January 16, 2007 - Thornlea

THORNLEA SECONDARY SCHOOL
Minutes of Meeting
January 16, 2007
In attendance: David Selby (Principal), Lynn Borlack (Vice Principal), Debra Hanff
(Teacher Librarian/Staff Representative), Evelin Ellison (Co-Chair), Simara Levi (Co-
Chair), Janice Fox (Secretary Treasurer), Fred Berktin (Community Rep), Anthea Chan
(Student Council), Parents: Darryl & Sally Press, Donna Rawana, Jane Pearson, George
Hanff, Krista Olins, Mahsen Khamgeigi; Community members: Jill Doble, Pam Young,
Penny Keeting, Corinne Hamilton, Sari Merson, Shahla Mehroni. Guests: Nick
Colarusso (Project Manager, Roads Branch Transportation and Works Department,
Regional Municipality of York), Michael Chiu (Consultant Project Coordinator with the
McCormick Rankin Corporation
1. Simara opened the meeting at 7:20 pm. David explained that Susan Geller, our new
School Trustee, is unable to attend this evening due to illness. She will attend our
meeting in April. Erin Shapiro is planning on attending the April meeting as well.
2. The minutes were reviewed and accepted.
3. Student Report - presented by Anthea Chan: The athletic department held an auction
during the last week of school in December. It was very successful, raising funds for
equipment and the annual athletic banquet. “Twelfth Night” was the first Drama
show of the year and was held December 12 th through the 15 th . It was very well
attended and there were many outstanding performances. The Winter Concert,
organized by Mr. Chan and performed by his talented students was also held in
December. Upcoming Events: On February 8 th , there will be a school dance from
6:30 to 9:30 pm. Spirit Assembly on Mon February 19 th with school-wide auditions
now being held for an MC. Hip Hop Away from Violence is scheduled for Thursday
March 1 st . On Monday March 12 th , the annual provincial competition for business
students (DECA) will be held at the Sheraton Centre.
4. Bayview Widening Study – Simara introduced our guests, Mr. Nick Colarusso who is
the Project Manager, Roads Branch Transportation and Works Department with the
Regional Municipality of York and Mr. Michael Chiu, who is the Consultant Project
Coordinator with the McCormick Rankin Corporation. Mr. Colarusso and Mr. Chiu
were invited to meet with School Council after they expressed an interest in meeting
with us following our letter of June, 2006. We received an overview of the overall
Transportation Master Plan (“TMP”) for York Region. The plan is predicated on a
need to tackle transportation issues resulting from the burgeoning York Region
population. York Region continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in
Canada and is expected to continue to experience rapid growth over the next 20 to
30 years. This rapid growth has already put a strain on the transportation system.
There was a public meeting in early December and the committee is now reviewing
the public comments collected from that meeting. These comments will be available
soon. The current Bayview Widening assessment study was undertaken as part of
the 2002 TMP. As a result of the comments, the planning committee must assess
the alternatives – 1) do nothing; 2) widen with HOV lanes or 3) intersection /
operational improvements.

School Council and community members voiced general opposition to plans for
widening Bayview, including adding HOV lanes. Concerns were raised around such
items as a) safety of pedestrians & students; b) increased noise levels ; c)
environmental damage; d) pollution; e) further congestion from 407 traffic; and f) lack
of public transportation alternatives to serve an area that needs better public
transportation both within the local area and also into areas south of Steeles Avenue.
In addition, many agreed that the addition of HOV lanes would encourage speeding
and draw more traffic to the area. HOV lanes are also seen as incompatible with a
primarily residential area - HOV & widening more appropriately belongs on
commercial arteries. It is clear that there is a transit gap and that funds could be
better spent not on studies, but rather in the construction of subways, LRT and
funding for additional bus service to move commuters and that adding more lanes to
Bayview is a disincentive to use mass transit. From a student perspective, subway
or LRT service would be welcome, the widening of Bayview is not the answer as it is
already unsafe to cross. A point was raised that overhead pedestrian bridges would
not be acceptable to the community as it would not ease residential concerns and
would also be an eyesore and attract graffiti.
Additional concerns were raised in respect to the apparent piecemeal application of
the “improvements” as it appears that various EA’s that are currently in progress are
done in isolation of each other and fail to look at the overall picture. Even the
decision to stop construction at John Street (if the EA is approved) does not take into
consideration how the burgeoning traffic will affect the stretch south of John to
Steeles.
Mr. Chui and Mr. Colarruso suggested that the current study comes from the TMP
that was established several years ago. At the time there was little public input and
the plan seemed good at the time. We are encouraged to provide input not just in
terms of the Bayview widening issue, but also in terms of the overall TMP. More
public planning meetings are planned under the TMP to look at the issues as they
now stand. (Please see last page of minutes for more contact information and other
information relating to the Transportation Master Plan).
5. Staff Report – Debra Hanff: Teachers are busy as first semester winds up. Exams
are scheduled for the end of the month. The school newsletter is coming out soon –
please watch for it on the website. Debra and Janice held a workshop for teachers to
train them on how to create and maintain web pages for their departments. It was
lots of fun and the teachers were enthusiastic students. We are anticipating another
workshop in the late spring. Knowledge Ontario is a government initiative that we
can access through our school website. Knowledge Ontario (formerly the Ontario
Digital Library) is a province-wide collaboration of libraries (public, school, college
and university), archives, museums, heritage organizations, educational institutions,
and community groups to create an integrated, and interactive digital environment
about, and for, Ontarians. The access link can be found under the Library section of
the site. Look for “Knowledge Ontario – Thomson Gale Databases” and follow the
prompts to access free 24/7 e-collections and databases.
6. Student Success Update – David Selby: David opened with a quick update on the
progress of the Resource Guide developed for parents, students, teachers and
administrators that has been prepared by the Drug Education Sub-Committee of the
YRDSB Safe and Supportive Schools Committee. The Guide is currently being
reviewed by the media relations department of the Board and David is expecting that

