Ward 3 Parents is now on Facebook

the Ward 3 Essential School Community Blog has migrated to Facebook find us @TDSBWard3Community
Follow the page, invite your friends.
TDSB Ward 3 PIAC Rep, Felicia Seto-Lau & TDSB Ward 3 Ward Council SAC Rep, Christy Heath are the admins for this page.
Please post your school and community news and events.
Looking forward to seeing you on Facebook,
Felicia & Christy

Ready Set Engage! Conference Registration now open!

Registration is now live for the PIAC Conference!
TDSB's Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) invites all TDSB parents/guardians to take part in our 12th Annual Parent Involvement Makes a Difference Conference READY - SET - ENGAGE.
Please join us for an opportunity to make connections with other parents/guardians and communities while participating in informative and empowering workshops on a wide range of topics related to parenting, student learning, and school councils.

FREE registration includes light breakfast, lunch, childminding, translation services, transportation, workshops, keynote address, and informational marketplace.
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Earl Haig, 100 Princess Ave, North York, ON
M2N 3R7 ( 5 mins walk from the North York subway station)
Child-minding, Interpretation and busing will be available through online registration only.

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/tdsbs-parent-involvement-advisory-committee-17508417977

PRO Grant Update

The below is from the TDSB school councils FB discussion group. The response is from the Ministry to a question about PRO grant funding.
"
Thank you for your question regarding the status of the 2018-2019 Parents Reaching Out (PRO) grants. Applicants will be advised as soon as decisions are made. As you may be aware, to ensure strong fiscal viability and accountability the government is currently reviewing all Ministry programs across Ontario.

Thank you again for your interest in PRO Grants and for all that you do to enhance parent engagement in Ontario’s schools.

Regards,

The PRO Team "

Early French Immersion Info Session

Early French Immersion (SK Entry) Parent/Guardian Info Evening 2018

Early French Immersion (SK entry) Parent/Guardian Information evenings will once again be held at specific secondary schools across the system.

These sessions will be hosted by the French as a Second Language Department rather than each individual French Immersion school site. 

• The secondary schools have been selected to ensure reasonable access across the system (location/parking/TTC where possible) 
• There will be 9 separate dates to choose from, including an online session 
• A variety of staff representatives will be invited to be on hand to answer parent questions about the program, placement, transportation, child care, special education etc.

All meetings start at 7 p.m. The local and online meetings for Etobicoke Lakeshore are as follows:

Etobicoke CI - Nov. 1, 2018
86 Montgomery Road

Online Session - Nov. 7, 2018
(7 p.m. – 8 p.m.)

PIAC Coffee Chat

Join Felicia Seto-Lau, Ward 3 Parent Involvement Advisory Committee Representative, for the first in a series of Coffee Chats with Watd 3 Parents & Guardians.

Tuesday September 25th 9:30-10:30am

Sidenote Cafe & More 

2461 Lake Shore Blvd. West, Etobicoke 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/felicia-seto-lau-ward-3-piac-rep-coffee-meet-tickets-50469736340?utm_term=eventurl_text

Ward 3 PIAC Rep Survey

Dear Ward 3 Parents, 

Another school year is ahead of us! The first school council meetings will be held this month as well as the first PIAC meeting on Tue Sep 25, 7pm. There are a few topics that are upcoming for review at the TDSB. As PIAC rep I would love to hear your thoughts on the importance of these topics to you and your children. 

Please answer this very short, 6 question, anonymous survey monkey by Sep 24 so I may prepare for the PIAC meeting on Sep 25.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PN2XLV8S

Thank you in advance and look forward to hearing from you!

Felicia Seto-Lau

Ward 3 PIAC Rep

SLOW for Mimico

To all Ward 3 parents,

There is a free event hosted in Mimico called SLOW for Mimico! A Family Traffic Safety Event. It is open to all and is in response to the accident involving Joshawn and other near misses in the Mimico neighbourhood but obviously traffic issues are not limited to the Mimico area. Please RSVP at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/slow-for-mimico-2018-block-party-tickets-49441328344

No Eventbrite account is required.

Thanks. 

Felicia Seto-Lau

Ward 3 PIAC Rep

SLOW FOR MIMICO!

A Family Traffic Safety Awareness Event.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

12PM – 4PM

55 STATION ROAD (next to Stanley Avenue Park)

Join us for a kid's entertainment, BBQ and a chance to mingle with your neighbours and talk traffic issues in the Mimico neighbourhood.

