A Message from Peter Ferreira, Trustee
Extraordinary lives start with a great Catholic education Over the years, Parents/Guardians who chose Catholic education for their children have told us that they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the education their children receive in our Dufferin‐Peel Catholic schools. Indeed, there are many ways to measure success, one of them being standardized testing, such as EQAO assessments that are conducted across the province each year. In these tests, Dufferin‐Peel students have invariably met or exceeded the provincial average in virtually all areas year after year. This, combined with our high graduation rates, variety of programming choices, the all‐pervasive, spiritual, Christian Catholic faith‐imbued nature of our schools, high standard of excellence, committed and dedicated faculty and staff and welcoming, diverse learning environments, make our schools places where extraordinary lives begin to take shape. Hopefully, this has been your experience at your child’s school. As trustees, we continually share good news stories about Catholic education in Dufferin‐Peel …. at board meetings, school council and community meetings, through social media, face‐to‐face conversations; essentially, wherever we go. While we connect, collectively, with thousands of parents/guardians and family members, there are countless others who may be unaware of what we have to offer. Last summer, we embarked on an awareness campaign to enhance our board’s profile in a variety of public spaces in the community. The campaign, which is ongoing, was labeled, Extraordinary lives start with a great Catholic education. We took this simple message to all corners of our jurisdiction using images that reflect our richly diverse community. You may have seen our message in transit shelters, shopping malls, community newspapers and other publications. Soon, you may spot our message displayed in colourful graphic design across many of our board maintenance vehicles as they roll throughout the community. As parents/guardians and stakeholders, we hope that you, too, will feel proud to be a part of our community and to also spread this message, based on your experience, through word of mouth and other means at your disposal. It has been another incredible year. To highlight a few accomplishments:  Sixth consecutive balanced budget  Aggressive technology plan for our schools  Full Day Kindergarten in every elementary school, in September  Continuing reinvestments in Special Education  Working towards Eco certification for all schools  Vigorous schedule of renovations and repairs to schools  Launched our dynamic new board and school websites As we close out the 2013‐14 school year, we can say that we have much to be pleased with and proud about in our schools. Our students continue to perform at levels that meet or exceed the provincial standards and average in most areas of EQAO assessments. This speaks to the range of academic programs that are designed to meet the needs of the diverse range of learners in our system. The recently concluded Catholic Education Week gave our students and our schools the opportunity to Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
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A message from Peter Ferreira, Trustee
highlight the incredible work that takes place each day and provided a forum for our community to see this work firsthand. If you would like to receive ongoing information from the board on school and board issues, events and activities, consider signing up for eCommunity, a free information service provided through the board website at www.dpcdsb.org or follow us on Twitter @DPCDSBSchools. It has been my honour and pleasure to serve as your trustee this past year. To those whose children are graduating and leaving our system, I hope your experience has been a positive one that you will stay connected to Dufferin‐Peel and continue to be a Catholic school supporter. To those parents and guardians whose children remain with us, I look forward to working on your behalf over the coming years in one capacity or another. To all, it is my hope that you will have a safe and enjoyable summer and experience God’s richest blessings in all that you do. Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
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