February 13th to March 28, 2012
In order to protect the identity of all individuals who have submitted correspondence with regard to the
Lee Street 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.
March 16, 2012
I find it rather concerning that as a family living on Lee Street east of Starwood, the staff is
recommending sending our children to Lee Street school. I can currently see Ken Danby school out
my window, but under the recommendations my children will need to cross Starwood, a busy street, to
get to school. They will have to travel down to Grange to cross at the light and as a result will have
approximately a 10-15 minute walk to Lee Street School instead of 2 minutes to Ken Danby. This
makes absolutely no sense to me, especially when one of the mandates of the boundary review is to
ensure the safety of students. The current proposal makes my daughter's walk to school less safe. It is
my hope that the committee will rethink their recommendations to ensure that they actually do work to
ensure the safety of the children east of Starwood Drive.
March 21, 2012
As a parent of two that presently attend Ken Danby PS I disagree with scenerio A. We live on
O'Connor Lane and to be so close to a school and not be included in the boundary lines is nonsense.
I also feel that scenerio B would be better suited seeing as the numbers in the schools would be more
equal than scenerio A.
March 22, 2012
To Whom It May Concern,
I moved onto Lee Street in 1999 when this development was first built. We were filled with wonderful
stories of how our children would be able to grow up in a new community filled with wonderful parks,
schools, libraries, grocery stores, etc.
One of the reasons we bought a house on Lee Street was so that our future children would be close
enough to come home for lunch, having to cross only one quiet street to get home.
It took a few years before we received the park at the end of our street, at least 6 years before we
even received a convenience store, and almost 9 years before we received a library.
The plans for our surrounding community have been altered and rezoned so many times the residents
of this area keep losing track , but that didn’t matter my dream was finally coming true – Ken Danby
was built in time for my children to begin their education.
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
In September 2010, my little girl finally walked to her brand new school right at the end of our street.
It was one of the most wonderful days of my life as I walked the measly 470 steps from my daughter’s
classroom door back to my front door. I counted each and every one on the long walk home that
day. My 3 year old son is slated to begin at Ken Danby this September and having spent the last two
years walking with my daughter, is excited.
Now we find out that someone has made a proposal with absolutely no regard for our children’s
safety, forcing them to cross an extremely busy, divided road with greenery so large a driver c
an barely see around it to make a left until almost in the line of oncoming traffic. Adding the
possibility of bussing our kids for the next two years to another school while yet another school is
being built more than a kilometer away from home, is in my opinion rather ridiculous and is
something that shouldn’t concern us as it’s so far away.
I work for a company that contracts Driver Examination Testing in Ontario on behalf of the MTO. I
have tested applicants in both Guelph and Kitchener over the past two years and the proportion of
poor drivers is drastically increasing as our population increases. I have seen some crazy stunts while
testing applicants, and all because the driver just “tuned out” for a moment, or was distracted by their
nervousness of being tested. But that doesn't even include those texting, or talking on cells,
exhaustion, poor visibility, and a whole host of other distractions that only take a heartbeart to snuff a
life.
Here are some stories from the Children’s Safety Villages, which my company so lovingly dedicates
endless hours of volunteer work to assist in such an honourable cause as protecting our young from
the hazards of the road:
•
In November 2010, a young eleven year old Cambridge girl was on her way to school. As
she stood alone that morning at her bus stop a car, driven by a man, stopped and yelled at her to
“get in the car”.
•
An eight year old boy managed to shout a warning to his younger sister just in time to prevent
her from being hit by a street sweeper on a residential street. Although her bike was damaged, she
escaped unharmed.
•
And let us not forget the heart-wrenching, horrible story of young Tori Stafford, walking home
from school by herself for the first time. Or the “Creepy Lady” as my daughter calls her, that was
trolling our parks for a few summers grabbing at random children on swings; her picture remained on
the O’Connor Park sign for nearly 2 years, while police knocked on our doors asking if any of us had
seen her or had any information.
Why someone would willingly force little children to increase their school commute is beyond me, and
is frankly a gross disregard for our children’s safety and concern.
If haphazard planning and rezoning have suddenly increased the number of residents that are to
attend a school, why are the residents that have “bought into” these plans being punished? For 13
years I too have “bought into” the various plans, knowing I was close to the school and my children
would be safe in their daily commute. Not this time.
Now some bureaucrat has decided to put my children’s lives at risk each and every day because
his/her department has changed their minds so many times and the consequences are finally catching
up!
