Category: News

Dear Elementary Parent/Guardian,

As you know, we began the school year with several dates when parents/guardians could request to switch their children between In-Person Learning and the Elementary Virtual School. When these transitions happen, there is a need for both students and teachers to move between the two learning environments to maintain class sizes both in-person and virtually.

This year, the reorganization process that TDSB has every September to balance classes and adjust to enrollment changes, was directly impacted by the movement of students between In-Person Learning and the Elementary Virtual School and resulted in more extensive changes. We continue to monitor the impact of reorganization on student learning, student mental health and well-being, and on teachers, and we are mindful of the concerns from families about classroom changes and disruption. What we have heard consistently from parents/guardians, teachers and education workers is that they want stability in classrooms and schools and we are committed to doing everything we can in the months ahead to maintain this stability.

With this in mind, we have adjusted the schedule to request a switch between the two learning models (in-person and virtual). The next opportunity for elementary students will be offered at the end of January 2021. There will no longer be an opportunity for elementary students to switch in November. We are confident that this approach will help maintain current classes and teacher assignments in both in-person and virtual classrooms until the new year and will benefit all students and staff by ensuring no further disruptions. We understand that unique circumstances will need to be considered on a case by case basis and we will share information about this next week.

The pre-planning and implementation of the back to school plan for Canada’s largest and most complex school system was undertaken with no prior road map to follow and within an extremely short time frame. It has not been perfect by any means, but we are proud that learning is underway for nearly 240,000 students in healthy and safe environments.

We will continue to monitor our return to school plans and welcome input from parents, students, staff and our union/federations. We are making the necessary adjustments to ensure that school operating and student learning plans respond to changing conditions and are sustainable in the long term.

Sincerely,

Kathy Witherow

Interim Director of Education

Hello Willy!

We are still actively accepting nominations for various School Advisory Council (SAC) roles. We welcome and encourage your involvement. If interested, please complete the nomination form and email it to Mark.Duwyn@tdsb.on.ca by Friday October 16th at 3 p.m.

Fundraising and community engagement is challenging at the best of times and this year given the COVID restrictions, this will prove to be the most challenging year yet for SAC. Despite these restrictions, the need to engage the Willy community is more important than ever. Also, important is the need to raise much needed funds that will allow SAC to contribute towards enhancing student experience at Willy. If you have the ability to think outside the box, and a can-do attitude, then this role is for you!

Details around the election process and the descriptions of each position are outlined below:

Elections

• Virtual school parents/guardians are eligible to be members of their home school council. They are eligible to hold executive positions (e.g., voting membership, chair, etc.)
• Nominations open Monday, October 5th at 9 a.m., and close Friday, October 16th at 3 p.m.

Key Dates:

• Oct 16th: School Council nominations close at 3 p.m.
• Oct 5th to 16th: Nominees are invited to provide a profile which will be shared with the Community
• Oct 27th from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. : Virtual School Council Meeting and SAC Elections

Chairperson (outgoing Chair is Lisa Shuttleworth)
The Chairperson is an executive officer of the School Advisory Council (SAC). The Secretary is a voting member who performs the same duties as other Council members, in addition to performing duties which include:

• Manage SAC meetings (arrange, prepare agendas and Chair SAC meetings)
• Ensure that minutes of SAC meetings are accurately recorded, issued and maintained
• Ensure that the Annual Report is prepared and that the By-Laws and School Statement of Need are updated annually
• Oversee and maintain regular contact with all Committee Leads
• Facilitate conflict resolution
• Communicate with the Principal on behalf of the SAC
• Consult with Senior Board Staff and Trustees as required on behalf of the SAC
• Manage communications to parents (create and respond to SAC emails)
• Read and sign off on monthly reconciliation sheets

Treasurer (Incumbent for this role is Sydney Richardson)
The Treasurer is an executive officer of the School Advisory Council (SAC). The Secretary is a voting member who performs the same duties as other Council members, in addition to performing duties which include:

• Act as the custodian for SAC funds and maintain proper records of all financial transactions including arranging monthly reconciliation with the Chair(s) and Principal
• Handle receipt and disbursement of SAC monies (including acting as the final verification of monies collected during SAC activities) and report bank balance and major transactions at each SAC meeting
• Prepare and arrange for verification of the SAC’s annual PSAB financial statement in September
• Act as a Joint Signing Officer (along with the Chair)

Secretary (outgoing Secretary is Shawn Pinto)
The Secretary is an executive officer of the School Advisory Council (SAC). The Secretary is a voting member who performs the same duties as other Council members, in addition to performing duties which include:

• Record the minutes of all SAC meetings
• Produce/coordinate the weekly SAC newsletter
• Maintain the SAC Calendar of Events
• Manage and post content to the SAC website and Facebook page
• Update the internal SAC notice board
• Maintain the SAC documents
• Produce and distribute SAC surveys as needed

Parent Representative (Maximum 4)

• Expected to attend the monthly SAC meetings
• Act as support person/community liaison with parents
• Obtain/solicit parent feedback and advocate on their behalf

Ward Representative (Maximum 2)

• Be the Willy representative at the monthly TDSB Ward meetings, take notes and report key items (including Parent Involvement Advisory Council initiatives)
• Ensure that information from the school trustee gets distributed to the parent community

 

Thank you!

Willy SAC

As you may have heard, the Ministry of Education announced on Thursday that it has updated its COVID-19 school and child care screening guidance. The TDSB takes its lead from Toronto Public Health, who has also revised their guidance based on the provincial direction.

According to the revised guidelines, students and children with symptoms such as fever and cough will still be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternate diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test. A second set of questions now deals with symptoms that are commonly associated with other illnesses, such as runny nose or headache, and provides the following direction:

• Students and children with only one of these symptoms will be advised to stay home for 24 hours, after which they can return to school or child care if their symptoms are improving.
• Students and children with two or more of these symptoms will be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.

In addition, based on the latest public health guidance, the symptom list for children in school and child care no longer includes abdominal pain or conjunctivitis (pink eye).

Based on this update, here is the new student screening tool from Toronto Public Health, as well as the revised TDSB’s Health Pass. The TDSB Daily Health Screening App has also been updated to reflect these changes.

Ensuring the health and safety of our staff and students is our priority and we all play a role. Again, one of the most important things families can to do help slow the spread of COVID-19 is to screen their children daily for COVID-19 symptoms and keep them home from school if they are sick or have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.

Thank you for your continued efforts to help keep our school environments safe and healthy.

Please find below an update related to switching between In-Person Learning and the Virtual School and the challenges with recruiting French teachers for French Immersion (FI) and Extended French (EF) Programs.

As you know, elementary students may request to switch between In-Person Learning and the Virtual School at key dates during the year. This is a reminder that the first deadline for requesting a change is on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 4 p.m. This change would take effect on October 13, 2020 (the day after Thanksgiving). After that, students will remain in their current learning model until the next key entry date.

Families of elementary students who would like to switch from in-person learning to the Virtual School must contact their in-person school before the deadline to request the change. Families of elementary students who would like to switch from the Virtual School to in-person learning must complete the TDSB Virtual School Opt-Out online form before the deadline to request the change.

As you may already be aware, there is an ongoing shortage of French teachers across Ontario. Today, the Ministry of Education issued a news release that confirms what the Toronto District School Board and school boards across the province have been experiencing for years related to challenges with French teacher recruitment.

Currently, we still require approximately 80 French teachers to meet the needs of current students in the Elementary Virtual School. For this reason, it is important for families to be aware that it may not be possible to accommodate French Immersion or Extended French for those students applying to switch from In-Person Learning to the Virtual School.​​​​​​​