Hello Everyone,
Here are some great videos created by catholic students.
Anna da Silva Trustee Wards 1, 3, & 4 A Strong Voice for Catholic Education
Monday, January 14, 2013
You Tube Video Contest - Videos created by our students on CATHOLIC EDUCATION
Hello Everyone,
Here are some great videos created by catholic students.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Support Catholic Education
Hello Everyone,
A Hamilton publication (Hamilton Community News) is also hosting a survey on the question of support for public funding of separate schools.
We realize you may be busy with various priorities this afternoon, but your online support can make a difference. The results from surveys like this can be used to negatively influence public opinion regarding Catholic schools. If you can, please visit http://www.hamiltonnews.com/community/hamilton-mountain/ to view the survey (see lower left column) and indicate your support for the continued public funding of separate schools.
Another an online survey regarding the merger of school systems that is currently on the front page of the Kincardine Independent newspaper’s digital issue. This is the region of the province where the Bluewater DSB has passed a motion for the merger of the Catholic and public school systems.
You are encouraged to visit the newspaper’s website at http://www.independent.on.ca/site/ to make known your opposition to the merger of Catholic and public school boards.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anna da Silva
Friday, October 19, 2012
Survey on the Food & Beverage Policy
Hello Everyone,
The province wants to hear from you about the new food and beverage policy. Attached is the article and link to the survey if you wish to participate.
The province wants to hear from you about the new food and beverage policy. Attached is the article and link to the survey if you wish to participate.
Parents, the province wants to hear from
you!
The Ontario
Healthy Kids Panel is conducting a survey. They want to know what you
think the barriers are to raising healthy children, what your perceptions are
of childhood obesity and how you think we could help children maintain
healthy weights.
The Healthy Kids Panel was appointed by Ontario’s Minister of
Health and Long-term Care to come up with a strategy to reduce childhood
obesity by 20% in five years, and they are surveying people with any children
under the age of 18 in their care.
The survey is strictly confidential and just takes 15 minutes to
fill in. It is available in French or English. Just
click here. The survey closes on Monday November 12, 2012.
To
find out more about the Healthy Kids Panel, or to make a submission, click
here.
|
|
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Religous Freedom being Attacked
Ontario Education Minister: Catholic schools can’t teach abortion is wrong - that’s ‘misogyny’
TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In what pro-life leaders are calling a stunning and unprecedented attack on religious freedom, Ontario’s Education Minister has apparently declared that Catholic schools can no longer teach that abortion is wrong.
Laurel
Broten, who serves under Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, said
Wednesday that Catholic schools are barred from teaching this core moral
belief because Bill 13, the government’s controversial “anti-bullying” law, prohibits “misogyny.”
“Taking away a woman’s right to choose could arguably be considered one of the most misogynistic actions that one could take,” she told the Canadian Press. “I don’t think there is a conflict between choosing Catholic education for your children and supporting a woman’s right to choose.”
Bill 13 had already been slammed by Ontario’s bishops as an attack on religious freedom because it forces Catholic schools to allow “gay-straight alliance” clubs.
“This is absolutely unbelievable and shocking,” said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition. ”The rights of the Catholic schools are protected in Canada’s Constitution. Especially coming from somebody who’s a purported Catholic with her children in Catholic schools.”
Contact Information:
Tim Hudak, Opposition Leader
19 Duncan Street
Suite 401
Toronto, ON M5H 3H1
Phone: 416-861-0020
Toll-free: 1-800-903-6453
Fax: 416-861-9593
Email: tim.hudakco@pc.ola.org
Lisa MacLeod, Education Critic
Email: lisa.macleod@pc.ola.org
Tel: 416-325-6351 Fax 416-325-6364
Address: Room 451, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A8
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Email: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Phone: 416-325-1941
Laurel Broten, Ontario Minister of Education
900 Bay Street, 14th Floor, Mowat Block
Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Phone: 416-325-2600
Fax: 416-325-6348
Email: Use this online form.
