hours) is compulsory for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). A second FSL course can be counted towards the compulsory credits required for the OSSD. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board currently offers four program options for French as a Second Language:

• Core French
• Intensive French
• Advanced Placement (AP) French
• French Immersion

Unfortunately, like other school boards across Ontario the WCDSB has continued to be impacted by the province wide FSL labour market shortage. That pressure, coupled with the impacts of COVID-19, has made the past year quite challenging.

Despite that, our French Immersion program continues to grow. We opened a new FI site in September at St. Peter CES, and our FI Review Committee has begun to meet. The following factors are to be re-confirmed or addressed in this review:

• Elementary school organization (i.e., grade structure, single track, dual track)
• Grade 1 entry point
• Approach to Grade 1 application for FI
• Attendance of siblings in FI schools
• Impact of transportation, as it relates to school organization
• Establish strategy for delivery of FI courses for grades 9 to 12 to meet secondary FI certificate requirements
• Review and confirm criteria for selecting new elementary FI location(s)
• Identify areas of future consideration for new elementary FI location(s)
• Establish criteria for selecting new secondary FI location(s)

The report begins on page 23 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Equity Action Plan Report

The Ministry of Education has made a commitment to every student in the province of Ontario that regardless of ‘ancestry, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, language, physical and intellectual ability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or other factors’, all students should be able to access the curriculum, feel safe at school, and have a sense of belonging.

Accordingly, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board’s (WCDSB) vision commits us to being the “heart of the community”, offering “success for each and a place for all.” In support of our vision, the current theme of our three-year pastoral plan is “Gathered to Become: All of one in Christ Jesus.”

At WCDSB, our Equity Committee works to build educator capacity to serve all students and assist in removing identified barriers to success. We employ a lens of liberation theology with a strong emphasis on the social teaching of preferential option for the poor. This involves empowering students and their families to advocate for change so that they may not just survive but thrive in our school communities.

Our work is guided by the four priority areas of the Ontario Education Equity Action Plan:

• School and classroom practices
• Leadership, governance, and human resource practices
• Data collection, integration, and reporting
• Organizational culture change

With the harmonization of several working committees and planning tables – equity, well-being, pastoral – we continue to work together to achieve our goal of removing barriers to student success and well-being in Waterloo Catholic.

The report begins on page 27 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Update on WCDSB COVID Education Delivery Plan

At the current time, the schools of Waterloo Catholic are engaged in learning in our new pandemic reality. Our staff, students and parents have been introduced to a new way of experiencing learning both in our face-to-face learning environment, or in the virtual environment of St. Isidore. As reported in November, our numbers remain relatively stable with approximately 4,187 students learning virtually and 19,900 students learning face-to-face. Thus, at this point approximately 17% of our total student population has opted for the virtual learning environment. We do have some families requesting to move back to face-to-face and where that can be accommodated without being overly disruptive to the local school’s organization, we are endeavoring to honour those requests.

An important recent development involves our large International Education program. On November 13th, the province of Ontario was given permission by the federal government to welcome international students. At that time, each board was required to obtain individual approval from the Ministry, based on a comprehensive submission and an attestation of readiness. On November 24th we were informed that WCDSB is now on the list of boards approved to again welcome international education students.

Meanwhile, we are currently experiencing from 5-10 positive COVID-19 cases a week in our schools, but in virtually all situations, the reality continues to be that the positive case runs its course, with very few instances of any transmission. We have had since re-opening the school system five limited outbreaks, all of which were quickly resolved. This is a strong indication that all our protocols are working. Outbreaks are followed by an Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Assessment by Region of Waterloo Public Heath, and the results have been quite strong in all cases.

Health and safety remain our primary concern and motivator, as the COVID-19 situation in Waterloo Region continues to evolve.

The report begins on page 39 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Student Trustees Update

Student Trustees Abby Barbosa and Kate Morrison presented their monthly update – covering activities in WCDSB’s secondary schools. It is available beginning on page 44 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Upcoming Board Meetings

Committee of the Whole Board Meeting

Monday, January 11, 2021

Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre

Regular Public Board Meeting

Monday, January 25, 2021

Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 48 schools and four adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary, and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 184-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

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