January 16, 2007 - Thornlea

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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.
Page 1: THORNLEA SECONDARY SCHOOL Minutes o

January 16, 2007 - Thornlea

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