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
I only arrived home from a work conference this morning and was unable to secure a baby-sitter for
your Boundary Review Meeting tonight and so was not able to attend in person. I am sending this
letter in the hopes that your decisions are not final and that you are sincerely willing to listen to the
concerned residents in this area.
If you require any further information or clarification, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
March 22, 2012
Scenario A (Map 3 March 2012) is good.
Provincial government must be told, full time kindergarten can't be implemented yet.
Class sizes must be increased.
Kids currently bused, should be bused to another school.
March 22, 2012
I am a parent of four children who currently attend Ken Danby we have just moved to this area for this
school in June 2011. As I said we have 4 children and 3 of then suffer from anxiety due to change
and one who has aspergers, the transition to ken danby has been hard on them at times and I fear
the worst for them as I have been told that they will have to be placed at a holding school (King
George) for the 2012-2013 school year then switch again the following year to the Lee Street. If this
is true please let me know what my options are here. Also what grades will this new school be JK-8?
as I would perfer all my kids to attend school together until they start high school.
March 22, 2012
As a parent of 2 children that attend Ken Danby I would prefer that Scenario B be seriously
considered. We are no more than 4 min walking distance (O’Conner Lane) from the school so to
have to relocate schools is absurd. Not enough info was put out there to inform the parents of this
plan. Parents input was not considered before this was all planned out.
March 22, 2012
Suggestion – to stay with plan B.
I am interested in my children to walk to Ken Danby which is a 4 min walk. Does not make sense for
Fleming rd. not to be included in the Ken Danby boundaries.
Please, please, please make Fleming part of Plan B or within the Ken Danby boundary!!!!
Our voices count!
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
March 22, 2012
It makes no sense why you wouldn’t build a school on the other side of Watson Rd. where they are still
building TONS of houses. Children do well with stability. I do not want my child being shipped to a
“holding school” then to a new school. 3 schools in 3 years is unacceptable! Just the social aspect
of developing kids will be hard enough to deal with. As you can tell it’s this “holding’ school that is a
huge issue!
March 22, 2012
Will siblings be split to go to holding school. How will they get there?
March 22, 2012
2013/14 school year holding school – major contention.
It mentions on the website that there will be over-crowding for 2013/14 year and that some will need
to be bused to a holding school for that year. It indicates this decision will not be announced until Feb
2013. Can we have some sense of who may be bussed prior to that date?? Will it be 7 & 8 students
or just those affected by the boundary changes? Spring of 2013 will allow little time for families who
will be affected by loosing older siblings by being bussed elsewhere. I believe (based on my
discussions with other parents) that this 1 year upheaval is a major concern for most parents, more so
than the boundary issues.
It makes more sense for the students of the new school to be kept together for that year at the holding
school rather than send gr 7 & gr 8’s who will be split up anyway between the Lee St school and Ken
Danby.
Between scenarios A & B – Scenario B makes more sense with Starwood Dr. as dividing line.
March 22, 2012
We live on Holly Court just outside the existing KD boundary. KD is 1.1km from our home. Ottawa
Crescent is more than double that distance. Your plan is to build a school on Lee St, less than 1 km
from our home & we are not zoned to attend that school either. My concern/frustration is that there
are 2 schools within easy walking distance, yet my kids have to walk all the way along Auden,
Eastview, across Victoria Re. I do not believe the scenarios do allow maximum walking students.
March 22, 2012
We live on Sloan Ave which is South of the railroad tracks. It is a mature area with no potential of
development. There are 5 children only who go to Ken Danby why not include Sloan Ave as it is
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
“mature” area include them in the Ken Danby Boundary?! They are already being bused to school.
My daughter has already had to move schools once when Edward Johnson went French immersion. I
do not want her to be shuffled around to holding school then Lee school. Can Ken Danby not
accommodate these 5 children?
PS of these 5 children mine included they have ‘social’ issues and have a hard time ‘fitting in’. One
child on Sloan also is autistic don’t make these kids suffer for the adults mistakes of making the school
too small. The better area for the new school would be East of Watson Road where they are
developing like crazy.
March 23, 2012
I am excited for the Lee Street School!!!! We live on Silurian Drive and I am looking forward to having
a school right around the corner. I am concerned how ever with the 'transition school' King George.
I have 2 children one will be in Grade 4 and the other in Kindergarden in 2013-2014. I am
concerned about transportation firstly: Will both children attend King George? Or will one be at one
school and one at the other? Will they be bused or will we face the fate that the Brant Ave parents
did: with a 30-45 min walk? I am concerned that if both my children are not at the same school:
how will I do the pick up and drop off?
