Author: ebsac

Labour Update

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Earl Beatty classes are cancelled for Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7.

For the most recent information about the ongoing ETFO labour updates and how they impact TDSB schools such as Earl Beatty, please visit:

Update from the ETFO – January 27

If central agreements are not reached by January 31, ETFO will escalate its rotating strikes as follows:

February 6: One-day strike of all 83,000 ETFO members.

February 7: One-day strikes in Algoma, Greater Essex County, Hamilton-Wentworth, Limestone, Niagara, Toronto, Toronto Catholic, Waterloo and York Region school boards as well as Bloorview, John McGivney Children’s Centre, KidsAbility,Moosonee, Moose Factory and Niagara Peninsula Children’s Centre school authorities.

Read the full news release.

Update from the TDSB – January 27

Today, ETFO announced that if no agreement is reached by January 31, ETFO members will be required to engage in a one-day rotating strike and a one-day full provincial strike each week.

ETFO has announced strikes on the following dates that will impact all TDSB elementary schools (JK-8):

  • Thursday, February 6, 2020 – province-wide strike
  • Friday, February 7, 2020 – rotating strike impacting the TDSB

Should the strikes take place, the TDSB would, once again, have no other option but to close all elementary schools to students on Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7 as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians should start making alternate arrangements for their children on these dates.

Child care centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open. Please contact the child care provider directly for more information.

Read the full news release.

Beatty Buddies Daycare Open During Monday’s Strike

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Child care programs located in schools are confirmed to have access to the child care space for their regular hours.

Beatty Buddies Daycare will be offering full day care to all of our children, including our Kindergarten children and School Aged children from 7:30 am until 6:00 pm.

Children enrolled in before and after care programs must bring their packed lunches and afternoon snacks will be available from Beatty Buddies. The full day daily fee rate for the Kindergarten and School Aged children during a labour disruption will be invoiced during this time.

As announced by the Minister of Education, the government is launching Support for Parents, an initiative that will provide financial support to parents of eligible children for each day of school that is missed on account of the labour disruption. Parents with children attending school-based child care centres that are closed on account of the labour disruption will also be able to receive support.

More details about this financial support can be found on the Ontario Ministry of Education website and parents Helpline at 888-444-3770.

Labour Update

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For the most recent information about the ongoing ETFO labour updates and how they impact TDSB schools such as Earl Beatty, please visit:

Update from the ETFO – January 15

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has given the required five-day notice for Toronto, York Region and Ottawa-Carleton school boards in anticipation of a one-day strike on Monday January 20th. Unless government representatives get serious about reaching a deal by this Friday, ETFO will commence rotating strikes next week.

Read the full news release.

Update from the TDSB – January 15

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has announced today that […] its members will conduct a one-day walkout (full withdrawal of services) at a number of school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, on Monday, January 20, 2020.

Should the walkout take place, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all elementary schools (JK to 8) […] Childcare centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open.

Read the full news release.

Update from Beatty Buddies Daycare – January 15

If school boards determine that their school buildings will remain open, child care programs located in schools will have access to the child care space. However, it may be possible that child care centres may have to operate under reduced hours.

With respect to Beatty Buddies Daycare programs, should there be a labour disruption by TDSB, we will be offering full day care to all of our children, including our Kindergarten children and School Aged children, on the premise that our school building remains open. Before and After School children will continue to bring their packed lunches and afternoon snacks will be available from Beatty Buddies.

Full day daily fee rate for the Kindergarten and School Aged children during a labour disruption will be invoiced during this time.

IMPORTANT: Should the TDSB make the decision to close their school buildings, Beatty Buddies Daycare programs will cease to operate on the day of disruption. We will send out information as soon as we are informed by the Toronto District School Board and or Principal by Himama.

As announced today by the Minister of Education, the government is launching Support for Parents, an initiative that will provide financial support to parents of eligible children for each day of school that is missed on account of the labour disruption. Parents with children attending school-based child care centres that are closed on account of the labour disruption will also be able to receive support.

More details about this financial support can be found on the Ontario Ministry of Education website and parents Helpline at 888-444-3770.

Family Games Night – January 21

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Snacks! Games! Community! Join us in the lunchroom Tuesday, January 21 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. for a fun, free family games night. This night is always a hit and the kids love playing games with their family and friends. Bring your whole family, play our games and eat our snacks or bring your own snacks (must be nut-free).

Volunteers are still needed. Please email ebsacinfo@gmail.com.

