Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review Feedback
November 26 to December 15, 2011
In order to protect the identity of all individuals who have submitted correspondence with regard to the
Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review 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.
December 9, 2011
Having reviewed the Edward Johnson JK-6 Boundary Review I would like to know the following. What
consideration with respect to impact on the families being split by the proposals has been considered?
Does the proposed change not incur greater transportation costs to The Board as buses wll need to
run now to Erin and Guelph (assuming the proposal goes through)?
What consideration has been given to community involvement in sports etc by affected students who
currently attend EJ in Guelph and will now be moved under the proposal?
What consideration has been provided to parents who will now be at significantly greater distances
away from their children in the even of a medical situation requiiring parent involvement?
December 9, 2011
I just read the most recent boundary report and am appalled to read that since Edward Johnson is not
a neighbourhood school to the Tytler area students it's a disadvantage in the third scenario. You're
right, John McCrae was our neighbourhood school!! And we will never have a community school if
we are continually shuffled around. Why should my kids be punished for the board not having the
foresight to deal with this issue last year?? These are real live children we are talking about here, not
just projected numbers and boundary lines.
As for the possibility of grandfathering, I sure hope you don't intend to split my children up, as I have
two that currently attend EJ and one that will attend in 2 years.
December 12, 2011
My son is in Grade 1 at Edward Johnson and in 2012 my other son will begin JK at Edward Johnson.
We live in Rockwood. I have started to read the planning department package with reagrds to the
possible changes and it is my understanding that my son(s) will be going to Brisbane Public School in
2012.
I have a few issues with this; Guelph is our community, we skate, swim, shop, ect in Guelph. We
never go to Erin and my children have no relationships with other children in Erin through extra
curricular activites.
Second, bussing our kids to Erin is not solving any of the bussing issues. It's just as far and with the
construction in Rockwood, will not solve any of these issues.
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Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review Feedback
November 26 to December 15, 2011
I also don't see what the rush is to accomodate full day JK/SK as Edward Johnson isn't slated to start
full days until 2014?
I have already looked into the possibility of my children attending Rockwood school in 2012 (even
though it's not French) and was told that it's at capacity and my children may be refused entry. My
husband is French Canadian and we have worked very hard with our kids to have them learn the
language. Moving to an English school would be our last resort but it seems that that's not even an
option.
Will there not be any considerations taken into acocount if the parents are French Canadian? I am
willing to drive my kids every day if it means they can attend Edward Johnson.
I don't believe that this boundary change is beneficial to my children and the children of Rockwood
community.
December 12, 2011
It is not fare! It would make better sense to put the people in Rockwood un a different scool!!! For
Rockwood it takes 10 minutes and for Grange it only takes 2-3 minutes! Like REALLY!!!
December 12, 2011
I have noticed while reading other boundary reviews for boards such as York and Simcoe that families
that have siblings divided by the proposed boundary reviews were grandfathered through the current
track. Report #2 seems to clearly indicate that this is not the Board's intention, please clarify.
Report # 2 also indicates that approximately 8 scenarios were considered by the Committee and yet
only 3 are presented. All of which have the same impact on the Rockwood FI pupils. Can you please
provide details of the othe scenarios?
Report # 2 provides the planned enrollment for King George PS but does not discuss the capacity
which I view as a different number. What is the capacity for the new school?
December 12, 2011
This is a travesty- the 3 scenarios indicate only one option for Rockwood & area children. Few
parents will send their children to Erin- the families will move to Guelph or send their children to
overcrowded Rockwood Centennial. Rockwood children should have equal access to quality FI
education in Guelph where their families and activities are centered, not 30 minutes east! WE NEED
MORE OPTIONS! How about King George? How about Tytler children going to King George?
Either would be acceptable. More space and time is needed!
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Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review Feedback
November 26 to December 15, 2011
December 13, 2011
Questions:
- why can't the 50 Rockwood students be grandfathered, or i.e.grades 2-6 ???
- many families have made huge attempts to make ties in Guelph due to our choice to send our
children to Edward Johnson, now we would have to change to Brisbane and then on to Erin??
- why is there only 1 scenario for Rockwood students??????????????????????????????????????
- families from Rockwood have committed to Guelph for, our family, 6 years of schooling, I am upset
that the first notice was in November a change may occurr....is this the best time for an academic
change for our children???? should we change to English stream to try to build a new sense of
community close to home
- will Rockwood school accept students due their growing numbers???
- will Rockwood school end up sending students to Brisbane school as well??
- will Rockwood students end up going to Erin for high school??
- how many buses will students have to take to get to Brisbane??
- how many snow days does Brisbane have on average?
