IN THIS ISSUE

Early Learning Site List Revealed in HWDSB Top

HWDSB will be able to offer full-day early learning to as many as 884 students in higher needs areas thanks to details on Ontario’s new full-day Early Learning Program.

The Board schools to host full-day early learning starting in 2010-11 are Bennetto, Cathy Wever, Dr. J. Edgar Davey, King George, Parkdale, Pauline Johnson, Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, Richard Beasley, Roxborough Park and Sir Isaac Brock.

“I’m pleased that today’s announcement will bring early learning to so many of our students, and that the selection reflects our aim to support students in our high- and moderate-needs areas,” said Director of Education John Malloy.

HWDSB was allocated 34 classes for the 2010-11 school year, which will enable the Board to offer it to a maximum of 884 students, based on the average ratio of 26:1 across the system.

Selected by the province, this short-list was created after HWDSB submitted a list of schools that met challenging criteria. In total, there were 28 HWDSB schools with suitable space for the Early Learning Program that did not require renovations or additions.

Board criteria in its submission to the Ministry of Education included: The degree of need in a school; recent data on vulnerable children in the area; the impact on existing early-learning and child care providers; location of other Early Learning Program sites; and input from partner organizations.

“Our Board is proud to begin the implementation of full-day early learning as another way to offer innovative programming that meets the needs of our youngest learners,” said Board Chair Jessica Brennan.

Board Lends Equity Expertise to Other Boards Top

How should a school accommodate diverse students who fast for religious reasons? How does religious accommodation work for a Catholic school? How should a board deal with equity-related complaints?

These are among the many questions raised by Ontario boards as they work to develop an equity policy in time for the Ministry of Education deadline of September, 2010.

It’s a complex area requiring expertise – and HWDSB is among the experts. The Board is co-leading one of seven Equity and Inclusive Education Implementation Networks, to help boards through the process, after having worked for years on its own Equity Policy.

With Niagara Catholic District School Board, HWDSB is co-leading this professional learning in the London regional network. It follows the April 6, 2009 release of the ministry document Realizing the Promise of Diversity: Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy.

“This really is a feather in our cap because we were so far ahead,” explained Gail Belisario, principal of equity at HWDSB. “We are sharing what we have learned.”

HWDSB can now help others by sharing strategies and leadership on equity, public consultation, equity training and many other topics, she said.

On Feb. 25-26, HWDSB and NCDSB will co-host the London Region Equity and Inclusive Education Network Equity Conference in Niagara Falls. It will cover topics such as public consultation, religious accommodation, and host expert keynote speaker Blye Frank, a Dalhousie University professor.

Sweet-sounding Award for OP Music Teacher Top

Music teacher Wendy Young at Orchard Park secondary received some fanfare herself recently, when she won the People’s Choice Award for Music Teacher of the Year at the Hamilton Music Awards. It goes to a primary- or secondary-level teacher in Hamilton, and is voted on by online ballot.

“Wendy is a tremendous teacher.  Her commitment to kids is incredible.  She spends countless hours making sure that her music students are prepared and performing to the best of their abilities.  The entire Orchard Park community is very proud of her,” said OP Principal Marco Barzetti.

The nomination was done quietly, to surprise Young. “The people who nominated me wanted it to be a surprise and they got their wish because I didn’t know I had been nominated or that I had won until after the ceremony was over,” she explains.

So instead, Young received her award from some students, who attended the HMAs, at OP’s Christmas Evening Concert on Dec. 17. Her husband Dave Young has taught with her at OP since 1987, and is pictured here with his own award to mark the couple’s joint efforts.

On Jan. 8, Young celebrated the start of her 30th year as a music teacher at OP. “A lot has obviously happened during those years but I still love what I do,” she said.

She began as OP’s only music teacher, with three lines of music: Grade 9, Grade 10 and a combined class for grades 11, 12 and 13. Young also taught Grade 9 English, Grade 11 drama, and Grade 12 drama. “We taught all subjects everyday for 40 minutes each,” she recalls.

Now, OP has instrumental music for three sections of Grade 9, one Grade 10, one Grade 11, one Grade 12; a repertoire class; three keyboard classes; a stage band class; and a guitar class. Their concerts are known for incorporating drama, whether it is a fairy tale for elementary listeners or skits with a character-building message for older students.

Her bands have travelled to Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, New York City, Boston and Vermont “inspiring young people with their sense of fun, and acting as ambassadors for the study of music and its benefits. I think this is what graduates remember about their time in the Orchard Park Music Department.”

Students Ring In Olympic Torch Celebration Top

In addition to the seven HWDSB staff or students who served as Olympic torchbearers, HWDSB students got in the game last month as the Olympic torch arrived for a grand celebration at Dundurn Park.

The 45,000-kilometre torch route wound through the city Dec. 19 with a big party at Dundurn Castle with music by Tom Wilson, John Ellison, Jude Johnson and the Hamilton Youth Steel Orchestra. At least 12 schools participated in a rings project, making signature Olympic rings with their own unique design.

Also, the 40-member Hill Park Secondary School choir led by Janice Reese performed with soul legend John Ellison, who now lives in Dundas. Ellison is famous for his signature song She’s Some Kind of Wonderful. With the choir, he performed this much-covered hit, as well as Shout and O Canada. Students also had the honour of being on stage for the moment of truth – when the Olympic torch was brought on stage by Ron Foxcroft, and the cauldron was lit.

