May 1st to May 7, 2013 In order to protect the identity of all individuals who have submitted correspondence with regard to the
Sir Isaac Brock PS Grade 7/8 Feasibility Study and in keeping with the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act, all personal information and/or identifiers have been
severed from all recorded communication (i.e. e-mails and letters) prior to distribution. The intent or
message has not been changed.
May 2, 2013
I understand that as a Rickson Ridge parent I have the advantage of the 7/8 school being in my
neighbourhood and can appreciate how this can be a disadvantage for the SIB families. However if
the classes are split and neither school has enough students to support a rotary program with
specialized teachers and programs then we all lose in terms of the higher standard of education that
our children will receive. I would hope that standard of education is more important than bussing. I
believe there are other solutions for the concerns about daycare and exercise. All parents will have to
go between 2 schools once our children are at Centennial. If the roles were reversed I would certainly
put my child on a bus for a higher standard of education. If SIB moves to their area for 7/8 and there
are plans to still support Rickson with students from other areas where the total number would still
qualify RR for the teachers, programs and rotary then it would be great to hear about that.
May 2, 2013
As a parent before moving to Guelph in 2011, I did lots of research about Guelph public schools, the
programs they are offering and their rating. In result I choose Rickson Ridge PS and bought a house
in school boundaries. I did my job and I am not going to fight for what the school is already offering.
If any changes going to be happen, the goal should be having same rotary program and all other
equipment and resources for both Rickson Ridge and SIB schools. This is not about parent’s interests
or pleasing everyone, this is about making decision for our children’s future.
I think the discussion is how you (UGDSB) can provide all these programs, equipment and resources
for both RR and SIB schools and what is your time table for these changes?
May 2, 2013
Many parents at Rickson Ridge moved into this neighbourhood and/or chose Rickson over the local
French Immersion or Catholic schools because of Rickson's excellent reputation. Two main reasons
identified by families are that its intermediate program is known to be excellent preparation for high
school and that it has a K to 8 music program second to none. How can you justify removing both of
those benefits to all these families who will feel they have been misled?
May 3, 2013
The argument for moving 7/8 to SIB depends on 10 year enrolment projections, but it's unreasonable
to accept enrolment projections for 10 years as credible.
1) The report itself acknowledges the failure to foresee the creation of the JK-8 FI centre.
2) The board representatives at the May 2nd Q&A session that changes in educational requirements
imposed by Ministry (e.g. FDK) are difficult to predict and have a large impact on enrolment numbers.
1 May 1st to May 7, 2013 It's unreasonable to come to a decision regarding the SIBFS at this time because the goals of the
SIBFS "Communication Plan" have not been achieved. When asked at the May 2nd Q&A, the board
was unable to provide a clear picture of what the changes would be to programs, staffing, bussing,
and overall quality of education. How can parents be expected to provide useful feedback when the
only information that has been presented to them is "this is how many students our computer thinks
will be at the schools in 2022"?
As suggested by multiple parents of both SIB and RR at the May 2nd Q&A session:
- Why is the board so focused on this single possible solution to the problem?
- Why isn't the board considering other ways to address a continuing decline in enrolment?
The proposed move of 7/8 to SIB will not solve the problem of declining enrolment at SIB, it will only
band-aid a trend that shows every evidence of continuing. According to the enrolment projections, the
RR community population and attendance remains steady throughout 2022, while the SIB enrolment
projection shows a sharp trend of declining enrolment from 2014-2022.
Please scrap the SIBFS and:
1) do a root cause analysis to determine the real cause of the trend of declining enrolment at SIBFS,
2) do a proper consultation with the communities affected to come up with possible solutions to the
problems discovered by the RCA, and
3) when the solutions are proposed, present adequate information to parents so they have a clear
picture of the impact of the proposed changes.
May 2, 2013
It’s clear with your forcasted numbers that even by keeping 7s & 8s at SIB, by 2022 the school is still
underutilized. Why take away a fantastic program from a strong school and cause both to end up
being underutilized?
Your forcasted numbers do not seem to take into consideration the impact of a brand new K-8 FI
centre in Rickson’s very own catchment area. Surely this school will be taking new students away from
Rickson every year beginning in 2014.
Apparently SIB is going to have costly changes made to prepare for their new kindergarten program in
2014. Would these changes be necessary if 7s and 8s were not going to stay there?
If SIB keeps its 7s and 8s, who will feed Rickson Ridge? Jean Little has 5 portables and 5 intermediate
classes and was never designed to be an intermediate school.
