Latest news with #WaterlooCatholicDistrictSchoolBoard
CTV News
18-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Frustrations with extended care registration persist despite promise by school boards
A Kitchener parent tells CTV's Heather Senoran about the problems she faced when registering for extended childcare programs. Despite promises that this year would be different, some parents said they had trouble registering their children for before and after school childcare programs. In 2024, technical problems plagued the system used for the Waterloo Region District School Board and Waterloo Catholic District School Board's extended care programs. The boards said earlier this year that changes had been made to avoid those past problems, including staggering registration dates by school. However, Ashley Todorowski, a parent in Kitchener, said her issues began as soon as she tried to register her 8-year-old son in fulltime before and after school care with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. 'Once I tried to get to the registration page, the page wouldn't load for me. I tried about three times, and then I had to leave for work,' Todorowski said. When she finally got on, she said she only got after school childcare but that option doesn't provide her with enough support as a single parent working fulltime. 'I can't really work around the fact that the school starts at 9:15 a.m., but my work starts at 8 a.m. It's really unfortunate because I don't have anybody else in the household that can assist me in any way,' she said. Todorowski feels the system needs to change. 'There are so many parents suffering and stressed out, and the childcare that is promoted as accessible should be accessible,' she said. Changes to the registration process The Catholic board said they've made big strides since last year's fiasco, when parents from both boards registered all at once with OneList. There was a technical glitch, impacting the roughly 7,000 families who fought for available spots. '[It] ended up overwhelming the system and it did cause some system crashes,' Lema Salaymeh, spokesperson for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, said. 'In order to avoid having a similar situation happen this year, we wanted to stagger it alphabetically.' Schools were sorted alphabetically, and registration began for the first batch on Monday and continues until Friday. Salaymeh said, as of Wednesday afternoon, over 500 students had been enrolled and 10 programs had already reached max capacity. 'While sometimes there is a demand for the program and the space, there might not be the staffing. We are juggling a lot of different factors before we can expand the program,' Salaymeh said. OneHSN, the company that manages the registration system for the Extended Day Program for both school boards, told CTV News they remain committed to supporting all families. 'The system has remained stable throughout, and the staggered school-by-school approach has helped to ensure a smooth experience for families. Minor issues were addressed quickly,' Darryl Buck, CEO of OneHSN, said in a statement. As of last year, parents were required to re-enroll their children each year, even if their child was previously in a program. 'By allowing it to reset every year, we give everyone a chance to access extended day programing,' Salaymeh said. What about the waitlist? The Catholic board said anyone who didn't get the spot they wanted can still join a waitlist. According to Salaymeh, the waitlist is continuously being updated and people are often removed from the list. 'As of right now, there's 121 people on the waitlist, but until we finish registration this week, they won't be able to let everyone know until the dust settles,' said Salaymeh. The board also noted that after registration ends it will be looking at making more room for more families. 'We're going to be reevaluating and assessing our capacity to see if there is an opportunity to expand the program,' she said. There were also some parents who registered for any school they could, trying to cheat their way into a spot. The school board encourages parents to avoid doing that and to wait for their school's specific registration day.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- CTV News
Teen swarming attack caught on camera in Kitchener, Ont.
A shocking video has been circulating online of a swarming incident involving teens in Kitchener, Ont. It showed at least 10 high school students surrounding a person laying on the ground, curled up in a ball as they are repeatedly punched and kicked, while others stand by and record the attack on their phones. At the end of the video, one person rushed in and threw their body over the victim to protect them from further violence. According to the Waterloo Regional Police Service, the attack happened around 3:30 p.m. on Friday at a plaza on Block Line Road, beside St. Mary's High School. Students from the Catholic secondary school told CTV News it was a fight between a St. Mary's student and teens from another school in the region. swarming video student teen teens kitchener Still from a swarming video allegedly involving high school students in Kitchener. (Submitted) One student, who claimed he was the victim in the video, said he was involved in another fight in that same plaza. It was that altercation, he explained, that lead to Friday's swarming attack. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board shared the following statement: 'We are aware of a physical altercation that took place last Friday outside a nearby plaza involving several students,' a statement from the read. The involvement of any identified students has been addressed at the school level, in accordance with board policies.' — Waterloo Catholic District School Board Students said the person who came to the victim's rescue was a customer at a nearby business. CTV News was told by both teens and parents that fights often happen in the area. St. Mary's High School in Kitchener St. Mary's High School in Kitchener on June 9, 2025. (Karis Mapp/CTV News) One parent said she attempted to warn the principal at St. Mary's but claimed she was told that nothing could be done because the fights happen off school property. The security company that monitors the plaza told CTV News they were not aware of a fight on Friday, while businesses said they heard a commotion but didn't think anything of it as they are used to big groups of rowdy teens. The Waterloo Regional Police Service said they continue to investigate the attack.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Pride flag flies at WCDSB headquarters despite small anti-Pride protest
Protesters gathered outside the Waterloo Catholic District School Board's head office on Monday. CTV's Heather Senoran explains why.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
2 Kitchener high schools closed Friday after measles cases
Two Kitchener high schools are closed on Friday due to measles cases. Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener will remain closed on Friday after a positive measles case at the high school and St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School is also closed on Friday. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board said the positive case at St. Mary's means exposure to measles by staff and students on May 8. "Out of an abundance of caution and to allow time for public health to complete necessary vaccination verification and help prevent further spread of the virus, St. Mary's will be closed on Friday," the board said on its website. The Waterloo Region District School Board says the confirmed case at Eastwood means there was exposure to measles by staff and students on May 7 and 8. "Due to the time necessary for Region of Waterloo Public Health to complete the required steps in vaccination verification, the school will remain closed on Friday," the school board said in a notice on its website. The school was also closed on Thursday. Both boards say students will learn asynchronously and "may also work on previously-assigned work or spend time reviewing material previously covered," the school board said. There are now 59 measles cases in Waterloo region and 53 in the area covered by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. The new numbers were released by Public Health Ontario on Thursday and reflect 11 new cases in Waterloo region and seven in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph between May 6 to May 13. In all of Ontario, there were 182 new cases in the same time period, bringing the total to 1,622.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
2 Kitchener high schools closed Friday after measles cases
Social Sharing Two Kitchener high schools are closed on Friday due to measles cases. Eastwood Collegiate Institute in Kitchener will remain closed on Friday after a positive measles case at the high school and St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School is also closed on Friday. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board said the positive case at St. Mary's means exposure to measles by staff and students on May 8. "Out of an abundance of caution and to allow time for public health to complete necessary vaccination verification and help prevent further spread of the virus, St. Mary's will be closed on Friday," the board said on its website. The Waterloo Region District School Board says the confirmed case at Eastwood means there was exposure to measles by staff and students on May 7 and 8. "Due to the time necessary for Region of Waterloo Public Health to complete the required steps in vaccination verification, the school will remain closed on Friday," the school board said in a notice on its website. The school was also closed on Thursday. Both boards say students will learn asynchronously and "may also work on previously-assigned work or spend time reviewing material previously covered," the school board said. There are now 59 measles cases in Waterloo region and 53 in the area covered by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. The new numbers were released by Public Health Ontario on Thursday and reflect 11 new cases in Waterloo region and seven in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph between May 6 to May 13. In all of Ontario, there were 182 new cases in the same time period, bringing the total to 1,622.
