In a letter to all parents of the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) catchment area, Larry Hope, director of education, says he has “no expectation that students will engage in any formal academic learning” before April 3.
The Trillium Lakelands District School Board has written to the minister of education, Stephen Lecce, about the unique challenges facing our local board in wake of provincial cuts to education.
The letter comes on the heels of an Advocate opinion piece that questioned why the local school board was not doing more to advocate on behalf of local students. For instance, a few Greater Toronto Area boards wrote letters directly to the minister to share their concerns.
TLDSB chair of the board, Bruce Reain, told the Advocate that TLDSB largely relies on the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA) to represent its interests.
These are tumultuous times in education in Ontario. Regular strike action from educators these past few months is drawing attention to the Conservative government’s plans for education, which involve larger class sizes, e-learning without clear regard for planning and internet infrastructure, and a suggested pay raise for educators far below inflation.
Education workers don’t much like the government’s plan; neither, apparently do parents.
Tomorrow educators in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, and Muskoka will participate in the first province wide strike ever involving members of AEFO, ETFO, OECTA, and OSSTF — all of the education unions in Ontario.
In all about 200 000 educators will be on strike and all public schools in Ontario will be closed for the day. This coordinated action comes as the Ontario Legislature returns from its winter break with no apparent movement on the education front.
All unions, all schools across Ontario are now bracing for a province-wide strike Friday Feb. 21.
All elementary and secondary teachers and education workers represented by the four major education unions in Ontario will take a stand against the Ford government’s education cuts and policies by participating in a one-day walkout across the province.
The Advocate asked Trillium Lakelands District School Board four questions in an email for clarity about the board’s decision to cancel all extracurricular activities. Catherine Shedden, district manager of corporate communications, responds. Keep Reading
The much-loved International Baccalaureate (IB) program at I.E. Weldon Secondary School is under increased scrutiny by the local school board because of cost-cutting.
Director of Education Larry Hope says his board has made a decision to cancel all extracurricular activities, blaming strike action — and TLDSB may be the only board in Ontario to do so.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has given the required five-day notice for Grand Erie, Trillium Lakelands, Renfrew and Superior-Greenstone school boards in anticipation of a one-day strike on Tuesday January 21.
Meanwhile Education Minister Stephen Lecce has offered compensation for families affected by the strike in terms of childcare costs.
In its first year in existence the Kawartha Lakes Concert Band performed two concerts. The first happened just three months after it formed; the second was for a sold-out audience at the Academy Theatre. “When the band participated in the Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival, it earned a mark of 93 per cent and went on to win top prize for community bands in province-wide competition. So, as the band prepares for “To All a Good Night,” the Dec. 14 concert that will kick off its second year, the question is, what’s responsible for this success?
Some good fortune for sure: Who knew 74 musicians would answer a call to join, or that there’d be such a good balance of brass, woodwind, and percussion players? (Show me another community band that has 14 clarinets — a core component, clarinets are the violins of a concert band — and two bass clarinets, or three tubas and six trombones).