UPDATE: Important Notice for Elementary Students & Families
Posted April 29, 2015
Potential job action by elementary teachers province-wide The purpose of this letter is to update Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) families on the status of labour negotiations with elementary teachers. At the provincial/central bargaining table, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) filed for conciliation and made the request for a No-Board Report. On April 24, […]
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Categories: Broadcast-Elementary · Labour
Important Notice for Elementary Students & Families
Posted April 22, 2015
Potential job action by Waterloo Region District School Board Secondary teachers. You may have heard about the possibility of labour disruption at the Waterloo District School Board (WRDSB). We would like to assure you that this is currently an issue affecting secondary schools, not elementary schools. The collective agreements for all unionized school board employees […]
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Categories: Broadcast-Elementary · Labour
Register Now for the PIC Family Event!
Posted April 1, 2015
Registration is now open for the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) Family Event ‘Building Skills to Navigate the School Years’, April 18, 2015, Bluevale Collegiate Institute. This FREE event is open to parents, guardians and the community. Keynote speaker, Lesley Andrews, will share with us her inspiring story of ‘overcoming the odds’ to follow her passion […]
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Categories: Broadcast
Community Breakfast
Posted March 24, 2015
Please see the attached regarding a free community breakfast on March 28th. Community Breakfast
New Pilot Funding Initiative for Schools
Posted March 23, 2015
The Waterloo Region District school board has partnered with My Class Needs, a not-for-profit foundation associated with Curriculum Services Canada, to offer a unique opportunity to support classroom teachers in securing additional resources to support student learning, well-being and achievement. The program provides grants for materials/services up to a maximum of $750 per class. To qualify, […]
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Categories: Broadcast
February 23 – All schools open & buses are running
Posted February 23, 2015
Transportation is running and schools are open today.
Categories: Broadcast
Why were our schools closed Friday?
Posted February 23, 2015
The WRDSB has put in place a frigid temperature threshold in our severe weather procedure primarily for three reasons related to the safety of our students:
1. According to Environment Canada, at -35C exposed skin can freeze within 10 minutes. Environment Canada indicates that in temperatures between -28 to -39 there is a high risk of exposed skin freezing (frostnip or frostbite). This temperature is very unusual for our region and some students may not have the appropriate clothing to protect themselves.
2. Most students will take longer than 10 minutes to walk to school and the bused students may wait for an extended period of time should any bus be delayed.
3. We are unable to guarantee crossing guard service to our students as individual crossing guards have a right to maintain their safety given that they are exposed for extended periods of time in frigid temperatures.
The Education Centre remains open and is fully operational.
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Categories: Broadcast
February 20 – All Schools are Closed & Buses Cancelled
Posted February 20, 2015
Due to frigid temperatures, all schools are closed today and all buses are cancelled. All Extended Day Programs are also closed. The Education Centre remains open for those who can safely arrive to work.
Categories: Broadcast
“School-Day” Has Arrived !
Posted February 19, 2015
As mentioned in our November Newsletter, we are pleased to announce that “School-Day” has now arrived! “School-Day” is our new on-line communication and payment tool which offers a number of convenient features ie: field trip forms and food orders can be completed on-line. This new tool also accepts on-line payments… so convenient! Next week, our students will […]
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When do Schools Close Due to Weather?
Posted February 19, 2015
Our procedure for severe weather provides guidelines and expectations for school closings due to severe weather, and how this information is communicated to our families.
Severe weather refers to conditions such as ice, fog, rain, sleet, snow, wind and/or frigid temperatures and wind chills. We consider a frigid temperature to be -35C with wind chill, or colder.
The general manager of Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) will monitor weather and temperatures in the region beginning at 5:30am, using Environment Canada’s wind chill index. If the temperature is forecasted to reach or exceed -35C with wind chill at 7:00am, buses will not operate and schools will be closed. The education centre will be open to those employees who can safely arrive to work.
How do we communicate cancellations or closures?
Decisions relating to cancellations and closures are made by 6:00am. Any cancellations and closures will be posted on our website and school websites. Information will also be available on our twitter account (@wrdsb). We encourage you to monitor our website and listen to local media for up-to-date cancellation and closures.
Parents have the option of keeping their children at home when concerned about weather conditions.
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Categories: Broadcast