From: Bell, CassieTo: "Aim Mujib"; "Alejandra Bravo"; "Angela Samuels"; "Annique Farrell"; "Bob Spencer"; Bourjot, Sharlene; Branco,

Vicky; Brown, Marcia; Cary-Meagher, Sheila; "Cassie Bell"; Bell, Cassie; "Cheryl Skovronek"; "Chris Brillinger";"Chris Penrose"; "Colin Husbands"; "Darcy MacCallum"; "David Clandfield"; Davis, Joanne; "Denise Campbell";"Don Dippo"; Etzler, Monika; "Eugene James"; Fernandez, Johanna; "Fiona Bowser"; Gardner, Manon; "GeorgeMartell"; Glover, Chris; Griesz, Michael; Gillespie, Janice; "Jann Houston"; Jarrett, Paula; "Jayne Delbeek-Eksteins"; "Jeff Kugler"; "Jeff O"Grady"; "Jenny Katz"; "John Campey"; Johnson, Heather; "Justin Jagdeo";Kaplan, Howard; "Katie McGovern"; "Kristen Roderick"; "Laurie Green"; "Lesley Johnston"; "Lisa Heggum"; "LisaWatson"; "Martin Long"; "Michael Shapcott"; "Nanci Goldman"; "Nanci Goldman"; "Natasha Burford"; "NathanGilbert"; "Noula Naulls"; Parsonage, Catherine; Quan, Donna; Saltzman, Ester; "Saran Archer"; "Sejal Patel";Sheppard, Anne; Smith, David (Trustee Ward 19); Spence, Chris; Storey, Simon; "Tanya Senk"; "Tasha Tyrell";Tonks, Chris; "Varun Desai"; Yau, Maria

Cc: Steinhauer, NancySubject: ICAC Update January 30, 2012Date: Monday, January 30, 2012 11:09:25 AMAttachments: Being Proactive_Poster.pdf

Dear ICAC Happy Monday morning – did I see some sunshine out there? J Please find below some articles foryour perusal. Firstly, on behalf of the ICAC, I would like to extend warmest congratulations to Nancy Steinhauer,Principal at George Webster Elementary School and Model School. Ms. Steinhauer was recentlynamed one of Canada’s top principals and if you have very visited George Webster or know Ms.Steinhauer, you will know why! Congratulations to Ms. Steinhauer and to all the recipients for theirdedication and excellent work on behalf of their students and communities. Also included in this update is an Op Ed from the Star about educating boys – an interesting readindeed. I have also again attached the flyer for an upcoming conference at York U, “Being Proactive”which looks fascinating – coming up quickly in mid-February. Finally, I would also like to sincerely thank the ICAC volunteers (Lesley Johnston, Laurie Green,Alejandra Bravo, Michael Griesz and Chris Penrose) who will be visiting MSIC CPAC (Cluster ParentAcademy Committee) meetings across the city to introduce the ICAC, talk about its mandate,membership etc., and also about the importance of advocacy. Thank you all for giving up some of yourvaluable time – ICAC members are terrific! Wishing everyone a good week ahead,Cassie Cassie BellICAC Co-ordinatorwww.tdsb.on.ca/icac

mailto:/O=TDSB/OU=SITE00/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=091146mailto:amujib@parkwayhonda.commailto:abravo@maytree.commailto:absamuels@ups.commailto:afarrell@uwgt.orgmailto:robertgspencer2@gmail.commailto:Sharlene.Bourjot@tdsb.on.camailto:Vicky.Branco@tdsb.on.camailto:Vicky.Branco@tdsb.on.camailto:Marcia.Brown@tdsb.on.camailto:Sheila.Cary-Meagher@tdsb.on.camailto:cassiebell@sympatico.camailto:Cassie.Bell@tdsb.on.camailto:cskovronek@torontopubliclibrary.camailto:cbrillin@toronto.camailto:watrvision@gmail.commailto:colin.husbands@guinepp.netmailto:dwmaccallum@gmail.commailto:clandfie@chass.utoronto.camailto:Joanne.Davis@tdsb.on.camailto:dcampbe6@toronto.camailto:ddippo@edu.yorku.camailto:Monika.Etzler@tdsb.on.camailto:ejames@ett.on.camailto:Johanna.Fernandez@tdsb.on.camailto:fiona@foodshare.netmailto:Manon.Gardner@tdsb.on.camailto:gmartell@yorku.camailto:gmartell@yorku.camailto:Chris.Glover@tdsb.on.camailto:Michael.Griesz@tdsb.on.camailto:Janice.Gillespie@tdsb.on.camailto:jhouston@toronto.camailto:Paula.Jarrett@TDSB.ON.CAmailto:jdelbeek-eksteins@torontopubliclibrary.camailto:jdelbeek-eksteins@torontopubliclibrary.camailto:jeff.kugler@utoronto.camailto:jeff.ogrady@ontario.camailto:jenny@socialinnovation.camailto:jcampey@socialplanningtoronto.orgmailto:Heather.Johnson@tdsb.on.camailto:nathaniel.jagdeo@gmail.commailto:Howard.Kaplan@tdsb.on.camailto:katie.mcgovern@cupe4400.orgmailto:kroderick@uwgt.orgmailto:greenl@smh.camailto:ljohnston@socialplanningtoronto.orgmailto:Lheggum@torontopubliclibrary.camailto:lwatson@uwgt.orgmailto:lwatson@uwgt.orgmailto:mlong@ett.on.camailto:michael@wellesleyinstitute.commailto:nanci.goldman@utoronto.camailto:nancigoldman@bell.blackberry.netmailto:eaw.nburford@frontiercollege.camailto:ngilbert@laidlawfdn.orgmailto:ngilbert@laidlawfdn.orgmailto:nnaulls@toronto.camailto:Catherine.Parsonage@tdsb.on.camailto:Donna.Quan@tdsb.on.camailto:ester.saltzman@tdsb.on.camailto:saranfpyn@gmail.commailto:patelse@smh.toronto.on.camailto:Anne.Sheppard@tdsb.on.camailto:David.Smith4@tdsb.on.camailto:Chris.Spence@tdsb.on.camailto:Simon.Storey@tdsb.on.camailto:TSenk@edu.yorku.camailto:thtyrell@gmail.commailto:Chris.Tonks@tdsb.on.camailto:varun-desai@hotmail.commailto:Maria.Yau@tdsb.on.camailto:Nancy.Steinhauer@tdsb.on.cahttp://www.tdsb.on.ca/icac

