The Halton Catholic District School Board is set to welcome back students for a new school year. Classes at all of the Halton Catholic District School Board’s schools begin on Tuesday, September 7, 2010.

"As the new school year begins, our Board will remain committed to providing a wide range of quality programs and services to the students attending our Catholic schools," says Michael W. Pautler, Director of Education, Halton Catholic District School Board. "We continue to focus our efforts to maintain a culture of high learning expectations rooted in faith in each of our Catholic Learning Communities."

Some of the new and ongoing initiatives for the 2010-2011 school year will include the following:

• During the 2009-2010 school year the Halton Catholic District School Board undertook a Strategic Planning and Renewal Process, which involved extensive consultation with all of the Board's external and internal stakeholder groups. At the June 29, 2010 Special Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a Strategic Planning Committee to be tasked with finalizing the outcomes and targets of the Board's 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, for approval by the Board of Trustees in September, 2010. This report of the desired outcomes and targets will then set the direction of the Strategic Plan's activities.
• The ongoing implementation of the Board’s 2009-2011 Focus on Faith initiative, with the theme “Hear the Word of the Lord, Learn to Do Good, Seek Justice”. This initiative promotes the Board’s Catholic learning communities as a culture of high learning expectations rooted in faith. Focus on Faith provides staff with a common language and framework that emphasizes the whole educational process as a religious activity where faith infuses every aspect of the curriculum.
• The expansion and alterations required to the Special Education Life Skills facilities at Assumption Catholic Secondary School.
• The expansion of the Oakville Campus of the Thomas Merton Catholic Centre for Continuing Education (TMCCE) and the addition of a TMCCE campus in Milton to accommodate growth and programming.
• The addition of 2 new Religion and Family Life Itinerant Teachers and 3 new Special Education Resource Teachers.
• The implementation of the Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) Project in five of the Board’s schools (St. Christopher and St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Elementary Schools in Burlington, Guardian Angels Catholic Elementary School in Milton, St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Elementary School in Halton Hills and St. Vincent Catholic Elementary School in Oakville). ASRTS is a provincial initiative that strives to create an environment that is conducive to, and supportive of, safe, ‘walkable’ communities. It is about encouraging and supporting students to use active transportation to school (walk, bike scooter, board or blade) instead of arriving in a car.
• The launch of the Board's dynamic new website that features a range of relevant information about the Board and its schools for parents, students, staff, members of the community and the general public. This new website is the result of months of review, re-design and input from stakeholders of the system, in order to create a “go-to resource” for anyone looking for information about the Halton Catholic District School Board, its schools, programs and services. The Board welcomes the suggestions of visitors to the new website. Comments can be submitted directly through the website or via email at: comments@hcdsb.org.

The 2010 Municipal Election will take place on Monday, October 25, 2010. Candidates interested in the role of the Catholic School Trustee can find more information by clicking here, and must file nomination forms before Friday, September 10, 210 at 2:00 p.m. Nomination papers should be filed with the appropriate municipal clerk. In order to vote for Catholic School Trustees, voters must be registered as English - Separate (Catholic) school supporters. To learn more about the upcoming 2010 Municipal Election and registering, changing or checking current school support, please click here.

Construction for a new secondary replacement school at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in Oakville is underway and the building is expected to open for the second semester of the 2010-2011 school year. The site work and all-weather turf sports field and running track will be completed in the fall of 2011. Construction is also underway for an addition and interior renovations to St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School in Oakville. The addition and renovations will continue during the school year with a completion date of December, 2011.

Construction of Lumen Christi Catholic Elementary School in Milton, with a student capacity of 612 students is progressing well. The school will be ready for occupancy by September, 2011.

The Board installed all-weather turf sports fields and running tracks at Bishop P. F. Reding Catholic Secondary School in Milton, Assumption and Notre Dame Catholic Secondary Schools in Burlington and at St. Ignatius of Loyola and Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary Schools in Oakville. In addition, construction of the all-weather turf sports fields and running track at Christ the King Catholic Secondary School will be completed this fall. By September 2011, all secondary schools will provide all-weather turf sports fields and running tracks for student and community use.

All student bus information, including bus stop times, stop location and route numbers are available online at: www.haltonbus.ca - the Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS) website. Parents should note that in order to access student transportation information either online or by telephone (1-888-803-8660), it is necessary to know their child’s Ontario Education Number (OEN). In addition, student bus information will be available at each school during the week of August 30, 2010. The Board reminds all motorists that with the start of the new school year, children will be travelling on our streets during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Please exercise caution when driving near school zones, crosswalks and school buses with flashing lights.

At its March 23, 2010 Regular Board Meeting, the Halton Catholic District School Board approved a School Year Calendar for 2010-2011 consisting of 188 instructional days and six professional activity days.

The following schools will celebrate anniversaries during the 2010-2011 school year:

• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School – 20^th anniversary
• Canadian Martyrs Catholic Elementary School – 35^th anniversary
• St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School – 40^th anniversary
• St. Vincent Catholic Elementary School – 50^th anniversary

On September 30, 2010, the Halton Catholic District School Board will host the third annual Diocesan Celebration of Catholic Education - an event that will bring together the seven Catholic school boards within the Hamilton Diocese, to reflect upon and celebrate the gift of Catholic education.

As Halton Catholic students return to school for the new 2010-2011 school year, the Board anticipates a small increase in enrolment. The projected enrolment figures indicate that 29,558 students (19,454 elementary and 10,104 secondary) will be attending the Board’s 40 elementary and 9 secondary schools, as well as the Board’s Continuing Education facilities in Burlington, Oakville and Milton on opening day, compared 29,366 in September, 2009.

The Board employs approximately 3,700 staff, with the total number of new teachers hired to date for this school year now at 35 (18 elementary and 9 secondary).

Trustees of the Board meet twice a month, typically on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 8:00 p.m., in the Board Room of the Catholic Education Centre (802 Drury Lane in Burlington). The Board’s website provides relevant information on the Board, as well as links to individual school pages.