HWDSB program effectiveness consultants MaryAnne Gage and Sarah Goodman, among others, volunteered their time with the Olympic Ring – Wall of Pride project. Teachers also volunteered their time to drop off the rings from their schools, and former Olympians now teaching in HWDSB Mel LaForme and Sue Palmer-Komar were in a salute to some of Hamilton’s Olympians.

Schools that made rings included Mary Hopkins, Mount Albion, Dundana, Bennetto, Ridgemount, Eastmount, Pauline Johnson, Prince Phillip, Central, Strathcona, Roxborough Park, Elizabeth Bagshaw, AM Cunningham, MacNab and Lawfield.

Pictured here is one example of an Olympic ring, done in support of Canada’s Olympic athletes, as well as 2010 Olympic hockey referee MaryAnne Gage with Rousseau student Emma Pasian on the chilly celebration night.

Dr. Frank Returns to Address Equity for System Top

Noted speaker and equity advocate Dr. Blye Frank will hold a public forum on sexual orientation for all Board staff next month. A former teacher, Dr. Frank is among the leaders in the field of equity, and is a professor and director of faculty development in the division of medical education at Dalhousie University.

In March, Dr. Frank visited the Board for an all-day in-service on social class, white privilege, and power dynamics. He showed how teachers might use their privilege to control students: they may marginalize those who are different and thus seriously affect a student’s learning capability.

On Feb. 24, 2010, after presenting to equity leaders in HWDSB, he will give an afternoon workshop open to the entire HWDSB system. Titled Sexual Orientation: An Open Forum, it will provide practical strategies and approaches around equity implementation on sexual orientation. The Board has accepted the Equity Policy: Sexual Orientation Supporting Guidelines, and the draft Gender Equity guideline has completed its second round of public consultation.

Among the questions he’ll consider are: What are the best practices, age and developmentally appropriate teaching and learning strategies to address the topic of sexual orientation? What are best practices in all accepted subject matter that reflects a balance of perspectives and includes a diversity of experiences including those of LGBTQ communities? What information, skills, resources are needed to teach, work, and learn from a perspective that is free from heterosexism and homophobia?

The Equity Workshop, open to the system, is 4-6 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Courtyard Marriott at Upper James.

New School Coming…Time to Give it a Name Top

We want your help! Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s newest school is seeking public input in selecting its new name. The school, the former Dr. Davey, is scheduled to welcome students in September 2010.

“The commencement of the building of the new school on the Dr. Davey site has been awaited with anticipation for some time. Not only will there be a new school with double the gym capacity of the previous one on the site, but an adjoining new city community centre as well. Both will be valuable assets for the Beasley neighborhood,” said Judith Bishop, trustee for wards one and two.

In considering the naming of schools, submissions may be based on the following criteria: after persons prominent locally, provincially or nationally, retaining historical names used in the locality, after historical events or after geographic connections.

Superintendent of Education Patrick Rocco says the new schools in HWDSB are wonders of technology that benefit students while also increasing community use. “Lots of natural light, open spaces, modern libraries,” Rocco said, listing new school features. “These are modernized facilities that have parenting centres and very large gymnasiums.”

Submissions, including rationale for the name of both schools, must be received by Monday, February 8th, 2010. To submit a name, contact HWDSB Corporate Communications, 100 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8P 1H6 or info@hwdsb.on.ca.

Virtual Views: A Welcome Message for Today’s MLK Event Top

It is an honour to welcome students, staff and the broader community to today’s event, Keeping the Dream Alive: A Tribute to the Life and Message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the realm of education, it’s clear that there are values that cannot be learned through repetition, memorization and the old methods that once filled Hamilton’s classrooms. Values must be felt, as well as understood.

That is why it is so encouraging to see the rich schedule of events for today’s celebration of the life and message of Dr. King. The day promises to move us with words, with music and with a message that transcends place and time.

Dr. King’s life may have been rooted in a historical period – as we all are. He certainly is famous for his speeches and leadership that served as a light for the African-American civil rights movement.

But Dr. King’s message – of positive, equitable social change through nonviolent means – remains universal. It is one that applies as much to the struggles of today as to the challenges faced in his own time.

Respect, empathy, care, acceptance, courage: these are all qualities that Dr. King embodied. He was also a student of non-violent social change, a Baptist preacher who visited India to learn from the followers of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. King encouraged peaceful social change, in his contemporaries, as well as of those who continue to feel his inspiration.

Yes, racial discrimination is still a stain on our society. But it today it goes far beyond black and white. Injustice itself goes beyond the colour of person’s skin. We know that injustice can be just as easily felt due to a person’s gender, or their sexual orientation, their abilities or their religion.

Enjoy today’s performances for the incredible talents they showcase and the amazing tribute they represent. And remember that, while Dr. King’s life may have ceased 42 year ago, his dream for all of us continues.

John Malloy
Director of Education, HWDSB

Ken Bain
Associate Director of Education, HWDSB
Executive Producer, Keeping the Dream Alive

Jessica Brennan
Chair of the Board of Trustees, HWDSB