May 2, 2013
Unfortunately, the SIB parent who spoke did not understand that numbers. The numbers actually show
that it only makes sense to have 7 & 8 stay at SIB – otherwise, our children will be taking the bus to
school to potentially be in portable classrooms at an overcrowded school.
2 May 1st to May 7, 2013 Seriously need to consider the number of kids who are planning to leave the public system to the
Catholic system in order to stay in the neighbourhood. My concern is that the public system will
continue to lose kids to the Catholic system.
Can the Board find the # of students who left SIB & gone to St Ignatius in previous years?
The “softer” data is most important!
I feel this meeting had a strong teacher presence & their animosity toward the Board should not affect
the decisions about our kids education.
Heather Staines made the comment that with fewer 7/8 classes, there will be fewer 7/8 extra
curriculars, BUT if SIB goes down to 63%, there will be fewer extra curricular activities. So, we lose
either way.
May 2, 2013
The fundamental issue despite all of the emotional comments put forth is the quality of the education
for gr. 7 & 8 students.
If this intermediate program is a model for others, then it should continue – and the challenge then is
to find the critical base of students for that strong intermediate program continues.
May need to take a broader scope in your analysis & include other K-8/K-6 schools in S Guelph
model – worth the extra analysis to make the right decision.
May 2, 2013
SIB deserves it’s turn at a Grade 7-8 program.
May 3, 2013
I completely support and excitedly applaud the idea of SIB providing education up to grade 8.
May 3, 2013
A key question when making "educational" decisions is how/why is this good for kids? Ontario has
one of the best education systems in the world. In the business world we rely on specialists to do their
job so why not in education? Considering the total student populations, why is it not feasible for both
SIB and RR to have grade 7 and 8 programs with rotary?, With some creativity and dialogue on the
part of the principals and teaching staff, along with support from the superintendents, I would expect
that a rotary program could be offered at both schools. The specialists could teach in their areas of
expertise for the majority of the time.
May 4, 2013
3 May 1st to May 7, 2013 I have had 2 children graduate from Rickson and have seen first hand the benefits of the rotary system
for the grade 7 & 8s. My kids both were heavily involved on all the sports teams and if this was taken
away it would be devastating to the kids. I do not want to see this system changed, taking away the 7
& 8s from Sir Isaac Brock is not in the best interest of the kids.
May 6, 2013
It was evident at the Information Session last Thursday that parents from both SIB and Rickson Ridge
have many questions about the overall effectiveness of the feasibility study. It appears that it only
addresses the singular question of whether or not grade 7 and 8 can be added to SIB, without looking
at the wider enrolment and programming concerns of both schools. The Board’s own projections
show that even if SIB begins to keep its intermediate students there, the school will still be underenrolled in 6 years, and very significantly under-enrolled in 10 years. How is that fair to SIB families,
who are devoted to their local school? In addition, if the board determines that SIB students will stay
at SIB for their intermediate years, Rickson Ridge, which is already below capacity currently, will be
under-enrolled as soon as this change takes effect. How is that fair to Rickson Ridge families, who are
equally devoted to their local school?
Only addressing this one question can lead to a “band-aid” solution at best. The Board is obligated
to all of its constituents to look at the wider picture, and to work harder to find a solution that ensures
an excellent education for all students from both SIB and Rickson Ridge. The only way to do this is to
conduct a full accommodation review of the south end. This is only reasonable, given the number of
changes that have occurred and will be occurring in the south end, including Fred A. Hamilton’s
change into an FI centre, the upcoming building of a new FI school on Zaduk, the recent opening of
St. Ignatius and Westminister Woods, the forthcoming FDK programs at Rickson (2013) and SIB
(2014), and the potential development of the Hart Farm. Enrolment trends and projections for
Rickson, SIB, Priory Park, Jean Little, and Westminister Woods should all be examined carefully, with
the goal of creating stable communities at all of them, and the best possible arrangements to enable
top academic programming.
May 6, 2013
This week is mental health awareness week across Canada. Stats tell us 1:5 Canadians will be
affected with a mental issue (and then there are the families that these individulas belong too so more
are affected). As the members of the Board make this decision, please consider how your choices will
affect these vulnerable children. Is it better that they have a number of adults that they are in contact
with during the school day, or are they better off with fewer adults? Is a smaller school population
better or a bigger one? Of course there is no one right answer, but please consult the specialists in
the field before making your decision. The teacher is not suggesting that they can treat a mental
health issue but they are often the first adult children talk to.
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