News to Share
CSPA Reps - At your next school council meeting, please be sure to share the following news:
Schools and $$ - What Do You Think?
The Ministry of Education is looking for input in developing province-wide guidelines for school board policies on fundraising, corporate partnerships and student fees for learning materials and activities. The Ministry has developed a set of consultation questions they would like parents to respond to. We will be discussing these questions at our January CSPA meeting.
All parents are welcome to review the questions and email their comments to Joanne MacEwan by January 27.
Changes Coming to Fall Report Cards
The Ministry of Education is introducing changes to the fall report card beginning in the 2010-11 school year. The school year's first report card will have a new format and will be called the Fall Progress Report Card. It will evaluate students in the same areas as the report card but instead of assigning a grade or mark, it will indicate how a student is progressing -- very well, well or with difficulty. See the Ministry's news statement for further details.
Balanced Day Discussions
The Ottawa Catholic School Board is asking schools to consider offering a balanced day schedule. School principals will be discussing this with staff and if there is interest, will be seeking input from parents.
Here is the letter that the principals will be sharing with parents if they plan to look into the idea.
Once Upon a Mattress
February 18-21 and 25-28 
Tickets for the Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa's new hit musical, Once Upon a Mattress, are now on sale!
There will be 7 shows in February at St. Paul High School.
Follow the link to the Foundation's website for more information.
PRO Grant Events - Help Us Spread the Word
The list of schools receiving PRO grant funding should be released any day now.
CSPA will be happy to help any school hosting a parent event by posting your announcement on the CSPA website and sending out the information in our newsletter.
In turn, you can help us reach more parents in our board. We would like councils hosting a parent event to consider collecting names and email addresses from the parents that attend to add to our CSPA network. You can download a sign-up form here. Encourage parents to sign up, and then return the list via the Board pony to the address on the form. If you are not holding an event, consider bringing the form to your next council meeting and encouraging your council members to join. Thank you for your continuing support!
Director's Forum Returns in February
Mark your calendars now for our fourth annual Director's Forum - our professional development evening for principals and school council members. It will take place on Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Patrick's High School (2525 Alta Vista Drive). See the invitation for more details. Contact your principal if you want to join us.
Keeping Our Kids Safe at School
New legislation that comes into effect February 1, 2010 will affect how all school board employees handle incidents at school. See the Ministry documents Keeping our Kids Safe at School and Board Q&A on Bill 157 for more details.
Preparing for University
On January 19, 2010, University of Waterloo held a grade 10 family night on campus as well as providing a live webcast.
CSPA Communications is pleased to offer the notes and highlights to parents and students. The evening event discussed choosing the right program, planning for the university application process, financing education, and tips from current Waterloo students. Click here to view the notes.
School Council Challenges
Panel of experts, including CSPA's Joanne MacEwan, facilitated a workshop on school council challenges. Please follow the link for notes and tips from this workshop.
Math Tutoring Available
Grade 7 to 10 math students at Ottawa Catholic School Board now have access to 20 hours a week of free, online math tutoring to help them improve and succeed in math. Check out Homework Help (http://www.homeworkhelp.ilc.org) where certified Ontario teachers are available Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for one-on-one confidential help. Ottawa Catholic School Board is one of 15 English-language boards taking part in this pilot project funded by the Ministry of Education. More details are available here.
What Every School Council Treasurer Wants to Know (but afraid to ask)
At the September 2009 meeting, CSPA executive presented the topic of financial reporting by school councils (best practices). We are pleased to make the presentation and templates available to you on our web site, under Resources - School Council Treasurer tab (top of the home page).
Funding Available for SpeakUp Projects
Grants up to $1,500 are available to students in grades 7-12 to support SpeakUp projects - engaging students in their learning and social environment. Please read the letter from Kathleen Wynne for more details.
Parent Guide for 2009-2010 EQAO Assessments
EQAO has designed a pamphlet to answer questions on elementary-level EQAO assessments. The link and details are available here.
Join Our Mailing List
 ALL parents are welcome to join our mailing list regardless of whether they are school council members.
To sign up, click on the link below and enter the required information.
Last Updated: 2010-01-27
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