OPENING OF THE NEW SCARBOROUGH LIBRARY
Myself and Councillor Glen DeBaeremaeker are looking forward to
the new library being built in our Ward.
This new Toronto Public Library branch will be adjacent to the
south side of the Scarborough Civic Centre and easily accessible
by public transit. The branch will replace a bookmobile stop
currently located at the Scarborough Town Centre. This new
library branch is expected to open in Fall 2014.
Photo credit: LGA Architectural Partners/Phillip H. Carter
Architects in Joint Venture
Smith
David
ESL
Students of Mrs. Mack’s Winston Churchhill
CI ESL class expressed interest in obtaining
more information on Canada. As you are
all aware, I am a proud Canadian and was
delighted to share my passion with our ESL
students. After getting the call, I met with
our ESL students and presented them each
with a Canada Pin of their own, along with
their very own Canadian Flag to fly.
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TruCentre, Ward 19
STUDENT SUPPORTS BREAKFAST/
SNACK NUTRITION PROGRAMS
TDSB runs three nutrition programs catering to 140,000 students,
which are also offered in all Ward 19 schools. I am very pleased to
have the ‘Breakfast Program’, ‘Snack Program’ and the ‘Beyond 3:30
Program’ in Ward 19, Scarborough Centre. Nutrition plays a key role
in all our lives. To achieve success we need to have a balanced meal.
SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIRS & CO CHAIRS 2ND
ANNUAL BRUNCH
‘Beyond 3:30’ is an innovative after-school program that keeps over
1200 middle school kids in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods safe and
positively engaged from 3:30-6:30 p.m. every school day. Activities
include Homework Club, Junior Chef’s Club, Visual Arts, Drama and
Music, Sports and much more.
Beyond 3:30 programs in Ward 19:
• Charles Gordon Sr. PS
• Tecumseh Sr. PS
WARD 19 CAR WASH FUNDRAISER
The Hadden Family
Last year, the Hadden Family
Foundation made a three year
commitment of $600,000 and followed
up again this year with an additional $
150,000 to an extensive list of Torontoarea schools, many of which reside
right here in Ward 19. Their generous
donation largely goes to support the
multi year student breakfast and nutrition program called ‘Feeding Hungry
Minds’ and the ‘Beyond 3:30’ TFSS initiative for over 40 lucky schools.
Woburn Robotic team having
Lunch with the Trustees @ Mandarin
Restaurant, October 26/2013
TRUSTEE SMITH GEARING UP FOR TREE PLANTING
Earlier I mentioned my desire to ensure that our green spaces are
maintained. I’m excited to announce my Tree Planting initiative
for this coming Spring. I’m welcoming all volunteers eager to join
in and help plant trees in Ward 19 to come help grow our green
space. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me at
[email protected] or call 416-397-3104 or 416-396-7576
to have your name added to the list.
TRUSTEE DAVID SMITH AWARDS
This year, two teachers from each school in Ward 19 will be awarded
the Trustee David Smith Award. This is a new award initiative of
mine, designed to recognize those educators who have gone above
and beyond the call of duty. As I make the rounds of all the Ward 19
schools, often I am struck by the enthusiasm and innovative ways
our teachers bring subject matter and extra curriculum interests to
our youth. It is very rewarding to share in your success.
WINTER 2014 NEWSLETTER
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES SUPPORTED BY THE TORONTO FOUNDATION FOR STUDENT SUCCESS (TFSS) & PARTNERS IN WARD 19
On December 14th I was pleased to hold my second annual School
Council Chairs & Co Chairs Brunch at the Scarborough Civic Centre
in room 3&4. This brunch gives me a chance to thank all those who
dedicate their time and energy to Ward 19 Schools throughout the
year. Each and every one of you are special, and I was pleased to
award everyone with my Trustee David Smith Award of Recognition.
Good food and prizes rounded out a fun afternoon.
‘Detailing Knights’ would like to help schools within the Toronto
District School Board facilitate a car wash fundraiser during the
school year. This opportunity will not only offer a chance for schools
to raise money but also allow their students to be exposed to a
social enterprise and learn the benefits of being an entrepreneur.
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Scarbo
The Nutrition Standard for Toronto Student Nutrition Programs is built
on Canada’s Food Guide. What is Canada’s Food Guide? Canada’s
Food Guide is a guide to help all Canadians make wise food choices.
The Food Guide tells you about healthy foods in each of the four food
groups, serving sizes for the different foods, and the total number of
servings from each of the four food groups to eat each day.
Glenn Hadden grew up in Scarborough and now lives in New York City. Together with his family, they want to help children in their community. One important piece is that they like to fund programs that have the
potential for greater sustainability. For example, if a school requests a
stove so that they can cook more food instead of ordering packaged
foods, they will make cost savings in the future. It is a remarkable gift that
the Hadden family has bestowed on our students and on their behalf,
I wish to thank the Hadden Family Foundation for their generosity in
helping. Many of our students will realize their full potential and move
on to productive and influential lives themselves.
The TFSS Emergency Fund
The TFSS Emergency Fund was set up to assist children and youth
with immediate support in emergency situations. It could be a warm
coat, a pair of shoes with no holes, food,or any other essential items
that will help a student in need.
