The WCDSB Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) will be hosting guest speaker Paul Davis presenting on Social Media Safety on May 12^th at 6:30 p.m.

Paul is a well known speaker who has presented at multiple schools, corporations and law enforcement organizations in four provinces and five states on topics of Online Safety, Social Media and Cyber Security. He is the author of the book Online Safety for Grade 3/4/5/6.

Please register for this virtual event using REGISTRATION LINK  before May 5^th, 2022.

For more information about Paul Davis, please visit: https://socialnetworkingsafety.net/

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, April 25, 2022, at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.

Dear Waterloo Catholic Community

We hope that you are well and that you have been enjoying a pleasant start to the spring season, even if spring has not fully informed winter it is time to step aside. Today’s letter is primarily focused on an invitation to invite your feedback, however before I discuss that, I will provide a brief update in relation to the pandemic.

As previously communicated, the province has altered its expectations, in regards to masking and to some of our in-school protocols. While we are all at the point where we would like the pandemic to be done with us, I remind everyone in our community that daily screening is still necessary and anyone not feeling fully well should not be attending school. Further, while masks are optional, they are still highly encouraged in our schools and classrooms.

As a Board we like to continually review and assess how effectively we are meeting our strategic priorities. We have opportunities to do so on a regular basis through our various trustee Board meetings and in other venues, but on occasion we also like to reach out to our full Waterloo Catholic community for your feedback. This has been less frequent – in relation to the strategic plan – over the past 2 years, due to the pandemic. This year we would like to return to that practice.

From Monday April 11th to Thursday April 21st we will have available a community survey on our Multi-Year Strategic Plan. It will be an opportunity to rate and comment upon our progress to stated goals, as well as a key opportunity to help shape the future strategic plan. Depending on your role and place in the WCDSB community, you may wish to reflect upon the goals in relation to your own school or reality. We realize that the pandemic has impeded our ability to fully realize some of our goals, and perhaps that may be part of the consideration when completing the survey, but we welcome your impressions so that we can continue to improve and be as responsive as possible to the voice of our community.

The survey should not take much more than 10 minutes to complete and will be available at this link MYSP Survey as of April 11th. It will also be featured prominently at www.wcdsb.ca.

As we continue to journey through the Lenten season, we pray that the love of our Lord, who sacrificed His life for us, might fill your hearts and homes. We continue to be grounded by our pastoral theme – Sent to Build – and reflect on our symbol of the bridge. We rejoice on the journey of encounter and accompaniment that we are all on, as a community at Waterloo Catholic.

Sincerely.

Loretta Notten
Director of Education

During the April 4th Committee of the Whole Board meeting, WCDSB trustees received a comprehensive report on the independent investigation into the police involvement concerning a 4 year old student in crisis.

As a board of Trustees, there is much that we have concerns about regarding this very difficult situation. But first, Trustees acknowledge the pain of the family involved and that of the Black community of the school and of Waterloo Region. We must fully understand the wide-reaching implications of all that occurred before we begin to move forward toward healing and growth.

We understand that systemic racism exists in our board, in our communities, in the society in which we live. It is our role as Trustees to ensure good governance through the continual reviewing of policies and procedures, as well as monitoring the actions of the board itself to eradicate systemic racism for the good of all WCDSB staff, students, and their families.

We also acknowledge that the journey we are on to remove systemic anti-Black racism did not start last night, or after the review was called. We hold staff accountable, and we believe actions speak louder than words. We were pleased to see in the report of April 4^th, 33 discreet actions and initiatives that are currently underway in WCDSB, specifically focused on eliminating systemic racism. The work crosses the priority areas of Nurturing our Catholic Community; Equity and Human Resources; Professional Development; and Student Achievement and Engagement. These are all steps in the right direction, and in keeping with the recommendations we received. We appreciate the hard work that has gone into these many initiatives, even if we have not yet landed where we ultimately strive to be.

Through the Recommendations that came out of the provincial investigation and the many good works already underway in our schools, we are confident that WCDSB is moving in the right direction. WCDSB Trustees are committed to supporting, advocating, and monitoring the progress that WCDSB will be making over the next few years to become a leader in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in education.

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The next meeting of the Board of Trustees (Committee of the Whole Board) is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. — Monday, April 4, 2022, at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.