Its been one of those weeks where you could get so wrapped up in trying to keep up with provincial government announcements, city council committee meetings, and Mayoral-Candidate platform updates; that you could have lost an entire week of productivity and I know because I did in the end!
Now in case you are better at using your time wisely and did not follow all of this news minute by minute, I will sum it up for you with links so that you can take your time to catch up.
Day By Day
Sunday/Monday
Education Minister Stephen Lecce made an announcement here in Etobicoke at Albion Library. There was discussion of new hires and more money in education but the reality is there is now still a lot less money in the system than before Doug Ford came to power. There is a lot of debate going on right now on what is working and what is not, but as a parent who has been involved in the schools for many years, I can see that the reduction in money is the problem. In my humble opinion if this government wants to make a difference then they will put more money into our existing programs. But you can make up your own mind with the background information that came a day later on Monday. This further information lead to the creation of a bill that was put before Queen’s Park. As we quickly found out, this was more than a funding announcement as bringing in a bill means new laws and regulations and so take a look at this link when you have some time! This is the bill that looks at many aspects including changes in oversight with school boards and Trustees. I will talk about this more in depth in the coming weeks.
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-98
Tuesday
Doug Ford and Minister of Infrastructure/MPP Etobicoke Centre Kinga Surma were at Ontario Place for another announcement in regards to the updates planned for the site. While there is already ongoing advocating from residents to not allow for a huge and unwanted foreign-owned water park and spa, this week the government announced a plan to add the Ontario Science Centre to that same lakefront parkland. When asked what would happen to the current site in North York the answer was that it would be torn down for housing. As expected this is not what residents want in either part of the city and will be an ongoing issue as there is a mix of land ownership by the city and property leases that belong to the province. Many Councillors are working with local advocacy groups to try and protect both sites and preserve the spaces for the public.
This link connects to the group Ontario Place For All which is leading the work being done https://ontarioplaceforall.com/
Wednesday
Canada’s largest public-service unions went on strike this week. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is looking for work at home options and an increase in salary of around 14% over the next 3 years. The government says it has offered about 9%. This strike is affecting the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada. There is a major impact on passports and refugee claims but so far electronic payments from the CRA should arrive as expected. However, paper and more in-depth income tax returns may be delayed. The CRA has warned that this strike does not change the income tax due date of May 1st and so you have one more week to file before you are considered late.
Thursday
Toronto City Council’s General Government committee met in a very long meeting to discuss a number of issues. This meeting included a discussion and vote on whether to bring to the main council, the land transfer request that the province has requested. Apparently, Ontario wants to secure the land needed by the end of this year for the Therme Spa project. Many passionate city residents asked that councillors on this committee not move this report further and with the support of Councillor Ausma Malik, whose downtown ward is the home of Ontario Place, secured a majority vote needed to allow for this matter to be delayed until the city decides on the overall project which will take months. There is always a possibility that the province will take the piece of land anyway but for now the trade is off the table. Etobicoke Centre Councillor Stephen Holyday, made a speech to ask that council not fight the province on this issue and to just allow the Ford government proceed with the current plans. If you live in Etobicoke Centre and you feel that this plan is not one that should happen you can contact both Kinga Surma and Stephen Holyday and let them know how you feel!
You can watch a replay of the committee meeting here:
Saturday is Earth Day
There will be events around the city this weekend to mark earth day!
The city will hold many clean ups around the city and so if you are interested you can check out the Toronto website.
A local biking advocacy group - We Belong On Bloor; will be holding a community ride which will begin in High Park at 10:30am at High Park and Bloor. The ride will then head west on Bloor along part of the section that is slated to be part of the Bloor Complete Streets Project. The ride will conclude at Tom Riley Park in Etobicoke at noon for picnic. If you are unable to take part in the ride you are more than welcome to connect on foot at the end of the line; pedestrians and bikes need to work together for safer streets for all!
Guest Post - Eric Dallin, TDSB Principal
As many in Etobicoke know Burnhamthorpe CI offers many unique programs for adult learners and while it was once thought to offer just the regular high school credits, the offerings have come a long way to prepare students for various multiple career paths. The current BCI Principal was kind enough to share more with our Etobicoke Voice community about the educational gem in our own back yard!
Burnhamthorpe Adult Community Learning Centre: We Support Your Success!
I would like to introduce you to the Burnhamthorpe CI & ALC community; we welcome everyone! Whether you are new to Canada or well established, we help adults of all ages find new educational or career pathways to change their lives!