Update on Elementary Teachers of Toronto Bargaining

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EBSAC is passing along the following message from Earl Beatty’s teachers:

AT THE BARGAINING TABLE TEACHERS ARE FIGHTING FOR:

  • Maintaining the current kindergarten model with a teacher and ECE in each class
  • Smaller class sizes for kindergarten and grades 4-8
  • Additional special education teachers
  • Additional teachers to support Indigenous students, English language learners, and at-risk students
  • Additional supports for the successful integration of students

AT THE BARGAINING TABLE THE GOVERNMENT IS:

  • Refusing to commit to the existing kindergarten model
  • Demanding the removal of class size protections for Kindergarten, and junior and intermediate classes
  • Refusing to renew special education funding
  • Refusing to deal with rising violence in the classroom

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION BY:

1. Contacting your local MPP (Toronto-Danforth: Peter Tabuns and Beaches-East York: Rima Berns-McGown) and asking them to reverse the cuts and invest in education
2. Contacting Doug Ford: doug.fordco@pc.ola.org or 416-325-1941
3. Contacting Education Minister Stephen Lecce: stephen.lecce@pc.ola.org or 416-325-2600
4. Sharing your stories via email to ett@ett.on.ca about how cuts have affected your child/child’s school
5. Visiting ETFO’s Building Better Schools website for updates and information @ BuildingBetterSchools.ca
6. Supporting teachers and the education system with any other upcoming actions

TEACHERS APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AS WE FIGHT FOR THE SCHOOLS OUR STUDENTS AND YOUR CHILDREN DESERVE.
THANK YOU!

December Fundraising at Earl Beatty

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We know there are a lot of asks in December from work, school and sports teams. The following is a list of fundraising activities going on at Earl Beatty during the month of December so you and your family can plan how you would like to give of your time and money this holiday season.

Be a Santa to a Senior (cash and in-kind donations) Deadline:  Thursday, December 5

Hosted by teachers and staff, each classroom will be given a senior in the GTA who they can support with in-kind donations such as socks and chocolates, or with cash donations which the teacher will use to purchase items on that senior’s wish list. For a list of items, please ask your child’s teacher. For more information visit: https://www.beasantatoasenior.com/

YWOTM Donation Box (cash and in-kind donations) Deadline: Friday, December 6

Hosted by Young Women on the Move (an Earl Beatty student committee), donations will be accepted for local women and children’s shelters in the GTA. New items such as toys, baby items, clothing and food are all welcomed.

Bake Sale (Cash and volunteer bakers) Deadline: Wednesday, December 11 Moved to January 16

Hosted by Student Council, the bake sale will raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to donate nut-free baked goods and each student is encouraged to bring a toonie to buy treats.

Dance-a-thon (asking for cash donations) Deadline: Thursday, December 19

Hosted by EBSAC, the dance-a-thon is an annual fundraiser in support of classroom improvements. Kids will dance away in the gymnasium on Dec 19 with the goal of raising $5,600 ($200 for each classroom) to spend on academic achievement. In the past these funds have paid for things such as Scientist in School, art supplies, STEM equipment and field trips. All funds raised beyond $5,600 will be anonymously donated to a local school in our district who does not have the capacity to fundraise at the same level as Earl Beatty.

Giving Tree (in-kind donation) Deadline: Thursday, December 19

The Giving Tree has been set up in the office and anyone is encouraged to bring in new socks, underwear, hats and mitts for donation to a local shelter.

EQAO Assessment Results

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Read Earl Beatty’s full EQAO School Report

Beginning in 1996, Ontario students in grades 3 and 6 have written in-class tests designed by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an arm’s-length agency of the provincial government. Testing takes place every Fall and includes literacy and mathematics.

EQAO testing is mandatory. Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Act states that all students in publicly funded schools must participate in these tests. Students don’t need to study—they are simply asked to demonstrate what they already know.

The purpose of EQAO tests is to ensure that there is accountability between school boards and schools in the publicly funded system in Ontario. Educational accountability is important to three key stakeholders: taxpayers, elected officials and teachers.

The grades 3 and 6 tests do not count as part of a student’s mark and do not affect their progress or future opportunities in school.

Earl Beatty’s EQAO Results

Earl Beatty had 57 French immersion and English students in grade 3 write the grade 3 EQAO math assessment. They scored above Board and provincial results. The grade 3 reading and writing was only written by the 23 English students who again scored above Board and provincial results.