Most Rev. Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto
President of Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario
1155 Yonge Street
Toronto (ON) M4T 1W2
Tel: (416) 934-3400 #609
Fax: (416) 934-3452
E-mail: archbishop@archtoronto.org
“Taking away a woman’s right to choose could arguably be considered one of the most misogynistic actions that one could take,” she told the Canadian Press. “I don’t think there is a conflict between choosing Catholic education for your children and supporting a woman’s right to choose.”
Bill 13 had already been slammed by Ontario’s bishops as an attack on religious freedom because it forces Catholic schools to allow “gay-straight alliance” clubs.
“This is absolutely unbelievable and shocking,” said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition. ”The rights of the Catholic schools are protected in Canada’s Constitution. Especially coming from somebody who’s a purported Catholic with her children in Catholic schools.”
Contact Information:
Tim Hudak, Opposition Leader
19 Duncan Street
Suite 401
Toronto, ON M5H 3H1
Phone: 416-861-0020
Toll-free: 1-800-903-6453
Fax: 416-861-9593
Email: tim.hudakco@pc.ola.org
Lisa MacLeod, Education Critic
Email: lisa.macleod@pc.ola.org
Tel: 416-325-6351 Fax 416-325-6364
Address: Room 451, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A8
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Email: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Phone: 416-325-1941
Laurel Broten, Ontario Minister of Education
900 Bay Street, 14th Floor, Mowat Block
Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Phone: 416-325-2600
Fax: 416-325-6348
Email: Use this online form.
Most Rev. Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto
President of Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario
1155 Yonge Street
Toronto (ON) M4T 1W2
Tel: (416) 934-3400 #609
Fax: (416) 934-3452
E-mail: archbishop@archtoronto.org
Food Allergies
Food allergies take a bite out of schools
Published on Friday October 05, 2012
Patty Winsa
Urban Affairs Reporter
Schools shouldn’t ban any food outright, including, in some instances, peanuts, says a founder of an advocacy group for people with allergies.
“You find some parents, and you find some schools and teachers, want to ban everything because that’s easy,” says Marilyn Allen, whose 15-year
-old daughter Robyn Lyn died in 1990 after a severe allergic reaction to peanuts.
Allen, who helped start Anaphylaxis Canada, recently consulted with the Dufferin-Catholic school board on whether to restrict fundraising pizza
sales because of milk allergies.
“What about the child that would be severely allergic to kiwi. You’re not going to ban every single food. It’s not possible,” says Allen. “You want to
take a balanced approach on everything and look at the unique situation.”
Anaphylaxis Canada is an advocacy group that provides information on allergies and holds free public workshops. Since 2001, the registered
charity has given more than $1 million to research.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic board has said it will allow individual schools to decide if the pizza lunches can continue. Schools will still have milk in
vending machines and kids can bring dairy products in lunches.
Dairy allergies are higher in young children than peanut allergies and both can cause the same life-threatening severe allergic or anaphylactic
reaction when ingested.
According to a 2008-09 Canadian study co-authored by McGill and McMaster researchers, 2.2 per cent of children under 18 reported dairy
allergies, compared to 1.7 per cent with peanut allergies.
“We are very focused on peanut and tree nuts, but a milk allergy can be very dangerous and you don’t ban milk, right,” says Moshe Ben-Shoshan,
an allergist immunologist at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
In Western countries, dairy is third behind peanuts and tree nuts in a list of foods associated with the most severe allergic reactions in children,
says Ben-Shoshan. In other parts of the world, dairy is either first or third. Children can grow out of milk allergies, which shouldn’t be confused
with lactose intolerance, by the age of 5.
Ben-Shoshan and Allen both say a ban is not the answer.