School staff know their students’ needs best so any principal, teacher or
professional support services staff member can apply for emergency funds
up to a maximum of $500 per student. Emergency Fund grants are made
possible with the help of our donors and school fundraising. When the funds
are entirely spent, the grants stop until additional dollars are raised. During
the last school year over $35,000 was distributed to students in need.
Schools in Ward 19 that applied for and received Emergency Funds
for their students:
• David and Mary Thomson CI
• Golf Road Jr. PS
• Maryvale PS
• Tecumseh Sr. PS
• Winston Churchill CI
Dear Constituents,
W
arm New Year greetings to you all. As we’ve come to the end of the first term
of our school year, 2013-2014, we have had a lot of real positive work being
completed by our senior staff, teachers, stakeholders, students and others.
We have just appointed a new Director to our Board, Ms. Donna Quan. She
has been instrumental in this role by providing more openness, more transparency and
accountability of the way we provide education to our children. This I believe will continue
to provide better direction and guidance for student achievement and success.
II’m happy to announce that with the hard work of our curriculum leaders, teachers and superintendents,
Scarborough Centre, Ward 19 has outperformed the entire Board in the EQAO standardized Ontario
testing. Specifically, we have been recognized - for the very first time - as showing the greatest increase
in achievement within the Toronto District School Board(TDSB). We continue to strive to keep these
excellent standards by making all routine stops to our schools. We want to continue to build on this
outstanding success. I’ve had many discussions with my superintendents about how we can work
together to keep this as our benchmark going forward, and repeat this success in the next testing cycle.
In my last newsletter, I announced the construction of a new library at 140/150 Borough Drive,
attached to the Scarborough Civic Centre. I am happy to say that this project is now in full swing
and set o be completed in November, 2014. In addition, the new school that will replace David
and Mary Thomson and Bendale BTI will start construction in the 2nd quarter of 2014. We are
currently pending approval of the site plan, which should be completed in February. We’ve had
a number of meetings involving the community with regards to the site plan and there have been
some discussions as to what they would like to see their community look like. I’m pleased to
inform you that the architects and designers of the site plan have gone back to the drawing board
to make adjustments to meet the needs and specs of the community as best as they can.
I’m also pleased to announce that we have now fully outfitted all of our schools with adequate
seating for our children that stay over the lunch period so that they are no longer sitting on the
floors in the gym as they once did. We continue to work with Toronto Foundation for Student
Success and all other providers of nutritional programs to ensure that our children are having
healthy snacks before and after school.
Lastly, I have worked very diligently with senior staff and other Trustees to stave off any sale of our
green space in Ward 19. I will continue to do that vigorously to ensure that our school’s green
spaces stay in place for not only our children of today, but our future generation of students.
Come this spring, I will be hosting a tree planting session to help revitalize areas lacking trees, in
order to create and preserve more of our green space.
On behalf of myself and my staff, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year.
Thank you,
David Smith
UPCOMING EVENTS, 2014
• Trustee David Smith’s Black History
Month Celebration: February 11,
2014 - 6: 30 p.m. – 8: 30 p.m. Scarborough Civic Centre in Council
Chambers
• Ward 19, Trustee David Smith
Valentine’s Tea: February14, 2014 –
7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Scarborough
Civic Centre – Room 3 & 4
• Family Day: February 17, 2014
• Trustee David Smith’s June Ward
Forum: Knob Hill P.S
• Mid-Winter Break: March 10 to 14,
2014 (inclusive) Have a safe and
enjoyable break.
• Trustee David Smith’s Ward Forum:
April 24, 2014 at John McCrae
6:30 p.m. -8 : 30 p.m.
• Good Friday: April 18, 2014
• Easter Monday: April 21, 2014
• Trustee David Smith’s Budget Forum:
June 2014 TBD
• Trustee David Smith’s Ward Forum:
June 2014 @ Ironview P.S
• 4th annual Fun Fair: June 21, 2014 at
Churchill Heights P.S
• 3rd Volunteer Tea: June 28, 2014 at
Scarborough Civic Centre 2 p.m. Room 3&4
TRUSTEE SMITH MEETING WITH
SUPERINTENDENTS CHASTY AND PERSAUD
TO DISCUSS 2013 / 2014 SCHOOL YEAR PLAN
In early September, I met with my superintendents to discuss a
strategy for the 2013/14 school year. We talked about focusing
on numeracy and literacy, specifically in the area of math with
our grade 2 and grade 5 students, to prepare them in the
most effective way for the EQAO testing. We also looked at
better ways to prepare structured after-school programming
in enrichment. We’ve looked at teachers’ engagement to
ensure that no child is left behind; we’ve discussed community
participation, parents, students and other stakeholder
participation in school; we’ve had discussions about school
being the community hub, and we’ve had discussions about
students taking more trips to gain more hands-on knowledge
of practical real life situations, understanding how products
come to market from start to finish.