Several members of the community have been working together, to bring forth resolution to the ongoing issues around speeding and car accidents right here in our neighbourhood. Let's all do our part to educate our children and learn how to create safer streets as a community. 

You can look forward to:

Live Performances (aimed at educating kids)

Music

Arts & Crafts

BBQ, Sweet Treats and Beverages

RAFFLE

This event is organized and funded by 

Realtor Michael Majeski and the "This is Mimico" Real Estate Team.

O: 647-351-3425 C: 416-988-3425

New Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) Representative needed for Ward 3

Hello fellow Ward 3 parents. Request from Felicia Seto-Lau , one of the your Ward 3 PIAC (Parent Involvement Advisory Committee) reps.  Dear parents,  We wish to thank Trevor Burnett for representing Ward 3 as PIAC rep for the past two years! Trevor’s term is coming to an end and we need another parent voice advising, advocating for and sharing the importance of parent and community engagement and involvement in our schools to the Board of Education and the TDSB.  What is PIAC?  My description of PIAC is: A group of diverse and caring parents who: (a) are engaged in their community and child(ren)’s school and; (b) want to learn and work together with other TDSB parents and community groups to improve student achievement and well being. The official terms and mandate of PIAC (Parent Involvement Advisory Committee) is found below as well as a quick FAQ.  It is enriching and enjoyable to interact with other members of PIAC! Making connections with other parents throughout the city and learning how they are engaging and involving parents and the community in our schools to improve achievement and student well being is very rewarding.  Please consider joining me in representing our Ward. As always, I welcome your questions regarding parent involvement that you wish for me to bring to PIAC.  Reach me at mamafaves@hotmail.com  Thanks,  Felicia Seto-Lau  From the PIAC by-laws:  The mandate of PIAC is prescribed by the Education Act, Ontario Regulation 612/00 School Councils and Parent Involvement Committees, Last Amendment O. Reg. 330/10.  The purpose of a parent involvement committee is to support, encourage and enhance parent engagement at the board level in order to improve student achievement and well- being. O. Reg. 330/10, s. 6.  Role and Responsibilities of PIAC  PIAC shall achieve its purpose by:  (a) providing information and advice on parent engagement to the board;  (b) communicating with and supporting school councils of schools of the board; and (c) undertaking activities to help parents of pupils of the board support their children’s  learning at home and at school. O. Reg. 330/10, s. 6  Any rules to being a PIAC rep?  The PIAC bylaws state that a member shall be a parent of a pupil who is enrolled in a school of the TDSB, and includes a guardian as defined in section 1 of the Education Act. A member may be an employee of the TDSB but must declare that at each meeting and excuse yourself in case of any conflicts of interest.  What is the time commitment?  Well it depends on your availability and interests. Committee Meetings are monthly at the TDSB head office at 5050 Yonge St on the third Tuesday. Dinner is provided if you RSVP for the meeting. One Ward 3 rep needs to attend and vote each month on agenda items. There are sub-committees which meet depending on what concerns are close at hand or have deadlines. PIAC reps also provide a paragraph report to the Trustee for Ward Meetings.

New Ward Boundaries for TDSB

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/News/Article-Details/ArtMID/474/ArticleID/1231/TDSB-Approves-New-Trustee-Ward-Boundaries

Get Ready for School! Check out all the resources the TDSB has to offer.

TDSB Website

Go Fund Me Page for David Hornell Student

Help make JoShawn Smile

Making the PRO Grant Work for Your School - Patricia Bulley and Lisa MacDonald

Making the PRO Grant Work for Your School - Patricia Bulley and Lisa MacDonald

We have participated in the process of applying for PRO (Parents Reaching Out) GRANTS since 2011.  This Ministry grant is a fantastic initiative that helps school councils to reach out and engage their parent community. 

Receiving a PRO Grant offers schools the financial support to provide resources and gives the parent council the opportunity to address critical issues within their community.  It's great how each school can apply for what is essential and relevant to that individual school community. 

These grants help to bring parents together and assists in addressing extremely important topics such as: mental health, healthy living, internet safety, understanding money, dealing with bullying and more. 

It has been our experience that the best way to engage parents is by including the children. 

Inviting parents and children to the same event or having something for the children in the day to get the children talking about the topic, and then hosting something for the parents in the evening are options to consider.  