“You have to educate people and when avoidance issues should be taken, you deal with it on an as-needed basis,” says Allen. “Some families are
very comfortable with it being eliminated from a particular classroom. Some families are quite comfortable with it being in the classroom but the
child being in a separate area.”
School boards across Ontario have policies to deal with food allergies, the result of Sabrina’s Law, which was passed in 2006. Sabrina Shannon
died during her first year of high school in 2003 after eating French fries contaminated with dairy.
The act allows for schools and boards to create individual strategies that range from hand-washing and getting kids to eat at separate tables to
making schools peanut free.
“What’s important is that each individual school and board work with their community to find reasonable solutions to keep students safe,” says
Gary Wheeler, an education ministry spokesperson.
Ben-Shoshan says studies show there are still reactions in schools with peanut-free policies and “awareness is more important than completely
trying to punish or avoid peanuts at school.”
Food allergies have increased substantially during the last decade and 8 per cent of Canadians reported having one in the 2008-09 study, says co
-author Ben-Shoshan.
The American Academy of Pediatrics used to advise mothers with children at risk of developing allergies to wait until their children were 3 to
introduce peanuts. But AAP changed its policy after allergy rates increased due to avoidance and mothers are now told to start introducing foods
earlier.
Ben-Shoshan recently treated a girl who collapsed after trying a store sample of a cookie that contained nuts. She was afraid to use her EpiPen
because it had expired.
Print Article Page 1 of 2
http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/1267739 10/9/2012
“I don’t believe you can completely ban stuff,” says Ben-Shoshan. “It’s more important to be aware of what is hidden or what is incorporating these
potential allergens so a child knows not to expose himself to that danger.”
At the Dufferin-Peel board, principals and school communities will decide the fate of the popular fundraisers.
“At the end of the day, if a school wants to have a pizza day, and there are students at that school who are known to have allergies, the school will
seek to put an accommodation in place,” wrote board spokesperson Bruce Campbell in an email. “If no accommodation can be found, student
health and safety certainly trumps any amount of funds that might be raised.”
Print Article Page 2 of 2
http://
Published on Friday October 05, 2012
Patty Winsa
Urban Affairs Reporter
Schools shouldn’t ban any food outright, including, in some instances, peanuts, says a founder of an advocacy group for people with allergies.
“You find some parents, and you find some schools and teachers, want to ban everything because that’s easy,” says Marilyn Allen, whose 15-year
-old daughter Robyn Lyn died in 1990 after a severe allergic reaction to peanuts.
Allen, who helped start Anaphylaxis Canada, recently consulted with the Dufferin-Catholic school board on whether to restrict fundraising pizza
sales because of milk allergies.
“What about the child that would be severely allergic to kiwi. You’re not going to ban every single food. It’s not possible,” says Allen. “You want to
take a balanced approach on everything and look at the unique situation.”
Anaphylaxis Canada is an advocacy group that provides information on allergies and holds free public workshops. Since 2001, the registered
charity has given more than $1 million to research.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic board has said it will allow individual schools to decide if the pizza lunches can continue. Schools will still have milk in
vending machines and kids can bring dairy products in lunches.
Dairy allergies are higher in young children than peanut allergies and both can cause the same life-threatening severe allergic or anaphylactic
reaction when ingested.
According to a 2008-09 Canadian study co-authored by McGill and McMaster researchers, 2.2 per cent of children under 18 reported dairy
allergies, compared to 1.7 per cent with peanut allergies.
“We are very focused on peanut and tree nuts, but a milk allergy can be very dangerous and you don’t ban milk, right,” says Moshe Ben-Shoshan,
an allergist immunologist at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
In Western countries, dairy is third behind peanuts and tree nuts in a list of foods associated with the most severe allergic reactions in children,
says Ben-Shoshan. In other parts of the world, dairy is either first or third. Children can grow out of milk allergies, which shouldn’t be confused
with lactose intolerance, by the age of 5.
Ben-Shoshan and Allen both say a ban is not the answer.