CARPENTERS TRAINING
Happy Holiday Greetings and Best Wishes to all Scarborough
Centre and Scarborough Guildwood Constituencies, from
Trustee David Smith, Hon.MPP Brad Duguid, Councillor
Glen De Baeremaeker, Hon.MP John McKay, and MPP
Mitzie Hunter. Your elected members are working together
in building better and stronger communities in Scarborough.
Happy New Year!
BUDGET
TDSB budget committee is currently working on the
2014/2015 school year budget, both on the capital and
operation sides. Parents, Students, Caregivers, Community
groups and other Stakeholder can now express and share
their concerns, in the process of how we can effectively use
our tax dollars in program and services; to help increase and
promote our students success. Please feel free to e-mail
my office with your concerns, at [email protected].
I would like to thank the TDSB Skilled
Trades for the outstanding work they
are doing with our students. Myself,
Trustee Chen, Trustee Sam and
Superintendent of Schools, Manon
Gardner had the privilege of visiting
two sites on October 29th and were
blown away by the students’ work. I
can assure you that the young men
and women I saw will be equipped and ready to take on any
challenges in the work-force, upon completion of their course.
STUDENT SAFETY &
SECURITY
I’m happy to announce that new
front door buzzers and cameras
are now in place at all Ward 19
elementary schools, increasing the
safety for all of our children.
VOLUNTEERING – WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
LEONARD BRAITHWAITE PROGRAM
SCHOOLS UPDATES:
Last October, I visited the Leonard Braithwaite Program
for an exciting opportunity to speak with the two teachers
along with the 18 students enrolled in the program.
The Leonard Braithwaite program was introduced for the
first time at the secondary school level in Canada this year
at Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute. The program offers
grade nine students the opportunity to learn through an
Africentric lens for their core courses, while still being part of
the broader Winston Churchill C.I. community. The courses
are designated as academic in order to provide students
with the most choice for future pathways. I was pleased to
see our students full engaged and enjoying their classes.
John McCrae School Improvement
TRUSTEE SCHOOL VISITS
Greater Focus on Academics
During the first half of the school year, I visited over 20
schools, including Scarborough Village, Cedarbrook Public
School, Bellemere, Woburn Public School and Woburn
Collegiate Institute. As I toured around the Ward, I was
able to see some noticeable changes, including a reduction
in both suspension rates (down 30% compared to last
year) and incidents of bullying. I want to thank all staff and
students for their sensitivity and diligence in this regard.
Let’s keep up the good work that allows our students to
flourish academically.
COMMENCEMENTS
November was a busy month as our high school graduates
returned for commencement. It was a fantastic experience
to see the number of graduates and Ontario scholars cross
the floor and receive their diplomas, and I was thrilled to
see that many of our young students outperformed in many
categories. Commencement is one of my favourite times
of year – these are moments that I will not soon forget. I
am proud to have given our graduates my thoughts in going
forward into university, colleges or apprenticeship programs,
and bring greetings and well wishes from the Board.
There is never a shortage of jobs in Trustee Smith’s office whether it’s distributing my Ward 19 Community Newsletter (like
this one!), planning and preparing my Ward Forums, tree planting
for future green space, or organizing my annual Fun Fair.
US CONSUL GENERAL JIM DICKMEYER VISIT
I would like to give a very special thanks to Consul General Dickmeyer for visiting Winston Churchill C.I. on November 1, 2013 as part of
an ongoing U.S. Consulate book donation Program. The principal, teachers and students were grateful for consul General Dickmeyer’s
generous donation of books representing America’s ties to Canada and its appreciation for the strong tradition of reading and education in
this country. Toronto city Councillor for the school’s Ward, Michael Thompson, also joined the students for this special donation occasion.
Left to right: US Consul General Jim Dickmeyer,
Trustee David Smith, Councilor Michael
Thompson, WC Principal, William
Papaconstantino
Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of State
David & Mary Thomson
Winston Churchill
Wexford
Cedarbrook
We are just about to complete another
major project at John McCrae Public
School, where we will add five new
kindergarten spaces. I have examined
the project through its entire phase
and am pleased with the construction.
New Property Sign for General Crerar
I’m happy to announce that we
were fortunate to be able to recycle
a property sign formerly belonging
to the now-closed Pringdale Public
School, for use at General Crerar
Public School, resulting in little to no
new costs. At a time when Board
spending is heavily monitored, I was
pleased to seize the opportunity that enabled a solution to installing
proper school signage for General Crerar.
New Principals
We’d like to welcome Karen Hume as the new principal for
Woburn C.I. and Tom Lazarus as principal for the Wexford School
for the arts. These two individuals have a combined 50 years of
experience as educators and we’re looking forward to leveraging
their experience for improved student achievement and success.
NELSON MANDELA
July 18,1918 –December 5,2013
I wish to convey my deepest respect
for Nelson Mandela who was an
unparalleled inspiration to the world and
to me personally. Mandela once said,
“Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the
world”. And change the world he did. I
hope that we can all unite and continue
his work in his memory, for the good of all. STUDENT SUPPORT
Thank you so much to Mr. Roger Hardy
for sponsoring this great cause….
26 students at Cedarbrook Jr. P. S. will
see better and be able to accomplish
their tasks in a more timely manner
thanks to their new glasses!