Building Brighter Futures Together
at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
October 2019
Across Ontario, school districts are engaged in collective bargaining with employee groups. While negotiations are underway, all Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) schools are currently open and there is no loss of service taking place. 

You may have heard media reports regarding a “work-to-rule” campaign by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Please note that the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board does NOT have any CUPE bargaining units. Labour actions taken by education workers represented through CUPE will not affect OCDSB schools.

In the weeks ahead, the collective bargaining process will move through the legislated steps of the bargaining process, which may include strike votes, conciliation, mediation, and if necessary, labour action. At the OCDSB, we remain committed to negotiating fair and fully funded collective agreements with all of our employee groups. There is some  background information on our website  about the bargaining process and our bargaining units which you may find helpful. 
A reminder that Friday, October 11th, is a PA day for all OCDSB Elementary and Secondary students.

Please note that all EarlyON Child and Family Centre programs will not be running on this day.
Free Access to French Online Homework Help 
OCDSB students have access to live teachers online to practice their French and get homework help in French, English and Math. The Virtual Campus is available from October 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.  Learn more here .
Join us and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection on October 10, 2019 for this session to designed to help parents/guardians better understand the issue of child sexual abuse. Topics to be covered will include the scope of child sexual abuse, personal boundaries, adult supervision, what to talk to your child about, and more.

Visit our website for further information.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 9th, for our 2019 Parent Conference and School Council Training Day The event will feature keynote speaker  Dr. Laura Markham , along with engaging workshops. This year's event will be held at Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School - 149 Berrigan Drive. Child care will be available at Berrigan Elementary School.

Registration coming soon!
Every October, Islamic Heritage Month is recognized in Canada. This is an opportunity to learn about the history and culture of Ontarians of Muslim heritage, as well as to appreciate the significant contributions made by the Islamic community.
The OCDSB will be participating in the OECD Study on Social and Emotional Skills. OCDSB students aged 10 and 15 will be randomly selected to participate in the study. The start date is October 8th, 2019. Learn more .
In November 2019, as part of our commitment to equity and the identification and elimination of systemic barriers and bias, the OCDSB will begin collecting identity-based data from all students. The data collection project is grounded in the legal authority of the   Anti Racism Act, 2017   and a data standards   framework    for school boards in Ontario. Our ongoing work in this area is a demonstration of our commitment to creating a culture of caring and social responsibility - to support the needs of our staff, students and community. The data collection project includes the administration of a survey collecting demographic and perceptual data for all students.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month . The OCDSB will be sharing resources to educate staff and students about how to protect themselves online. Do you know what you can do to protect your kids when they go online? Find out here.
Chapman Mills Public School Area Consultation Plan
Trustees approved a consultation process and timeline to review the accommodation pressures at John McCrae SS and at Cedarview Middle School by considering an attendance boundary redirection in the Chapman Mills neighborhood.

Summer Work at the OCDSB
Over the summer months many construction and renovation projects were completed, training workshops for staff were held, and many students continued to learn through July and August. Trustees were provided an  infograph , outlining the many activities undertaken at OCDSB in preparation of the new school year.

Read full Newsbriefs on our website here . Watch the livestreaming of our meetings here .
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