“You have to educate people and when avoidance issues should be taken, you deal with it on an as-needed basis,” says Allen. “Some families are
very comfortable with it being eliminated from a particular classroom. Some families are quite comfortable with it being in the classroom but the
child being in a separate area.”
School boards across Ontario have policies to deal with food allergies, the result of Sabrina’s Law, which was passed in 2006. Sabrina Shannon
died during her first year of high school in 2003 after eating French fries contaminated with dairy.
The act allows for schools and boards to create individual strategies that range from hand-washing and getting kids to eat at separate tables to
making schools peanut free.
“What’s important is that each individual school and board work with their community to find reasonable solutions to keep students safe,” says
Gary Wheeler, an education ministry spokesperson.
Ben-Shoshan says studies show there are still reactions in schools with peanut-free policies and “awareness is more important than completely
trying to punish or avoid peanuts at school.”
Food allergies have increased substantially during the last decade and 8 per cent of Canadians reported having one in the 2008-09 study, says co
-author Ben-Shoshan.
The American Academy of Pediatrics used to advise mothers with children at risk of developing allergies to wait until their children were 3 to
introduce peanuts. But AAP changed its policy after allergy rates increased due to avoidance and mothers are now told to start introducing foods
earlier.
Ben-Shoshan recently treated a girl who collapsed after trying a store sample of a cookie that contained nuts. She was afraid to use her EpiPen
because it had expired.
Print Article Page 1 of 2
http://www.thestar.com/printarticle/1267739 10/9/2012
“I don’t believe you can completely ban stuff,” says Ben-Shoshan. “It’s more important to be aware of what is hidden or what is incorporating these
potential allergens so a child knows not to expose himself to that danger.”
At the Dufferin-Peel board, principals and school communities will decide the fate of the popular fundraisers.
“At the end of the day, if a school wants to have a pizza day, and there are students at that school who are known to have allergies, the school will
seek to put an accommodation in place,” wrote board spokesperson Bruce Campbell in an email. “If no accommodation can be found, student
health and safety certainly trumps any amount of funds that might be raised.”
Print Article Page 2 of 2
http://
Board Asks for Statement of Support from Minister
Peel’s Catholic school board trustees want
Ontario’s education minister to issue a public
statement demonstrating the government’s
faith in the ability of local school boards to
deliver as educators and employers.
At the last Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board’s regular public meeting, trustees
approved a resolution calling on Education
Minister Laurel Broten and provincial politicians
to publicly declare confidence in Ontario’s
school boards.
Since the Liberal government signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the
province’s Catholic school teachers, local
Catholic school trustees have expressed
disappointment with the actions being taken by
Queen’s Park on the education labour front.
Trustees believe the agreement— which
imposes wage freezes and some restrictions on
the way boards hire teachers and assess
students— has tied the hands of boards as
employers and administrators.
Trustees appear slighted that they were not
consulted before the deal was signed and feel
the local collective bargaining process, under
the Ontario Labour Relations Act, was circumvented by the government.
“The rights of democratically elected trustees were usurped by the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding by the Minister of Education in July 2012,” trustees charged in their resolution.
Board members said the memorandum has had a negative impact on relationships within the education sector.
Negotiations between the board and its teachers is currently ongoing, but not without some tension. Under the
government’s Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, contract negotiations between Ontario school boards and
teachers have to be completed by Dec. 31 or the legislation will essentially set the terms of new contracts for
them and prevent any strike or lockout action.
“Be it resolved that the Minister of Education and all elected members of provincial parliament publicly
demonstrate their support for the roles, rights and responsibilities of local school boards in Ontario as they exist
in both the Education Act and the Ontario Labour Relations Act,” the resolution concluded.
Trustees are asking the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) and other Catholic boards across
the province to support the resolution.
This article is for personal use only courtesy of BramptonGuardian.com - a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Ontario’s education minister to issue a public
statement demonstrating the government’s
faith in the ability of local school boards to
deliver as educators and employers.