This two day conference explores the impact of violence, poverty, racism, loss/bereavement, abandonment and neglect, street/gang life,

incarceration, and institutional and community apathy on the mental health of children and youth.

The conference takes place on February 16 and 17 , 2012 in collaboration with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Canada, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) , the York Centre for Education and Community (YCEC), and

the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS).

Participants will hear from keynote speakers and presenters involvedin research and educational programs that address the effects of violence,

poverty and racism (among others) on the well-being, mental health, school engagement, and academic performance of children and youth. Far too many of today's children and youth -- a significant number of them fromracialized communities -- are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing,

poor physical and mental health as a result of their exposure to theseissues. Many become disengaged from schooling, invariably

maintaining the inextricable link between academic disengagement and involvement in the criminal justice system, the consequences of which are

possibly poverty, incarceration, and death.

Thursday February 16, 2012Community Forum & Dinner5:00 PM (registration) - 9 PM

C.W. Jefferys Collegiate, 340 Sentinel Road,North York, M3J 1T9

Friday February 17, 20128:00 AM (registration) - 4:30 PM

Novotel Hotel (North York), 3 Park Home Avenue, North York, Toronto, M2N 6L3

Ministry of Children & Youth Services

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR

Principal Nancy Steinhauer reads 'Where the Wild Things Are' to a group of Grade 5 students. Steinhauer

has been named one of Canada's top principals in part because of the medical clinic she opened at her

school in a high-needs area.

Canada’s top principals include nine righthere in the GTA

January 27, 2012

Kristin Rushowy

Education Reporter

She helped fundraise and open an in-school pediatric clinic that now gives more than 900 students

and children in the community quick access to medical care.

A new program has volunteers filling backpacks with food for families to take home each month.

Workshops for parents, free after-school tutoring for kids and a first-ever school hockey team —

with equipment and ice time entirely donated.

It takes a village to raise a child, and that’s something Nancy Steinhauer, principal of George

Webster Elementary School, believes — and lives, by bringing together staff, parents and

community.

Steinhauer has just been named one of Canada’s outstanding principals by The Learning

Partnership, an annual award given to dedicated educators.

“Her enthusiasm and passion for kids is second to none,” says Toronto District School Board

superintendent Roula Anastasakos, who nominated her.

“Her positive attitude is contagious; she motivates everyone around to strive to make the lives of

everyone easier.”

The school’s motto is “Everyone learns.” And they do: from teachers collaborating, to parents

getting experience on how to use the computer alongside their children, to the “parent

ambassadors” who speak some of the 39 languages at the school and are charged with reaching

out to families.

“You walk into the building and you can feel it,” Anastasakos said. “The building is spotless; it’s

warm and welcoming. Parents are there. She’s really taken the time to build their leadership

(skills),” get them involved and “help them have a voice.”

“When she talks about ‘everyone learns,’ it’s more than words.”

The school, off Dawes Rd. near Victoria Park Ave., is among the Toronto District School Board’s

model inner-city schools, which receive extra funds and resources to serve at-risk communities.

Parents Saleha Mahmud, Rukshana Sayyada, Shamima Afroz and Belinda MacLeod are regular

volunteers and say Steinhauer has created a welcoming place for families.

