TDSB Trustee Anu Sriskandarajah
School board expands music enrichment program
Additional Music Programs
Starting this school year, the TDSB has expanded its IMI enrichment program to include 17 new schools. As a result, more than 1,200 new students will have access to the program. The expansion of the program is the result of a review of the distribution of IMI hours, which found that some schools had a disproportionately high allocation of hours, while others had none. The IMI program is an enhanced program and the TDSB is one of the few school boards in the GTA that funds it.
IMIs support but do not replace elementary teachers who deliver the arts component of the provincially mandated curriculum. The new IMI hours will support strings at nine schools, band at four schools and steel pan at four schools. From the 17 schools across the Board, Scarborough-Rouge Park has been able to get additional music supports at two of our schools!
First Indigenous Student Trustee
Clarity M. Smoke, a Grade 9 Anishnaabe student from Monarch Park Collegiate Institute, has taken her seat as the first-ever Toronto District School Board Indigenous Student Trustee. Clarity has been actively involved in raising awareness of Indigenous history and culture within post-secondary institutions, political agencies and community organizations.
Throughout the school year, Clarity is an active member of the Toronto Indigenous Youth Council as part of her advocacy in the Toronto area. While in this position, she would love to introduce more Indigenous knowledge into the education curriculum as well as provide more voices like hers to be heard when dealing with racial issues and situations.
Director’s Annual Report 2019
The Director’s Annual Report for the Toronto District School Board was released on December 11. See the report at: tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Director-of-Education/Annual-Reports.
TCDSB Trustee Garry Tanuan
Online registration for new students
New student registration for all Toronto Catholic District School Board elementary schools began on January 15. Parents/guardians with children born in 2016 or earlier enrolling in kindergarten may apply online using the “Student Online Admission and Registration” platform known as S.O.A.R. found at the following link: soar.tcdsb.org.
Here is a list of the documents required for registering your child: birth certificate; passport/immigration documents (if the child was not born in Canada); Catholic baptismal certificate (or proof of parent’s Catholicity or RCIA/RCIC letter); proof of residency in Toronto; and immunization record.
For specific questions relating to admissions and registration, please call 416-222-8282 ext. 5320 or ext. 2383. Should you require information about French Immersion or Extended French, contact the FSL department at 416-222-8282 ext. 2540.
African Canadian Heritage Month
On February 20 at 10 a.m., Francis Libermann Secondary School will welcome guest speaker Bernice Carnegie, daughter of historical figure Herbert Carnegie, the first African Canadian hockey player in the 1940s and ’50s.
Bernice’s story shows how we can embrace our diverse cultures, adapting to new experiences and encouraging an atmosphere of harmony in which we take responsibility for building more caring communities. Bernice’s talk will be held in the school cafetorium and the community is welcome to attend.
I invite you to visit the TCDSB website for more information and events happening throughout the year at www.tcdsb.org. Students are encouraged to visit the student section of the website for information about youth employment & volunteer opportunities, scholarships, bursaries, awards and contests.