At the last Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board’s regular public meeting, trustees
approved a resolution calling on Education
Minister Laurel Broten and provincial politicians
to publicly declare confidence in Ontario’s
school boards.
Since the Liberal government signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the
province’s Catholic school teachers, local
Catholic school trustees have expressed
disappointment with the actions being taken by
Queen’s Park on the education labour front.
Trustees believe the agreement— which
imposes wage freezes and some restrictions on
the way boards hire teachers and assess
students— has tied the hands of boards as
employers and administrators.
Trustees appear slighted that they were not
consulted before the deal was signed and feel
the local collective bargaining process, under
the Ontario Labour Relations Act, was circumvented by the government.
“The rights of democratically elected trustees were usurped by the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding by the Minister of Education in July 2012,” trustees charged in their resolution.
Board members said the memorandum has had a negative impact on relationships within the education sector.
Negotiations between the board and its teachers is currently ongoing, but not without some tension. Under the
government’s Bill 115, Putting Students First Act, contract negotiations between Ontario school boards and
teachers have to be completed by Dec. 31 or the legislation will essentially set the terms of new contracts for
them and prevent any strike or lockout action.
“Be it resolved that the Minister of Education and all elected members of provincial parliament publicly
demonstrate their support for the roles, rights and responsibilities of local school boards in Ontario as they exist
in both the Education Act and the Ontario Labour Relations Act,” the resolution concluded.
Trustees are asking the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) and other Catholic boards across
the province to support the resolution.
This article is for personal use only courtesy of BramptonGuardian.com - a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Letter to Staff from our Board
Letter to staff from our board. For your review.
An Open Letter to All Dufferin-Peel Staff
On the Passage of Bill 115
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 1
September 11, 2012
Dear Dufferin‐Peel Staff Member:
Let me begin by thanking all staff for a successful opening week to the 2012‐13 school year. This is
often a challenging time, as we all adjust to getting back to business after the summer break. Schools
are open, children are learning, and we are all doing our best to make the Dufferin‐Peel educational
experience a great one for our students and families.
Today, the Ontario legislature approved the passage of Bill 115, the Putting Students First Act. We
remain extremely disappointed and concerned with both the process through which this law was
created and the negative impact it will have on this Board in the future. The Board’s Contract
Negotiations Committee has approved a motion that the Board withdraw from the conciliation
process, effective immediately, and move to local bargaining on the remaining issues that were not
legislated, in accordance with the new law.
On September 7, the Board submitted a written brief to the Standing Committee on Social Policy at
Queen’s Park, registering its grave concerns with the manner in which the provincial Government
disregarded local school board governance in an effort to make political gains. Our concerns, in this
regard, are well documented and have been communicated to staff previously.
We recognize the economic realities in which we all must operate, but we are also gravely
disappointed in the government’s approach to collective bargaining, where it choose to circumvent
traditional collective bargaining processes and rights that had worked well in the past. At the very
least, it remains highly irregular that the province negotiated directly with the representatives of
employees; employees who are employed by school boards, not the province. We do not believe
that economic issues should be used as an excuse to trample on human rights, the long‐held rights
of workers to bargain and our Church’s social justice teachings on the dignity of labour. Other union
groups and associations have already indicated that they will launch a court challenge related to
charter rights on these points in the very near future.
An Open Letter to all staff on the Passage of Bill 115
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 2
As trustees, we took an oath to defend Catholic education and to provide a strong, vibrant
educational system to our community. As a Board, we have always taken a principled stand on issues
we believe to be worth standing up for. We are proud of our record, in this regard. We remain
opposed to the legislation, which effectively puts Catholic boards and public boards on inequitable
footings and weakens the collective bargaining process for all employees.
Nevertheless, we will abide by the law and move forward, seeking to bargain on the remaining local
issues with our employee groups, as identified in the new legislation.