We decide on what to apply for based on community needs. Each year we discuss our school need at our council meetings, realizing that not everyone can make it to the meetings, we reach out to the greater community by sending out a survey.  Once the data is collected we decide on what to apply for.

There are a number of service-based organizations that provide excellent programming that can be funded using the PRO Grant.  In the past we have assisted in organizing successful outreach using: 

• Cent$ible Students http://www.centsiblestudents.ca/contact.html

• Arts Express http://www.artsexpress.ca

• SCREENAGERS  https://www.screenagersmovie.com/find-a-screening/

Toronto District School Board partners can be found at https://pims.tdsb.on.ca/Home.aspx/OurPartners. Some of these organizations may be appropriate for a PRO Grant submission.

The PRO Grant is also fairly flexible. A school council can “build” their own PRO Grant event ie. for wellness events that feature nutrition, cooking, yoga or even a family game night.

Many councils may be intimidated by the idea of writing a PRO Grant submission.  The format is very simple and user-friendly. At the time of submission you need to know the basic WHAT, HOW and WHY, but they only require one or two sentences for each category. Any school who has successfully completed a PRO Grant would likely be willing to share their template of the application – we certainly would!

The Dad Workshop by Trevor Burnett

The Dad Workshop

Norseman JMS PRO Grant by Valerie Light

LOVE PRO GRANTS!

This December from 630-830, Norseman Junior Middle School hosted a successful screening of the documentary film entitled SCREENAGERS. The evening was a success in part due to the informative and realistic movie content and to the structure of the evening. The evening itself was made possible due to the PRO GRANT funding we received, which clearly outlined how and where the funds could be used. We wanted to make attending this event, as easy as possible for parents.  It was simple: register online and attend for free!  Pizza, clementines and baby-sitting (for students too young to view the film) were available and free for all.  

This event was visibly publicized by displaying posters throughout the school and in local community centers and shops. Additionally, as the students viewed this film at school, parents could easily discuss it and empower their children to make positive online choices.

After viewing the film, parents had a chance to discuss the content and suggested solutions contained in the film with other parents. As Delaney presented her experiences in a raw and vulnerable way, it facilitated an ease of discussion amongst parents. It connected our school community further, as concerted parents and also provided a hopeful way forward.  Parents were able to share their comments with the larger group, if they desired and they received a door prize for voicing their views.

Obtaining a PRO GRANT was a simple process of filling out an online form. When a question arose, I there was a number to call, with a live person at the other end who found the answer I required!

We are grateful this funding exists! Looking forward to the next PRO GRANT event!

PIAC Survey-Best Practices for Parent Consultation

Best Practices for Parent Consultation Survey

Ontario Active School Travel

Ontario Active School Travel

School Councils & School Cash Online

Currently there are 2 options:

1)   Consolidating all of the school’s and school council’s online transactions through the school’s one school generated funds bank account:

§  Currently all school councils are welcome to post their items through the school’s school cash online account.  

§  The office secretary would be able to post the items on behalf of school council and provide detailed reports to the school council on how much is collected.

§  The office secretary can also help issue payments that correspond to those collections, and also benefit from HST rebates through the system (10.84% of the transactions). This way all inflows and outflows are tracked through one system, and the school council bank account will no longer be needed. Reconciliations will be done at the school level and parents will no longer have to do any record keeping or submit PSAB reports for the separate accounts at year end.

§  If the school council still wants to maintain their own bank account, then the school can also redirect proceeds to the school council via cheque payment.

2)   School Councils to utilize the school cash online for posting of items only while maintaining their own bank account:

-   The office secretary can post the items on behalf of school councils, but direct all inflows to the school council bank account. We will need a copy of the school council account’s void cheque to conduct a penny test for the funds transfer.

-   The office secretary would provide detailed reports to the school council on how much is collected.

-   The school council will issue the payments from their own bank account, and manage their own bank reconciliations and year end PSAB reporting. There will be no HST rebates earned by the school, if the payments are not processed through the school cash online system.

All school councils can utilize the school cash online system for posting and reporting purposes. However, this must be done through the school office. 