Before Steinhauer arrived four years ago, Mahmud said, only a handful of parents came out to

school council meetings. Now, up to 30 do.

“She’s very active,” she added. “If we have any idea, we can talk to her about it. She respects our

ideas.”

“It’s my first year here, and my whole kitchen is papers stuck to cupboards, there’s so much going

on,” said MacLeod, who has a child in kindergarten.

Steinhauer said her father, Paul, a psychiatrist renowned for his work with at-risk children and

families, was a huge influence on her. The medical clinic at George Webster is named in his honour

and has a strong focus on mental health.

“My dad’s philosophy was that he wanted all children to have the same opportunities his own

children have,” she said. “I want that for all students.”

Top of the class

Principals in the Greater Toronto honoured as Canada’s best:

• Aiman Flahat, John Polanyi Collegiate Institute, Toronto

• Ann McGee, Adult and Continuing Education, Mississauga

• Louie Papthanasakis, Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Toronto

• Rhonda Polisuk, Blue Willow Public School, Woodbridge

• Giancarlo Schirripa, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School, Sharon

• John Shanahan, St. Patrick’s Catholic Secondary School, Toronto

• Mike St. John, Vimy Ridge Public School, Ajax

• Nancy Steinhauer, George Webster Elementary School, Toronto

• Amina Timol, Dublin Heights Elementary and Middle School, Toronto

Source: The Learning Partnership

Learning to live with ‘boy energy’January 29, 2012

Stephen Bede Scharper

“Well, if it had to be a boy, at least you guys will raise him okay.”

This was the response of a female relative upon the birth of my son almost two decadesago. My wife and I were silent. The implication was clear: it was unfortunate that ourbeautiful newborn happened to be male. Solely owing to his gender, he was an inherentlynegative presence on the planet. There was hope, though, that with enlightened parenting,he might be prevented from being a total bust in the calculus of the common good.

According to educator Michael Reist, such negative attitudes toward boys have permeatednot only our imaginations, but also our public education system. Reist, whose recent bookis called Raising Boys in a New Kind of World, has struck both a chord and a nerveamong many Canadians.

A high school educator for over 30 years, Reist has noticed that both our culture andcurricula have been tinctured by the notion that “boys and men are problems.”

“We need to stop pathologizing male behaviour,” he said in a recent conversation.

Reist claims that with the “common sense revolution” of former Ontario Premier MikeHarris, the educational landscape of Ontario has shifted away from a child-centred focus to

a curriculum-based approach. With an emphasis on “outcomes” and “rubrics,” this model isbig on measuring and quantifying success. “If it can’t be qualified or measured,” Reistnotes, “it is of no value.” This renders our students “commodities” to be produced ratherthan citizens to be educated.

Noting that “boy energy” is often perceived as something “innately disruptive,” Reist hasobserved that boys, in particular, are seen as threats to the “institutional decorum” ofschools, expressed in three terse rules: “sit still, be quiet, and do what you’re told.”

Building on recent research in psychology and cognitive studies, he points out that manyboys learn kinetically, and that their tendencies to fidget, tap and move while in theclassroom is not only normal, but also often advantageous for their learning processes.

Suggesting that there is often a year-and-a-half difference in biological and cognitivedevelopment between girls and boys, he claims this often slides into the mindset that “girlsare smarter than boys.” In fact, Reist claims, they are simply at different developmentallevels. The fact that girls now outnumber boys in many university undergraduate andgraduate programs, he continues, is suggestive that such negative attitudes toward boysare having lasting effects.

Reist argues that as “the strap” and other forms of corporal punishment have faded fromthe classroom, educators have had to search for other forms of maintain order. One of thenewer tools of classroom control has come in the form of medications such as Ritalin,sometimes used to help students with attention deficit disorder and other psychologicalissues, but increasingly prescribed on the advice of teachers to help certain students,especially boys, behave.

While Reist has seen certain cases where the use of such medications has been helpful,he is concerned about the over-prescribing of such drugs chiefly to maintain order.

Influenced by Richard Louv, whose book, Last Child in the Woods, talks about “naturedeficit disorder” and how children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder are often greatlyhelped and cured by exposure to nature, Reist claims that climbing a tree for a child is oneof the best activities for overall physical and cognitive development.

“Nature is the great therapy of the future.”

For Reist, one of the most important steps in dealing with boy energy is not to tranquilize,but to empathize. He invites educators to try and place themselves in a 10-year-old boy’sshoes, and build their lesson plans from there.

Though paying special attention to boys, Reist’s critique is perhaps equally germane togirls who also learn kinetically, and suffer from educational systems that privilege

conformity over creativity.

A fidgeting boy at his desk, or a girl who likes to chat with the friend beside her, might bean occasional annoyance; they may also form part of the stuff of which vital societies aremade.

Stephen Bede Scharper is associate professor with the Department of Anthropology,University of Toronto Mississauga.