Sincerely,
Mario Pascucci
Chair of the Board
Copies:
Anna da Silva, Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 1,3 & 4
Linda Zanella (Vice Chair), Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 2, 5 & 6
Scott McLauchlan, Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 7‐10
Frank Di Cosola, Trustee ‐ Caledon/Dufferin
Mario Pascucci (Chair), Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 1 & 3
Sharon Hobin, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 2 & 8
Anna Abbruscato, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 4
Thomas Thomas, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 5
Peter Ferreira, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 6 & 11
Bruno Iannicca, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 7
Esther O'Toole, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 9 & 10
John B. Kostoff, Director of Education
Ralph Borrelli, Associate Director‐Instructional Services
John Hrajnik, Associate Director‐Financial Services and Chief Financial Officer
An Open Letter to All Dufferin-Peel Staff
On the Passage of Bill 115
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 1
September 11, 2012
Dear Dufferin‐Peel Staff Member:
Let me begin by thanking all staff for a successful opening week to the 2012‐13 school year. This is
often a challenging time, as we all adjust to getting back to business after the summer break. Schools
are open, children are learning, and we are all doing our best to make the Dufferin‐Peel educational
experience a great one for our students and families.
Today, the Ontario legislature approved the passage of Bill 115, the Putting Students First Act. We
remain extremely disappointed and concerned with both the process through which this law was
created and the negative impact it will have on this Board in the future. The Board’s Contract
Negotiations Committee has approved a motion that the Board withdraw from the conciliation
process, effective immediately, and move to local bargaining on the remaining issues that were not
legislated, in accordance with the new law.
On September 7, the Board submitted a written brief to the Standing Committee on Social Policy at
Queen’s Park, registering its grave concerns with the manner in which the provincial Government
disregarded local school board governance in an effort to make political gains. Our concerns, in this
regard, are well documented and have been communicated to staff previously.
We recognize the economic realities in which we all must operate, but we are also gravely
disappointed in the government’s approach to collective bargaining, where it choose to circumvent
traditional collective bargaining processes and rights that had worked well in the past. At the very
least, it remains highly irregular that the province negotiated directly with the representatives of
employees; employees who are employed by school boards, not the province. We do not believe
that economic issues should be used as an excuse to trample on human rights, the long‐held rights
of workers to bargain and our Church’s social justice teachings on the dignity of labour. Other union
groups and associations have already indicated that they will launch a court challenge related to
charter rights on these points in the very near future.
An Open Letter to all staff on the Passage of Bill 115
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board 2
As trustees, we took an oath to defend Catholic education and to provide a strong, vibrant
educational system to our community. As a Board, we have always taken a principled stand on issues
we believe to be worth standing up for. We are proud of our record, in this regard. We remain
opposed to the legislation, which effectively puts Catholic boards and public boards on inequitable
footings and weakens the collective bargaining process for all employees.
Nevertheless, we will abide by the law and move forward, seeking to bargain on the remaining local
issues with our employee groups, as identified in the new legislation.
Sincerely,
Mario Pascucci
Chair of the Board
Copies:
Anna da Silva, Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 1,3 & 4
Linda Zanella (Vice Chair), Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 2, 5 & 6
Scott McLauchlan, Trustee ‐ Brampton Wards 7‐10
Frank Di Cosola, Trustee ‐ Caledon/Dufferin
Mario Pascucci (Chair), Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 1 & 3
Sharon Hobin, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 2 & 8
Anna Abbruscato, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 4
Thomas Thomas, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 5
Peter Ferreira, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 6 & 11
Bruno Iannicca, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Ward 7
Esther O'Toole, Trustee ‐ Mississauga Wards 9 & 10
John B. Kostoff, Director of Education
Ralph Borrelli, Associate Director‐Instructional Services
John Hrajnik, Associate Director‐Financial Services and Chief Financial Officer
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