it will be posted to the Board website soon. We have not heard back regarding our
grant application for an e-mail chip through the Parent Engagement initiative,
however, David has been informed that so far, no applications have been rejected.
Arlene Marks and Gord Izumi are working with David and Sheila Hetherington to
finalize the latest SPCI (School Plan for Continuous Improvement) and should be
ready for presentation at our School Council Meeting in February.
David provided updates on our various alternative education initiatives. Our drop-out
rate is fairly low at Thornlea now. In addition the TIP program and the SIGN progam
(now called FINE) we have launched into a “Credit Recovery” program where
students who have failed a course, but have achieved a minimum of 40% can take
an after school course to boost their marks. Mr. Bal is the teacher in charge. We
also have an Asperger’s program that is now in it’s 3 rd year. Although the students in
the course are segregated in their classrooms, they are gradually integrated each
year that they are in the program. By Grade 11 they are in regular classrooms about
80% of the time. David’s goal is to have several programs operating at Thornlea to fit
the needs of more students. He is also working with Mr. Robertson from TIP and Ms.
Crosbie in Guidance to continue to identify students who do no have 16 credits by
the end of Gr 10. At this point there are about 23 students who have been identified
in this way who are not otherwise in an identified program. David will also be
connecting with the feeder schools to look at opportunities to identify students who
can benefit from additional support in the maths and sciences. This launched a lively
discussion of math at the elementary level where parents feel that many students,
even in Gr 6 are in need of tutoring. David will take our points into his discussions
with the feeder schools as it is clear that many students are having difficulty at the
elementary level which will directly impact on their success at the secondary level.
We will be looking forward to hearing more on this over the next few months.
7. Presentation – by Janice Fox to Lynn Borlack: Lynn with be leaving to go to
Richmond Hill High School on February 1 st . She will be replaced by Sheldon
Zelsman from Richmond Hill HS . We will miss Lynn very much. She has been with
Thornlea for 5 years as a VP and was also a former teacher here at Thornlea a
number of years ago. We wish her the best of luck in her new position.
8. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Recorded by: Janice Fox, Secretary / Treasurer
Test of email from Nick Colarrusso to Simara Levi follows.

Hi Simara,
At the School Council Meeting of Tuesday January 16 th , Michael and I fielded several questions and
concerns regarding the Region’s 2002 Transportation Master Plan and the current Transportation Master
Plan Update. The school parents and other attendees also inquired as to who to contact and how to
become more involved with current Update study.
For any questions or concerns that the school parents and other attendees have relating to the
Transportation Master Plan Update and how residents can get involved please contact:
Loy Cheah
Manager, Transportation Planning
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 1-877-464-9675 ext. 5024
Fax: 905-895-0191
Email: Loy.Cheah@york.ca
For information regarding the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) and the TMP Update you can visit our
website at:
www.york.ca and click on the Services (left margin tab) Regional Planning Infrastructure Planning
Transportation Master Plan (TMP) Update.
Alternatively, you can click on the following link to access this information directly:
http://www.york.ca/services/regional+planning/infrastructure/tmp_overview.htm
As you will see the site provides the background for the study, the policy framework and the objectives of the
Update. The public consultation process is also identified.
Could you please forward this information to your council at your next meeting (or earlier if possible)
Understanding of course that not all the attendees may have access to computers or email, I could arrange
for a paper copy (4 pages, excluding referenced documents) to be mailed to you directly should you require.
Please confirm that your school council and/or its members are interested in being added to the study
mailing list for the Transportation Master Plan Update and provide me their contact information. I will request
that Loy Cheah add your group and/or its members to the list upon receiving this information.
I trust that this is satisfactory. Should you have any questions or require further information, please call me
at 1-877-464-9675 ext. 5945.
Best Regards,
Nick
Nick Colarusso, M.Eng., P.Eng.
Project Manager, Roads Branch
Transportation and Works Department
Regional Municipality of York
90 Bales Drive East, Sharon ON L0G 1B0
Mailing Address:
17250 Yonge Street, Newmarket, ON L3Y 6Z1
Tel: Toll Free 1-877-464-9675 Ext. 5945
Fax: 905-836-4590, email: nick.colarusso@york.ca