I need you to think about the following impact of the transtion school on families in the
neigbourhood:
* care should be taken in placing all children from a family at the same school.
* please consider that a large number of parents in the area provide home based childcare. This is
a huge part of their households income. If we are required to pick up our children at King George
this will finacially impact these families in a devistating way. I can speak for myself and say that we
just downsized our home after my husband was out of work for a while. We are just getting back on
our feet. I provide childcare from my home. If I cannot continue dropping off and picking up children
at Ken Danby my lack of income would be detrimental to our family. On my street I can think of 8
homes that provide childcare. I really need to know if we would be provided with transportation.
* If you are going with Scenario A will there be lights and crossing guards (not students) povided at
the corner of Grange and Lee?
* Have another information night similar to the one on March 22nd to keep parents in the loop.
* I can say that the school board is not caring for the whole child. The impact this transition to the
holding school will have on the chilren's security and self esteem is unpredictable! Not to mention the
stress you will be putting their families under will be indescribable! Yes you can "educate a child" at
any facility but if you do not care for the child in their entirety your teaching goes to waste.
Please consider my points. I would appreciate a response to my questions as well. I need to know
about transportation to the new school and if my children will be kept together so I can begin
planning. I can confidently say that Home Schooling has crossed my mind. I have read the
acknowledgement below however I do suggest respecting families and putting in place a staff member
to respond to concerns from parents. I can tell you that parents in the neighbourhood do not feel
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
listened to or respected. This is a sensitive issue and I can tell you that responding directly to parents
as individuals WILL go a long way. Also if you choose to publish my comments please do so in its
entirety (excluding personal info.).
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and I am begging you to really consider my concerns.
March 23, 2012
Scenario A causes the least disruption for our family and would fulfill our family obligations now and
in future. Scenario B would cause major disruption to our children and family obligations. We strongly
encourage the board to identify Scenario A as the chosen option.
March 23, 2012
Please strongly consider plan "A" for the sake of parents
March 23, 2012
We would like to express our concern about the Lee Street boundary review and how it will effect our
family. We have 2 children that attend Ken Danby one will be in G6 and G7 in 2013. If the option
that the G6 student is sent to King George school which is considered the holding school, our 2
children will be split up. We have arranged daycare for before and after school, or maybe at that
time both our children will be able to walk to and from school together. If this is not applicable, we
have before and after daycare arranged very close to Ken Danby School. If they are split will there be
bus transportation, do they have to walk or is before and after school care being offered? If not I will
have to find -b/a school care in the King George School area. We (both parents) work out of the city
and cannot or have time to take each child in different directions for this 1 year holding period. We
live on Creighton Ave and would hope that they reconsider that our street is in the boundary to stay
attending Ken Danby School. One other note our son is ADHD-O and keeping him in the same
schedule and routine is very important to him and our family. We just recently moved to Guelph and
changed schools, we have had some issues with the changes and are just settling in quite nicely. We
believe that having him change to another school having to make new friends could be detrimental to
his educational needs.
Please feel free to contact us at any time.
March 25, 2012
Hello,
Although I was unable to attend the recent meeting regarding the boundary review, I appreciate the
opportunity to voice my concerns via email. I am currently residing in the Morning Crest Subdivision.
We have daycare within the immediate vicinity of Ken Danby School. Currently, we are slated to send
our son to Brant Avenue School, a situation we find incredibly concerning for a variety of reasons.
Principle among those reasons are that it would be unfeasible for him to ever walk to school - we do
not feel comfortable sending a 4-5 year old alone on a bus to school. Secondly, even if he were to
take a bus, the bus would not drop him off near his daycare.
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February 13th to March 28, 2012
In all other community concerns, the Morning Crest Subdivision is considered part of East Guelph
community(community groups, etc). My son deserves an opportunity to be an active member of HIS
community and should be permitted to attend a school with other members of his community, within a
safe and reasonable distance from his home. Not including Morning Crest within the boundary of Ken
Danby is not going to help equalize school populations elsewhere, but will cause unrest within our
community as we all struggle to find the means to move our families within the proposed boundaries
for Ken Danby school. I believe, if asked, you will find the residents of Morning Crest find the idea of
sending their children to Brant Avenue school absolutely unacceptable and are determined to ensure
their children receive a quality education in a school that is within a safe and reasonable
distance from their home - even if this means moving to a new area.
Sincerely,
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