Earl Beatty only had 10 English students do the grade 6 EQAO testing. The EB administration has said that they feel that the sample is so small that the data is meaningless.

One of the foci Earl Beatty has around achievement is working on further developing their math programs. They have had professional development around instruction and assessment. Earl Beatty is closely monitoring student success and are proud of how well our students have done.

Visit the EQAO website for Earl Beatty’s full EQAO School Report .

2019 Family Survey Results

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Every Fall EBSAC asks the Earl Beatty community to fill out a survey that will inform our fundraising and project efforts for the following school year. This year, the survey was open from October 15-28, 2019. The survey link was sent to families via our EBSAC email subscriber list, through Earl Beatty’s Friday Flash email and was advertised on our Facebook page and website earlbeatty.ca.

We asked respondents a total of 16 questions on a variety of topics, including what subject areas they would like ideas for supporting their children at home (e.g. math), how they would like to receive support (e.g. newsletter) and what we should focus our fundraising efforts on (e.g. digital fluency skills). The survey took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Executive Summary

  • 125 survey responses were received from Earl Beatty parents representing approximately 170 students
  • Responses roughly corresponded to the distribution of students in the school population (JK/SK: 51 responses; grades 1-3: 74 responses; grades 4-6: 43 responses; grades 7-8: 4 responses)

Feedback about EBSAC Meetings

  • Only a minority of parents attend EBSAC meetings on a regular basis: The majority of respondents have never attended or rarely attend EBSAC meetings (75%)
  • Families suggested strategies to improve accessibility of meetings, which are currently being developed/implemented:
    • Improving access to and turn-around time of Meeting Agendas and Minutes
    • Alternating weeknights for meetings
    • Livestreaming meetings
    • Providing free childcare, dinner (typically pizza), and healthy snacks (e.g. fruit)
  • Families identified specific topics for discussion at EBSAC meetings, including:
    • Current and upcoming school events and activities (e.g. drills, policies, fun Fridays)
    • Facilities and infrastructure updates (e.g. renovations and maintenance)
    • Future planning for Earl Beatty (e.g. teaching and administration staff goals)
    • Curriculum and teaching strategies
    • Safety
    • Supporting less fortunate schools      

Feedback about Educational Opportunities for Families

  • Families would prefer to receive education about supporting their children through Workshops and an EBSAC Newsletter
  • Families would prefer educational workshops to be held Monday to Thursdays evenings
  • Families identified specific topics for educational opportunities, including:
    • Ideas for supporting reading, writing and mathematics
    • Well-being, staying connected to your children and digital safety
    • Families’ lowest priorities for education opportunities are in performing and visual arts, and physical education

Feedback about Fundraising

  • Fundraising priorities matched families’ priorities for educational opportunities (i.e. math and literacy)
  • Families identified other key fundraising priorities, including:
    • Capital improvements of outdoor space and library
    • Supporting teacher projects and activities
    • Field trips
    • Community building: Fostering a sense of belonging and safety among student population

News and Updates from the TDSB

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Parent-Teacher Interview Tips
Earl Beatty parent-teacher interviews take place this year on November 14 and 15. Your child’s teacher has or will be in touch regarding available times. The TDSB has prepared a Successful Parent-Teacher Interviews tip sheet to assist parents in getting the most out of the interview process.

TDSB’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) is holding a school council conference on Saturday, November 16. 
School council members and families are invited to join the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee for a day of knowledge exchange, council capacity building and networking. This event is free for all TDSB parents. Visit the TDSB site for workshop descriptions  and to register. As of yesterday, there were about 50 spots left for parent registrants. If you’d like to attend and be a part of a “TTC caravan” travelling together, email ebsacinfo@gmail.com.

Consultation – Secondary Program Review and Optional Attendance Policy
The TDSB is undertaking a review of secondary schools to ensure all students have equitable access to programs and opportunities, as close to home as possible. As part of this review, the Board is also reviewing the Optional Attendance Policy (P013), which allows students to apply to schools other than their designated school by home address. A public consultation process for both will begin this month. For more information, including public meeting dates and ways to provide feedback, please visit the TDSB webpage for Secondary Program Review.

Early French Immersion Parent/Guardian Information Sessions 
This year, there will be two virtual (online webchat) information sessions for parents/guardians interested in the Early French Immersion (SK entry) application process. For more information on dates/times for each virtual online webchat session, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/French website or click on Early French Information Sessions.