Our team of caring teachers and support staff will always be there to support both the academic and well-being needs of our adult students using an equity lens. Our EdVance program serves students aged 18 to 20 (population 200); our Adult program and specialty programs serve students aged 21 plus (population 400). All pathways are offered (university, college, workplace, apprenticeship). We welcome students from all over the city and international students! We support your success!
If you want to earn high school credits quickly, we are the place for you! Our quad system offers new courses every 9 weeks. As a day school, there are three time slots a day (each 2 hours) to choose from to fit your schedule. While the majority of our courses are in-person, we do have some virtual course offerings in the Adult Day School.
We have many partnerships in the community to support our programming and student wellness. We have the largest urban garden in the TDSB, providing hands-on learning opportunities and work experience for our students with the help of Food Share. Community Fairs connect our learners to community supports, employment opportunities, and post-secondary pathways.
In our classrooms, you won’t find traditional rows for learning. Our collaborative educational spaces optimize student learning to give them real life experiences. We call them “Thinking Classrooms” where students can take risks in group pods and strategize together in their critical thinking.
We pride ourselves as a school that doesn’t just offer courses. Student well-being is at the forefront. This takes on so many forms which includes counselling, tutoring, lunch & learns, nutrition programs, sports & clubs, foyer events, assemblies, guest speakers, field trips, and whole school events that bring the whole community together (grad, celebrations, talent show, year-end BBQ). Even during the COVID-19 challenges, we have continued to support our students in-person and remotely in both academic and social/emotional needs.
Some of our specialty programs include PSW (Personal Support Worker), Child Care Assistant, OYAP-Hairstyling, and Co-operative Education. Unique electives include Food & Nutrition (cooking), woodworking, green industries, Indigenous studies, equity/world cultures, fitness, business, computers, and visual arts. Specially designed ESL programming provides our new Canadians with both language and life skills. We do everything that we can to design a positive learning experience for all that leads to future success. There is something for everyone at Burnhamthorpe!
Burnhamthorpe CI (EdVance) – Our Story
Burnhamthorpe’s EdVance program is an alternative education program that utilizes a re-engagement strategy for students aged 18-20. (These students have previously left the regular high school system.) Many newcomers also join our program seeking an adult environment. The large majority of students enter our program with low credit accumulation and are pursuing their OSSD. Few of our students have seen success in their education. All of our students have, or have had obstacles to overcome that have affected and continue to affect their success. They deal with mental health issues, learning disabilities, legal issues, and battles with past negative experiences such as abuse. They often have children, or they work outside of school (sometimes full-time) to support their families. In general, they deal with many issues on a daily basis and are trying to juggle all of it including school. Building relationships has been the biggest factor to student success.
The majority of our programming is at the college/university level although all pathways are represented. About 20% of our students officially have IEPs but more receive support and accommodations. Our LOI is currently listed as 21. We operate under a quadmester model with 4 quads per year with three, 2 hour classes (periods) per day.
EdVance has a growing ELL population and our student body is very multi-cultural. Besides Canada, other top birth countries include Somalia, the U.S., Albania, India, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. For the EdVance population, Somali, Arabic, Albanian, Spanish, Filipino/Tagalog, and Tibetan are significant mother languages outside of English.
Many supports and student success strategies exist at the school to support students. Besides guidance counsellors, we have a CYW, a social worker, a settlement worker, and access to a school psychologist for monthly IST/SST meetings. Our Special Education resource room is a busy place where we have one half-time EA to support student learning especially in literacy, numeracy, and credit recovery. Our new leadership team consists of ACLs in Literacy, Numeracy, Technology across the curriculum & Equity, Student Success & Well-being, and Guidance & Special Education. All staff mentor students through a “Caring Adult” program.
The staff at Burnhamthorpe CI really come together to collaborate and support our at-risk students. They work together in teams and invite students in for academic support and counselling. Students know that they are cared for and will be accommodated so that they will be successful in their education plan. At our school, we truly believe in our students’ success.
If you have a story to share please email your idea or a sample to TheEtobicokeVoice@gmail.com
This week was busy news-wise and so I think that at this point we all need to take some time and enjoy a break if at all possible. I have so much to update you on election wise but that can wait until next week. I also have some new projects to talk as I mentioned earlier in the week but that is probably best left to a post of it own! I will connect with you all early next week and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
To all of you who are celebrating tonight, I wish you a very joyful Eid Mubarak!