Latest news with #GreaterEssexCountyDistrictSchoolBoard
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Essex, Ont. student publishes first book at the age of 10
For 10-year-old Harper Grace, publishing her first book came with both great excitement and, admittedly, a little bit of fear. 'I was kind of worried that nobody would care, but I guess a kid writing a book is a big deal,' Harper said. Starting Grade 5 this fall, the Windsor-Essex, Ont. student recently entered the writing world by publishing ' Maricopia: A Tale of Hope ', a fantasy humour story. Since first putting pen to paper at the age of seven, Harper has been meticulously writing and reviewing the more than 200-page-long tale. 'Harmony is a [Mermaid Dog], and she is in this world, it's sort of like an avatar style world,' the avid writer recently told CTV News. 'You can get the power of the elements, except there's five: water, earth, wind, thunder, and fire, and Harmony has got all of them. She's the Ultima, and she and her friends go on this quest to stop the Fire Lord.' Improving along the way, Harper said she often finds ways to alter chapters and add in new subplots that keep the reader interested along the way. 10-year-old Harper Grace author Windsor 10-year-old Harper Grace with her book, 'Maricopia: A Tale of Hope'. (Submitted by Laura) When asked by CTV News what job she aspires to do when she gets older, Harper didn't hesitate to respond. 'Author! I already am,' she exclaimed. If her writing wasn't impressive enough, Harper added illustrator to her resume by creating the cover page and drawing most of the images throughout the book, with some help from her little brother Ryan. Since publishing the book, Harper's creative mind and determination have caught the attention of readers. Though her parents originally began by printing copies of the book, an abundance of interest led them to find alternative options for readers. 'We already knew that kids her own age were kind of enjoying it, just like our friends and family,' said Laura, Harper's mom. After a social media post was made by the Greater Essex County District School Board promoting the book, the family has only received more inquiries. They've since pushed the book to Amazon and have sold 50 copies between online and in-person sales. 'Nothing that Harper puts her mind to surprises me,' Laura added. 'She's a very creative kid and she's a very stubborn kid, so when she sets her heart on something, it's usually successful.' With her first book hot off the press, Harper is wasting little time, hoping to add to her bibliography. The 10-year-old is already teasing her next read, 'The End of the Rainbow,' which will be the next chapter in her budding career as a storyteller. 'I have a very good idea of picturing things in my mind, how things will go. With my next book, I'm planning the entire first chapter out in my head right as I speak,' Harper said.
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
GECDSB approves budget deficit for upcoming school year
Trustees for the Greater Essex County District School Board approved a nearly $1 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. June 17, 2025. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) Trustees for the Greater Essex County District School Board approved a nearly $1 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, pointing to underfunding and declining enrolment. Members received a grim snapshot of the board's finances on Tuesday afternoon before approving the 2025-2026 budget at its regular meeting. Shelley Armstrong, the board's superintendent of business and treasurer, outlined the pressures highlighted by 'inadequate' funding from the Ministry of Education. 'There are several areas where the board experiences funding deficits because the funding allocation is inadequate to support the current expense structure,' Armstrong told trustees. The budget outlines a preliminary deficit of $988,924 for the upcoming school year, but Armstrong noted that could change depending on enrolment. Cuts and reductions were previously outlined in the board's multi-year financial recovery plan approved in November. Under the changes, the board will cut some positions, and eliminate or phase out the International Baccalaureate program at multiple schools. The Rise Program, a special education program providing individualized programming for students, will also be scaled back. Several trustees stated the deficit would be erased if there was sufficient annual funding from the province. 'What we have is an inadequate funding model that leaves our board and every other board across the province at risk for decisions that are made at tables that we don't even have a seat at,' said trustee Ron Le Clair. Trustees plan to send a letter to the provincial and federal governments highlighting desired changes and funding needs. However, Mario Spagnuolo, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Greater Essex County local, told CTV News more action is needed. 'This is not a spending problem, this is a funding problem,' Spagnuolo said. 'You have trustees seeing that across the province of Ontario, you have MPPs across the province ignoring that, so we need to work together as a community to say we need to improve our schools.' Another factor in the deficit is lagging enrolment levels based on current registration. The board currently projects to have about 954 fewer students, but that could still increase depending on registration levels. As part of its multi-year financial plan, the board must reach a balanced budget by the 2026-2027 school year. 'The budget process has always been difficult for as long as I've been a trustee because there are huge gaps in the funding that we have no control over,' Board chairperson Gale Hatfield told CTV News. If the board fails to meet budget targets, it risks the province taking action to implement measures of its own. Hatfield said she was 'confident' they will meet the necessary steps to avoid such a case. 'The experience that other boards have had with supervision is that the ministry comes in and makes decisions without any consideration of local conditions or local needs of the community, and so I don't see how that would serve our students in the best way,' Hatfield said. When asked about the potential for future cuts to meet the targets, Armstrong said it's not off the table. 'Will there be further reductions coming? I would say it's fairly certain yes, we're going to have to do some more work,' Armstrong added. The budget is now pending approval by the education minister.
