Back to school in Ottawa: Do you know your ABCs?
Ontario’s new sex-ed curriculum on the list of what’s new this year
It’s back to school Tuesday for more than 135,000 elementary and high school students in Ottawa. Here’s what you need to know before you pack the lunches and sharpen the pencils for another school year.
A IS FOR ADDITIONS
Tuesday is indeed the first day of school for students at St. Dominic’s School in Cumberland. The Ottawa Catholic School Board’s new JKto-Grade 6 school at 2300 Esprit Dr. can house 507 students and is equipped with the latest in Wi-Fi and Smartboard technology. The “green” school also features 750 solar panels on its roof that will eventually deliver surplus power to the grid.
At the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the big news is the big switch between Mutchmor and First Avenue public schools, whose staff and students swapped buildings over the summer. The innovative solution puts the overcrowded French immersion program that was at First Avenue into the renovated and expanded Mutchmor school on Fifth Avenue, while the former Mutchmor students trek up to their new school along Patterson Creek.
Meanwhile, students at Broadview Public School will have a new distraction just outside their window, with work now underway on their new building. Completion is scheduled for 2017.
B IS FOR BUSING AND BELL TIMES
Thirty minutes equals $4 million for the Ottawa School Transportation Authority.
The 30 minutes is the maximum change in bell times at the 70 schools that will have new start times this year.
“There’s 70 schools, which is significant when you consider we have 223 schools,” said OSTA head Vicky Kyriaco, who oversees transportation for both the public and Catholic boards.
School start times are now standardized at 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m. or 9:15 a.m., and the staggered times will allow school buses to make up to three runs each morning and afternoon.
The authority also reviewed its walking boundaries and the “hazards” it uses to assess who is eligible for a bus ride, reviews that mean 1,900 students have lost a bus seat and 500 new students have been given one.
In all, the changes will save the authority $4 million a year in transportation costs, Kyriaco said.
The authority has also expanded its successful “walking school bus” program to eight schools, she said.
Parents can check their school’s boundaries at the OSTA website at ottawaschoolbus.ca.
Unhappy or looking for an empty bus seat? Don’t bother calling the principals before Oct. 1, which is the first day they are allowed to accept requests.
You can also contact OSTA at 613-224-8800 or consult the interactive portal on the website.
C IS FOR CURRICULUM
The first major revamp of physical and health education since 1998 makes its debut this year.
The curriculum, which has sparked protests from some parents and conservative groups for being too sexual, is meant to help students better “understand themselves and others,” according to the Ministry of Education.
Among the topics to be covered are same-sex relationships, the hazards of “sexting” and other social media, and information about addiction and intravenous drug use.
The information is tailored to age-appropriate groups, so that while Grade 1s may simply learn the use proper names for penis and vagina, high school students will learn how to identify abusive relationships.
A parents’ guide the curriculum is available at edu.gov.on.ca
D IS FOR DISRUPTION
Public high school teachers and Catholic elementary and high school teachers all reached tentative deals on provincewide issues in late August. The deals on tough issues such as salary and prep times have yet to be ratified, but pave the way for negotiations to begin on local issues with the individual boards.
Central issue ratification votes are expected to be held sometime in the early weeks of school.
Negotiations are also underway with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, which represents support staff in the Ottawa board.
The labour outlook is less clear for public elementary schools. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has been negotiating since Sept. 1 on central contract issues. Those talks, which were continuing Friday, remain under a media blackout.
The elementary teachers have ramped up their ongoing job action, which means they won’t plan any field trips or participate in parent-teacher meetings outside school hours. The job action hasn’t affected extracurricular activities, although the union has said it will consider extending its job action if no progress is made in negotiations. There’s still chance of a lastminute agreement.
The Catholic board says it will be business as usual with no labour disruption.
E IS FOR ENFORCEMENT
School buses and school vans will be on the road Tuesday and sidewalks will be crowded with kids heading off to class.
Pay particular attention in school zones. The police certainly will be. Ottawa police and the Ontario Provincial Police promise stepped-up enforcement.
Failing to stop for a school bus with its lights flashing carries a $400 fine and Ontario’s beefed up distracted driving laws carry penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and three demerit points for drivers with their eyes on a smartphone instead of the road.
Among the topics to be covered are same-sex relationships, the hazards of ‘sexting’ and information about drug use.