KEV Group does have a separate add-on module that can potentially allow parents and teachers to log on and pull the reports themselves. However, we have not yet considered this for roll out because of the high costs associated with this module, as well as privacy concerns with parents obtaining access to student information (name, classroom, grade, student #). We are reviewing parent feedback to determine whether it is worthwhile to purchase after some customization. We currently have about 350 schools on School cash online, and still have over 230 schools that have not yet implemented the system. So if we do purchase this module, it would be after full implementation in 2018-19.

Also, the online donation module is currently available to all schools regardless of whether they are on the system. Link to the site: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/457/153/false/true . Parent councils are welcome to advertise this link when fundraising for their school, so that the donors (anyone in the public) can donate and get a tax receipt for their donations immediately at check out.

If you have other questions, feel free to contact me directly. I would love to hear from the group and see how we can improve in this area.

Winter Walk to School Day

http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/WWD2018-General-Poster-EN.pdf

Tackling Anxiety and Stress through Arts and Mindfulness

This Arts Express Program has just been brought to our attention and is a great resource for PRO Grant Projects!
Arts Express TASAM

They Call Me Mr. Books

They Call Me Mr. Books… by Trevor Burnett SAC Co-chair and Ward 3 PIAC Representative

This past year I have been volunteering in my son’s kindergarten class.  The kids call me Mr. B, I tell them “Mr. B for Books!”  I can say without question that is has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.  I have yet to meet a child that was not excited to sit and read for me and with me.  Each student is unique in terms of how they read and it is so fascinating to observe.  

The single most important thing that I have learned from these little readers, is that it is less important how ‘well’ they read as much as how much they love books.  As long as they enjoy the experience of reading it will be more likely that they will want to become avid readers irrespective of their ability to pronounce words or finish every page.  The goal as the acronym goes is to B.E.A.R (Be Enthusiastic About Reading).

Here are Mr. B’s five compelling facts to ponder the next time you read with your child:

Fact 1:  Reading builds school readiness…

Reading is one of the easiest ways to increase school readiness. When you read to your child, you’re building their vocabulary, language and literacy skills, while improving concentration, curiosity and memory. 

Books are a great way to teach children how to handle new experiences and stressful situations. Stories can help children understand, talk about and deal with everything from starting a new school to the loss of a pet.  Watch the video below to learn more about how reading builds comprehension and critical thinking skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_RReFPSYJM

Fact 2:  A recent Harvard study concluded…

One particular research spanned a year and measured the impact that parents reading had upon their children.  The study leader, Dr. Elisabeth Duursma, found that girls in particular benefitted more when read to by a male. “The impact is huge – particularly if dads start reading to kids under the age of two,” explains Duursma. “Reading is seen as a female activity and kids seem to be more tuned in when their dad reads to them – it’s special.”

While the study highlighted the positive influence dads reading has upon girls, previous research also shows how doing the bedtime read is one of the strongest forms of ‘bonding’ between fathers and sons.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11895432/Bedtime-stories-its-better-if-dad-reads-them.html

Fact 3:  Reading and mindfulness go hand in hand…

Reading calms your child, especially when he/she is fretful and restless.  It promotes a longer attention span, which is an important skill for your kid to be able to concentrate.  Enter mindful reading, whether it be a child or parent, it takes practice and it is radically different from forcing the reader to getting through each sentence or cramming in information. 

Mindful reading slows down the reader as well as the reading and that alone changes the experience. It is a process of quiet reflection that requires mindful attentiveness, letting go of distracting thoughts and opinions to be fully in the moment with the text. It moves the reader into a calm awareness, allowing for a more profound experience and understanding.

Fact 4:  Books build empathy…

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, say that fiction tricks our brains into thinking we are part of the story. The empathy we feel for characters wires our brains to have the same sensitivity towards real people. Carnegie Mellon University studies discovered that when you get lost in a book your brain lives through the characters at a neurological level.

Unlike watching the television, reading allows people to develop their theory of mind. Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states to a character or situation. When reading, the reader is forced to do this, whereastelevision does the work for them. Improving theory of mind can enhance a person's sense of empathy.

Fact 5:  Book worms can become social butterflies…

Most of the time we label readers as introverts, but reading is a great opportunity for social interaction.  At school or at a library story hour, books can bring children together and can be part of a positive shared experience, similar to book clubs for adults. 

For some preschoolers this may be their primary opportunity to socialize and to learn how to behave around other children or how to sit quietly for a group activity.  It is an opportunity for children to share their thoughts on what was read or even mentor their younger siblings or classmates who may need a little extra encouragement.