1. TDSB 2010-2011 Budget
Trustees will vote on a balanced 2010-2011 budget presented by TDSB staff on June 23rd.  The projected deficit is currently $42.3 million; various cuts and revenue generating options are on the table.  Take a look here. 

At our April Ward Council meeting, we discussed the budget.  Parents told me that what they would most like to see is a change in the provincial funding formula, so that programs and services can be maintained in times of lower enrolment. 

2. Children's Mental Health Week 
May 3-7 was Children’s Mental Health Week.  In Canada, one in five children/youth struggle with a mental illness.   One of the biggest challenges in making sure children with mental illness get the help they need is the stigma and silence surrounding mental health – and children’s mental health in particular.  CMH Week is a time to raise awareness and provide information about how to help. 

When I was elected, I got the TDSB involved in CMH week.  It is now an important annual week of events throughout the TDSB.  As Trustee Chair of the CMH Week Committee, it is exciting to see CMH events expand every year as many more schools become involved through morning announcements, school presentations and the CMH awareness walk on Friday.

This year, there was a very successful workshop for new teachers with many speakers including Dr. Jonathan Golden, who spoke to teachers about how to spot a problem and what they can do to help the child.  To finish off the week, many schools and TDSB administration centres participated in the CMH awareness walk on Friday May 7.  In our community, Chester, Jackman, Westwood and RH MacGregor all participated in the walk.  At the TDSB main office, the Director of Education led a walk with many staff.

I am looking forward to our follow-up meetings, where we will discuss how to continue this work throughout the year.

3. Full Service Schools and School Council Meetings

I have been going to school councils across the ward and having many exciting conversations with parents, students and teachers about what full service schools could look like.  There has been an incredible reception of the concept of full service schools and rich discussion about what people would like to see in our community.  My visits to school councils will conclude at the end of May; I will then move to create a Community Work Group that will look at next steps.  See the Community Schools section for updates and interesting examples of how other communities have realized full service schools.

4. Ward Council at Woodgreen
This year the Ward 15 Council has decided to hold some meetings at local agencies in order to highlight and learn about the fabulous organizations and partners we have in our community.  This month, the Ward Council will meet at Woodgreen Community Services at 1070 Queen St. E.  There will be a tour of their facilities before our meeting begins.  I hope to see you there on May 19th at 7 p.m. 5. Full Day Learning
On April 27th, Ontario passed the Full-Day Learning Act.  In our ward, there will be two schools that offer full-day kindergarten in the first phase of the program, which begins this September.  Those schools are Dundas and Pape.  It is an exciting new program and I know many families are looking forward to it.  There have also been some challenges which the Ministry of Education is working hard to solve.

6. Sex Education Curriculum
There has been a lot of discussion about this in the past month.  See the People for Education newsletter if you are interested in more information.  You can also read the proposed new curriculum here.

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