Trustee News

Brent Laton, Chair (Grenville County and Elizabethtown-Kitley Township)

Todd Lalonde, Vice-Chair (Cornwall-Glengarry)
Ronald Eamer (Cornwall-Glengarry)
Nancy Kirby (Lanark)

The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario hosted

its annual Just-Us Youth Day, a symposium for more than 210
Grade 10 students from across the Boards ten secondary
schools. The day gives students an opportunity to learn about
the good work being done by not-for-profit organizations and
individuals committed to social justice initiatives. Each year the
presentations are developed around a theme; this years
theme was Ignite the Light of Justice, inspiring students to
become informed and act on social justice causes.
Students began the morning with a liturgy, followed by a
keynote address given by Ryan Hreljac, Assistant Project
Manager and founder of The Ryans Well Foundation. Ryan,
now 24 years old, shared his personal story of how an ordinary
boy accomplished extraordinary things beginning at the
young age of six. Ryans humble account of how the Ryans
Well Foundation was established and built over the last 15
years inspired the young audience. Students attended
additional workshops in the afternoon, which discussed how
they can make a difference in local and global communities.
The workshops, which were designed to move students to act
on social justice causes, were presented by a wide variety of
groups including: Free the Children, India Village Poverty
Relief Fund, Development and Peace, and Best Buddies
Program, among others.

Students struggling with mental health and addiction issues

require a variety of supports and services in order to
overcome these challenges and thrive. The mental health
system is currently undergoing comprehensive changes, and
knowing what services are available, as well as how to contact
them, can be a challenge for many individuals. The Special
Education Department has developed resources to support
school teams through this process. A quick reference chart has
been created for staff which summarizes resources in each
county for both addiction services and mental health services.
A third resource has been developed which outlines the seven
core services that each of the community partner offers. How
to access these core services has also been outlined in a
pathway flow chart that includes specific contact information
by county. It helps to identify what pathway to care teachers
should follow for struggling students, based on the resources
available in that community. These materials will ensure that
our school teams have the correct information easily
accessible in order to support our students and families
struggling with mental health or addiction concerns.

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Dec e mb er 2015

Karen McAllister (Stormont-Dundas)

Robin Reil (City of Brockville, Town of Smiths Falls, and Leeds County)
Sue Wilson (Prescott-Russell)
Thomas Mooney (Catholic Student Trustee)

The Special Education Department has worked diligently at

using technology to empower students with special
education learning needs. Technological resources enable
learners to collaborate, learn, and demonstrate their
learning. To help build knowledge, understanding and
effective applications and strategies for using the assistive
technology, the Special Education Department has created
a website for educational assistants and teachers. The
website demonstrates exciting ways that technology is
being used in CDSBEO classrooms, and ways technology
enables students to experience success.
The well-developed site has three sections that provide
training for staff to develop their expertise at different
levels. It includes slides, text and videos to support staff and
student development.
The first section, Learning About Technology, highlights key
features of various programs and applications available to
students. The second section, Connecting With Technology,
demonstrates how learning can be enhanced using visual,
kinesthetic and auditory tools and approaches, while the
third section, Empowering Through Technology provides a
forum for sharing and collaboration for educators.
A tiered learning model has been developed to help guide
educators with the available technology. The website
resources identify and categorize software and supports as
being either beneficial for all, necessary for some, or
essential for a few students in the classroom. The specific
software featured can be used to do a variety of things such
as read text, write spoken words, organize thinking,
magnify words, highlight and project images from several
devices on the smart board simultaneously. Each of these
tools support a different need which enhances engagement
for a variety of students, depending on their individual
learning needs. All students benefit when technology is
integrated into regular instruction through Universal
Design for Learning approaches and Differentiated
Instruction. Assistive Technology is necessary for some
students who require additional scaffold supports.
Adaptive Technology is required for learning by a few
students because it enables opportunities to expand their
engagement and independence. The apps give students
the confidence to learn, to feel empowered, and also enable
them to collaborate, and to enjoy learning. Truly
transformational for students and educators, digital
technology tools unlock the power and potential of
learning.

Board Meeting Dates: December 1, 2015 and December 15, 2015 @ 6:30 p.m., Kemptville Board Office