Building Brighter Futures Together
at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
School Council Update #11 - November 15, 2019
Winter came early in Ottawa! As we adjust to colder temperatures and snowy conditions, we also need to think about student and staff safety. Please take care on roadways, school access lanes, parking lots and around bus stops - slow down and leave extra space around pedestrians and other vehicles. Also, ensure children are dressed for outdoor play in winter conditions.
Important Information
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has advised that it intends to start work-to-rule strike action effective November 26th, 2019. The OCDSB is currently reviewing the terms put forward by ETFO and will provide an update on local impacts next week. OSSTF has advised that they will hold a press conference on Monday, November 18th to announce next possible steps in their negotiations. We remain hopeful that agreements can be reached before any strike action comes into effect. Our primary focus in contingency planning is the health and safety of students.
Thank you to everyone who joined us this past Saturday, November 9th, for our OCDSB Parent Conference and School Council Training Day. It was great to see many parents engaged and learning. Workshop topics included Vaping, the Parent-Child Connection, and Math.

Please visit our website for electronic copies of the presentations.
World Children’s Day is UNICEF’s annual day of action ‘for children, by children.’ Every year on November 20th – the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – we celebrate the universal rights of every child to go to school, raise their voice and share their talents with the world.
Ensuring students arrive safely at school each day is our top priority. To enhance our existing absence-check procedure, we are introducing a new, more efficient student absence reporting system called  SchoolMessenger SafeArrival . The system launches next week in select schools and will be implemented across all OCDSB schools via a staggered rollout.
On Saturday, November 23rd, educators and parents are invited to attend Breaking Barriers: Achieving Black Student Excellence , a free conference on addressing anti-Black racism in schools. This half-day event will be held at the Confederation Education Centre from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Have questions about the International Baccalaureate Program? Colonel By Secondary School and Merivale High School will be holding free Information Nights on the following dates:
Colonel By - Nov 21st and 26th
Merivale - Nov 20th and 27th
On Saturday, December 7th, at Greenfield's Gastro Public House, join The Lads for a night of great music in support of the Education Foundation. The Education Foundation of Ottawa seeks to remove the barriers to success imposed by poverty.
Identity-Based Data Study
The OCDSB is committed to improving equity of access and opportunity for all students. To do this, we need to better understand the challenges our students are facing and where more support is needed.

As part of this commitment, the district will be conducting a survey called Valuing Voices – Identity Matters! The survey will be conducted between November 26th and December 13th, 2019. The survey will be completed by parents of students in Kindergarten to Grade 6, and by students in grades 7 to 12.

Learn more here . 
OECD Study on Social and Emotional Skills
The OCDSB is currently participating in the OECD Study on Social and Emotional Skills. The data gathered from this study will be used to help identify factors that support the development of social and emotional skills. The study began on October 8th and will close on November 30th.

Examples of social and emotional skills include collaboration, open-mindedness and self-efficacy. These life skills are critical for student success, and contribute to many positive life outcomes.

Further information can be found here.
Reminders
With Voila Live , every Monday to Thursday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. students have online access to homework help in French, English and Math.
School Council Information
Video Licensing Agreement 2019-2020
In order for schools and schools councils to show copyright protected movies, the OCDSB has renewed their video licensing agreements with Criterion Pictures, and Audio Cine Films Inc. for the 2019-2020 school year,
effective until September 1st, 2020.

Further School Council information can be found on our website .

Other Resources:

Board and Committee of the Whole Meetings
The next public Committee of the Whole meeting will be held on November 19, 2019, in the boardroom at 133 Greenbank Road at 7:30 p.m.

 Watch the meeting  live here .

Upcoming Committee Meetings: 
  • Parent Involvement Committee - November 20th, 2019 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Trustees Committee Room - 133 Greenbank Road
  • Audit Committee - November 25th, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Trustees Committee Room - 133 Greenbank Road
  • Arts Advisory Committee - November 25th, 2019 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Fisher Park Public School/ Summit Alternative School - 250 Holland Ave.

For a summary of our board meetings, read our Boardroom Newsbriefs here .
Stay Connected
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