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Bandshell future on hold as city eyes Windsor Stadium land.
City council is holding off on deciding the future of the Jackson Park bandshell in Jackson Park as it explores an opportunity to buy the nearby Windsor Stadium property. During Monday's council meeting, a debate around whether a request for proposals should be issued to study the feasibility of the future of the bandshell was unexpectedly halted when Mayor Drew Dilkens called council in-camera to share some information that could impact their decision. When the council returned, the debate over the future of the bandshell was deferred to the next meeting of the council. Following the meeting, Dilkens told the media that the city had received information late last week that the Greater Essex County District School Board, through the Ontario government, had listed the stadium land for sale for the purpose of housing development. The stadium lands back on Jackson Park in the area of the bandshell. Dilkens says the prospect of housing development on the land next to the bandshell would impact any decision made by council. He says the fair market value for the land at 2365 McDougall St. is just under $3 million, and it's something council needs to discuss, as any potential purchase was not budgeted for. Dilkens says he's been saying since 2019 that he'd like the city to purchase Windsor Stadium. 'It makes a lot of sense to incorporate it into the Jackson Park piece that we already own. At the end of the day, though, if it's only for housing purposes, we need to figure out if it's something we need to do,' he said. 'If it's a function of Housing Solutions Made for Windsor, are we best to take that property to work through the process or let it go to the private sector and let them do what they're going to do?' According to Dilkens, council knows it's going to be very expensive to restore that bandshell and members know there would be fair market purchase of the property. 'Council needs to figure out whether they have the money, whether they want to take that property and put it in the Housing Solutions Made for Windsor portfolio, and then consider if we're successful on those fronts, how does that impact the work you may or may not do on future bandshell restoration?' he says. The administration report before the council recommended that a request for proposals to conduct a feasibility study be cancelled due to the cost being above the $120,000 budget set for the study. The report warned there is a significant financial risk associated with conducting the feasibility study and that if it moves forward, there may be findings that determine additional testing might be required, such as soil or environmental, at additional costs. Administration instead recommended council consider a symbolic monument/memorial to the site, such as an Emancipation Celebrations Monument within Jackson Park. In the 1940s and 1950s, the original bandshell hosted Emancipation Day celebrations that drew crowds for speeches from civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was destroyed in a fire and replaced by the existing bandshell, which fell into disrepair over the years. - Rusty Thomson/AM800 News
CBC
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Black students in Windsor-Essex embrace event honouring culture, arts
Windsor-Essex students come together for Black Joy, Black Excellence symposium 3 hours ago Duration 1:40 Hundreds of local students gathered for an event Tuesday celebrating Black culture and creativity. The Greater Essex County District School Board hosted its second annual Black Joy – Black Excellence Student Symposium at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts. "It's only once in a lifetime that you get to have something like this, everyone come together under one roof to really enjoy and celebrate something that you can't really do anywhere else," said Jalen Hamilton, a grade 12 student at Kennedy Collegiate Institute. Hamilton was among the more than 500 students the school board said would attend the "Express Yourself"-themed event. "Our students asked for something to be done this year in the format of arts and movement and theatre and different things like that, so we made sure that that happened," said high school teacher Natalie Browning-Morgan. Browning-Morgan, who serves as the board's graduation coach for Black, African and Caribbean students, said last year's inaugural event was smaller and focused on speaking with students about what was happening in their schools. But this year's symposium featured spoken word poetry, art, dancing and a resource fair, among other things. "The students need to hear the positive things about what it means to be Black, African, or Caribbean and we're just enjoying that," she