Thank you,
a concerned parent
December 13, 2011
It is outrageous that the school board is considering moving children in the Tytler PS area a second
time in a 1-year span. I was thrilled with how my son was doing at John McRae. My child is
introverted and it took him a good part of a year to make close friends at John McRae. Then the
school board ripped him from that environment and forced him into Edward Johnson. His adjustment
is still ongoing. Please do not force him to move to yet another new school. I feel very strongly that
the children in the Tytler area should either be allowed to stay at Edward Johnson or they should be
moved back to John McRae, which is very familiar territory for them - my preference (and my son's)
would actually be for the latter. As adults, we have a responsibility to promote an environment that
makes our children comfortable and receptive to education. The constant shifting of boundaries for
students in the Tytler PS area must stop. It is my understanding that the boundaries for King George
may not be stable over the next couple of years either. The UGDSB has to understand that it is their
job to promote a stable educational environment for our children - don't make them pay yet again for
short-sighted moves in the past. Keep them at Edward Johnson or move them back to John McRae any other option will be harmful to the Tytler area FI students. I recently had a significant career
choice to make - take a job in Guelph or in a distant Canadian city - one of the motivating factors
with choosing Guelph was to prevent my son from having to attend three different schools in a span of
two years - yet now we face this scenario anyways - my devotion as a parent to try to provide stability
in my son's life may have been for naught. How frustrating it is to have our local school board make
Guelph such a disruptive educational experience - as parents in the Tytler PS area, we might as well
be moving from city to city every year - apparently it might not be that much more unstable for our
kids as living a lifetime in Guelph! For goodness sake, regardless of the outcome of this decision,
please make the school that Tytler area kids attend next year be the same school that they are allowed
to graduate from.
With sincere frustration...
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Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review Feedback
November 26 to December 15, 2011
December 14, 2011
I have already commented on the comments page in the previous month and I am unsure if I am able
to come to the meeting on December the 15th, so I would just like to make myself very clear, I am
more than angry and disappointed that you are talking about another school change for my daughter.
She attends Edward Johnson PS at the moment and had already been moved several times in such a
short span. We are within walking distance to John McCrae, and as of now, there is no way we could
walk to Edward Johnson. I am about to have a baby, and I cannot even imagine attempting to walk
my daughter to the new proposed school (I do not drive). The fact of the matter is, is that John
McCrae is our local school in the Tytler catchment area, and if the kids are to be moved, I would like
to see this be the last time, and I propose that they all be moved back to John McCrae. It makes the
most sense, considering they are all from there so it is familiar to them, it is within walking distance,
and I do not want them in a potential "holding" area where they could be moved again.
One more thing, the bus that my daughter takes to and from school now is shared with the older
Waverly PS children. The bus is over populated, and cramped with out of control children (the older
Waverly kids). The Edward Johnson kids are 3 to a seat which makes it very uncomfortable especially
in winter with so many bulky items, and my daughter has expressed her hatred for the bus. The other
day the bust was extremely late arriving home (after 4pm, over a
1/2hr of the normal waiting time) There was no communication or apology as to why the bus was
late, but would this scenario have happened if we were able to walk to our closest school? Would my
daughter have to put up with the behaviour of students from older misbehaved children from another
school on the bus? This is all very frustrating to me, as well as the other families in the same
condition.
I hope this situation can be resolved favourably.
Thank you for your time.
December 14, 2011
I've read the proposals, and I would like to say that I am not in favour of proposal C. My
neighbourhood seems to be the dividing line for all schools, Catholic, RT and now potentially FI. This
has had a negative effect on my local community, Kids not knowing/interacting with other kids in the
same geographic area. The kids on my street generally do not interact with the kids on the adjacent
streets, they could easily cross to get to and vice versa, because they are strangers to each other. This
has not helped promote a feeling of a community, it has become a community of strangers. Seldom
do kids cross large roads to find friends. The divisions along arterial roads is frankly better option.
December 14, 2011
I am so frustrated with the school board right now. All I want is for my child to attend a FT school
within walking distance of our home. We had exactly what we wanted in John Mccrae. I'm very angry
that we have to settle for less than what we think is best for our child.
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Edward Johnson FI Boundary Review Feedback
November 26 to December 15, 2011
December 15, 2011
This relocation will remove my daughter from the friends and community that she has grown up with
for the past 6 years. Guelph is the community that our lives revolve around. To move her to a school
40 km away will not only cut her off from all of the social activities in Guelph that she is involved with,
it will isolate her from the group of friends she has come to rely on. Should this plan procede our only
recource would be to transfer her to the english school in Rockwood. It is unfortunate that 40 to 50
students in a small rural community are being used as pawns to forward the political agenda ot the
board. I can assure you that from this time forward I will become much more active and vocal in the
election process of school trustees, with the ultimate goal of placing a board that considers the needs
of the students first.
December 15, 2011
This move will greatly affect not only my family but the entire community of Rockwood. Many families
have their roots in Guelph and I believe the board has seriously underestimated our ties to Guelph.
Our sense of community is greater than the need for French Immersion, therefore we are prepared to
remove our children from the FI program in order to keep them in the Guelph system and with their
rooted community. I was greatly offended by the boards statement in scenario A that says the
following "No significant disadvantages to this scenario were identified by the Staff Committee".
Clearly the SC has not considered the negative impacts on these young lives as they may potentially
be separated from classmates and their community.
December 15, 2011
How does this decision take into consideration how our kids, and our lives have become so involved
in Guelph and in the community. To just be moved to another district which is not connected with our
daily lives is not justified.
We as parents are responsible for making secure education decisions, and our decision is front and
foremost, Our kids need consistency.
The Guelph area is an important part of their education and our life for many reasons. The Rockwood
French Immersion students started in this program in Guelph and should not need to be so removed
from friends and our connections to Guelph. They don’t need to be stressed and uncertain about
where they belong, I am writing to stand up for their right to remain in the city of Guelph, and no
longer have to live with the uncertainty of not belonging to the school and community they have
become a part of.
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