News Brief from the Boardroom

Board Meeting
26 January 2010

This news brief is meant to provide the highlights of the decisions made at the Board meeting for the benefit of our community; the notes do not serve as the official record of the meeting..

Director’s Report

New Education Minister
Congratulations to our new Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky.
It was a pleasure to meet her at the Director’s portion of the meeting. Minister Dombrowsky's focus will be to lead our efforts in delivering full-day learning for 4- and 5-year olds, and also to further increase test scores and graduation rates.

Report on Budget Forum, 25 January 2010
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Budget Forum at the Confederation Education Centre last night. I feel it was a good opportunity for open discussions about our budget issues, and the input received was appreciated. Ken Andrews did a good job as facilitator for the evening. Some interesting comments and options were brought up and staff will be studying the various ideas.

Early Learning Program
Our 22 Early Learning program sites were approved by the Ministry of Education last week. A fact sheet on the new kindergarten initiative has been prepared for parents. Copies are being sent to all schools and are also available from the Communications Office. It's just in time for Kindergarten registration which starts next week. To assist new parents, we will be placing the kindergarten registration form on our website.

Important dates in February
We have some important dates coming up in February. Applications for cross-boundary transfers will be accepted from February 16 to 26 and registration for Middle and Late French Immersion will take place from the February 22 and 26.

District-wide Fundraiser $2 for Haiti
We have all heard the news about the devastation in Haiti following the earthquake two weeks ago. This week, we have launched a district-wide initiative to help earthquake survivors. Students and staff in all schools and offices have been invited to participate in the $2 for Haiti initiative. All funds collected will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross’s Haiti Earthquake Disaster Fund which will be matched dollar for dollar by the Canadian Government.

Capital Educators' Awards – Call for Nominations
Nominations are currently being accepted for the Capital Educators' Awards 2010. Anyone can nominate an educator - including parents, students, educators, and members of the general public. Award recipients are chosen based on demonstrated excellence in teaching, and acting as a positive role model and/or making a difference in someone’s life. The 9th Annual EduGala will be held at Algonquin College on May 20. Winners of the awards will be announced that evening. The deadline to submit a nomination is March 1st this year. Please check our website for a link to the online nomination form.

Chair’s ReportOPSBA Public Education Symposium
The Ontario Public School Boards' Association held its 2010 Public Education Symposium on January 21-23 in Toronto. Ten trustees were able to attend and we met the new Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky. In the Minister's opening remarks she mentioned how pleased she was to receive the education portfolio and expressed her intention to continue to work collaboratively with school boards across the province.

Nepean All-City Jazz Band Wins Award
Congratulations to Superintendent Neil Yorke-Slader for his excellent work as director of the Nepean All-City Jazz Band. The band received the Don Wright Award for Jazz Ensemble in the 2009 Performance Awards sponsored by the Canadian Music Educators' Association. The award was presented at the Association's annual conference in Toronto last November.

Rob Kapilow in Concert
The District's Extra-Curricular Creative Arts Program in conjunction with the Ottawa Chamber Music Society presents a concert by Rob Kapilow called, What Makes It Great? Rob has been called an educator, a motivational speaker, and game show host all rolled into one. He has a unique ability to make the classics accessible to everyone. The concert will be held at the Dominion Chalmers United Church at 355 Cooper Street on February 7th at 3 p.m. Please call 613-234-6306 for ticket information. The concert is free for children under 12.

Woodroffe High School Students Clean Up The Capital Award
Congratulations to Woodroffe High School students in the General Learning Program (GLP) and Dual Support Program (DSP). On January 20th, the Mayor and Councillor McRae thanked the students for participating in the 2009 Cleaning the Capital Campaign and for their commitment to volunteerism and community service. The students managed to clean up both Frank Ryan and Elmhurst parks. In addition, the senior General Learning class cleaned more than a dozen yards for seniors in the fall.

RECOMMENDATIONS APPROVED BY THE BOARD

Annual recognition of outstanding contributions by individuals, businesses and organizations in the community
A policy re outstanding contributions by individuals, businesses and organizations in the community will be developed to provide for recognition in the categories of school council service, volunteer service, and partnership support by a community business or organization, to augment or replace the current Chair’s Award and Community Award.

School start times for the 2010-2011 School Year
Following a study of the Barrhaven area for transportation efficiencies by the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority, the following school start times will be implemented for the 2010 – 2011 school year:

Staff will work closely with OC Transpo personnel to assist in identifying and seeking to resolve commuting concerns identified by parents at affected schools.

Long Term Financing
The Board approved the issuing of long term debt of up to $19.0 million, as long as there is no net cost to the Board. Staff was directed to make the necessary arrangements so that the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board can participate in the provincial loan agreement.

Continuation Meeting for Education Committee
The remaining agenda items from the January Education Committee will be discussed at a continuation meeting to be held February 1 at 7 p.m.

Staff Report 10-025, Input to the 2010-2011 Ministry of Education’s Grants for Student Needs and Fundraising, Corporate Partnerships and Fees Guidelines
The Board approved the general content of the submission on 2010-2011 GSNs with the addition of a section on the underfunding of transportation as well as the issue of immigrant needs including settlement, ESL, ELL, and ELD. The general content in the response to the Ministry survey on Fundraising, Corporate Partnerships and Fees Guidelines for Ontario School Boards was also approved.

Dissolving of French as a Second Language Ad Hoc Committee
The French as a Second Language Review Ad Hoc Committee was dissolved.

The meeting adjourned at 11:20 p.m.