said. Hamilton said the event was "on a whole different level" compared to last year. "We have so many more guests, so many more kids here that can finally express themselves thoroughly," he said. "It's a night and day difference." Alaa Ebrahim, a Grade 11 student at Riverside Secondary School, said this year's event was much more student-led. "Everything altogether just really made this event this year so much better because the student voice is really heard," she said. Ebrahim, one of the event's emcees, said it's important for younger students to "get the chance to see themselves in places that they might not see themselves normally." One of the symposium's other highlights was a fashion show that included both casual and cultural attire. Hamilton, a model in the show who got to wear his own pieces, called it "absolutely incredible." Hamilton, who was also a keynote speaker for the student panel, said Tuesday was about embracing the positive. "For a very long time, people that have looked like me haven't had the opportunity to fully express themself due to our very, very tainted and dark history," he said. "But today is the day to not even highlight that, but to highlight what joy can come, what happiness can come, what empowerment we can bring to the youth."
CBC
12-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Forest Glade parent protesting plan to move French immersion program
The mother of a French immersion student at Forest Glade Public School says she's frustrated by a decision of the Greater Essex County District School Board to move the school's French immersion students to Tecumseh Vista Public School at the start of the new school year in September. Harmony Peach says she will speak out at the board's information meeting Wednesday night at the former Eastwood Public School. "From a logistical standpoint, we will now have three children who will be attending three different schools, which will require three different arrivals and three different pickups," Peach said. "Our youngest is going to face being trucked four times the distance away," as a result of the change, she said, and she's also worried about the psychological impact of the move. The school board sent a letter to parents on Friday, signed by Superintendent of Education Todd Awender, informing them of the change. "It must be noted that this decision was necessary due to the declining French immersion enrolment at Forest Glade Public School," the letter read. Questions about enrolment numbers But Peach said she's skeptical of the suggestion that numbers are down because her daughter, who is in junior kindergarten, has 24 children in her class. She also questioned if the board was relying on numbers from the era of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders to inform its long-term planning. The school board's superintendent of elementary staffing said COVID-19 did impact French immersion enrolment right across the province, but enrolment at Forest Glade has not trended up again since. In 2019, the school, which had been adding a French immersion option to one grade every year, had 149 students enrolled in the program ranging from junior kindergarten to Grade 3, Kari Bryant said. This year, it has 151 French immersion students between junior kindergarten and Grade 8. Peach's daughter's class is actually a combined junior and senior kindergarten class, Bryant said. "We had hoped that all of our French immersion programs would be robust and viable, and that we wouldn't be at this point," Bryant said. "But we're just not seeing parents make those choices." School board decision based on data, superintendent says Peach is also frustrated about how the information about the change was communicated to parents, she said. "There's been no public consultation for it," she said. "There's been no public discussion …we received a letter home just this Friday rumpled at the bottom of my child's bag." But Bryant said the decision is based on data, and the board has to act in ways that "prioritize program sustainability and student success." "We really have to make those decisions and then work with families to listen to concerns and answer questions and support them through this transition," she said. The community meeting will allow the board to hear logistical concerns, such as Peach's about busing and conflicting pick-up times, and try to address them, she added. Bryant says Forest Glade is one of two schools whose French immersion programs are moving due to low enrolment. The program at Marlborough Public School is also moving to Bellewood Public School because enrolment at Marlborough has declined to the point where the board was forced to combine children in three grades into a single class. "We had a Grade 2,3,4 and a Grade 5,4,7 this year," Bryant said.
