Local Schools Receive Over $15 Million For Student, Family and Staff Safety

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Two local school boards have received $15,489,750 by the Ontario Government to increase safety for students, school and staff in a media conference held on Thursday.

MPP Dave Smith (right) address the media with board officials from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Photo By David Tuan Bui.

MPP Dave Smith (right) address the media with board officials from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Photo By David Tuan Bui.

The funds as part of the school boards’ cumulative funding Will go towards projects designed to improve ventilation, air quality, Internet connectivity, hands-free water bottle stations and other public health infrastructure for the upcoming school year.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) is receiving $11,884,400 while the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB) is getting $3,605,350.

The media conference was held at Chemong Public School in Bridgenorth and was held by KPRDSB board officials and MPP Dave Smith.

”Our educators and staff, school board leader ship and families have made tremendous strides to keep our school safe from COVID-19, while continuing to deliver world-class education despite the pivots we have had to make,“ said Smith. “This $15 million has supported projects to install touchless features, Wi-Fi/Internet connectivity, HEPA filter unit, state-of-the-art HVAC systems and upgrades to plumbing fixtures to support a safe return to school in September. Critical infrastructure upgrades will add another layer of protection as we enter this new school year.”

Diane Lloyd (pictured) addressing the media in a Grade 2 classroom at Chemong Public School. The Ontario Government is providing $1.6 billion in resources dedicated to protecting schools against COVID-19. Photo By David Tuan Bui.

Diane Lloyd (pictured) addressing the media in a Grade 2 classroom at Chemong Public School. The Ontario Government is providing $1.6 billion in resources dedicated to protecting schools against COVID-19. Photo By David Tuan Bui.

“Student and staff well-being is a highest priority and improving ventilation and filtration in classrooms and learning environment supports healthy and safe learning environment for all,” said Diane Lloyd, board chairperson.

The province is making over $1.6 billion in resources to school boards in Ontario for the upcoming year to keep kids as safe as possible according to Smith.

This funding will add support for student mental health, additional staff, school nurses, asymptomatic testing, remote learning technology and supporting health and safety measures in student transportation.

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Beloved Teacher Receives Video Montage Congratulating Their Retirement

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It was a heartfelt moment for the now-retired supply teacher Wadsworth Kulatungam as he received a video montage from former students, friends and coworkers congratulating his retirement sent Wednesday.

PTBOCanada Editor David Tuan Bui with Wadsworth Kulatungam circa 2008 and 2021. Bui was a former student of Kulatungam periodically as a supply teacher since 1998. Photos by David Tuan Bui

PTBOCanada Editor David Tuan Bui with Wadsworth Kulatungam circa 2008 and 2021. Bui was a former student of Kulatungam periodically as a supply teacher since 1998. Photos by David Tuan Bui

Kulatungam — better known as Mr. Wadsworth — said he was touched when he was surprised by the 34 people that congratulated him on his retirement of the video montage.

"It was sort of overwhelming looking at it,” said Kulatungam. “It was quite emotional too.”

He retired in December 2020 after 25 years as a supply teacher. He retired citing that it was his time and he wanted to leave on a good note.

The montage was started by former colleague Colleen Crawley, English teacher at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School. It was Kulatungam’s last place of employment.

She started an open campaign on Facebook to allow anyone to send video clips of their well-wishes to Kulatungam.

“He is so well-loved by students and staff alike that I always imagined his retirement would call for a big celebration,” said Crawley. “Since the pandemic did not allow this, I decided to make the group video to allow people the opportunity to wish him well.”

Colleen Crawley’s recruitment of people to give videos to Kulatungam was shared 89 times on her Facebook post alone. Photo Courtesy of Colleen Crawley.

Colleen Crawley’s recruitment of people to give videos to Kulatungam was shared 89 times on her Facebook post alone. Photo Courtesy of Colleen Crawley.

Kulatungam believes his attitude is what resonated with the students and staff. Telling jokes and smiling is what helped keep everybody positive he said.

“Never put down anyone,” explain Kulatungam. “Everyone has their talents, good and bad. None of us are perfect. I don't think any student is useless. I don't use that word at all. Everyone has capabilities and goodness in them. That was my philosophy. Criticism doesn't carry you anywhere.”

Kulatungam was a teacher and a vice-principal in his home country of Sri Lanka until he immigrated to Canada in 1993.

He is the second oldest of five children with an older brother and his sister as the youngest. Kulatungam says he will spend his spare time either reading or gardening.

"Don't be shy about being wrong,” said Kulatungam.

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Driver Shortages Causing Bus Disruptions In Local Schools, Close To 40 Bus Routes Cancelled

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According to a joint press release between PVNC, KPR and STSCO, Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario (STSCO) says families should have back up transportation plans as close to 40 bus routes have been cancelled for Monday, September 14th servicing local public and Catholic schools.

STSCO has been informed that, due to an area bus driver shortage, First Student bus company will have to cancel 38 school bus routes for both morning and afternoon runs on Monday, September 14th. The cancelled routes are listed on STSCO.ca by school.

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Some local bus companies continue to have difficulty hiring and retaining drivers during the pandemic, an issue that many transportation consortia across Ontario are facing. As a result, STSCO warns that bus route cancellations and delays may be a daily occurrence in the weeks ahead.

Any disruptions will be posted on a daily basis on the STSCO website to give parents and guardians as much advance notice as possible.

Families in both Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board are asked to monitor STSCO.ca in the mornings and evenings, sign-up for automatic notifications and follow @stsco_ca on Twitter for information on cancellations and delays.

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: 7 Awesome Reasons To Attend Lakefield College School's Open House

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: 7 Awesome Reasons To Attend Lakefield College School's Open House

Sponsored post by Lakefield College School

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Rotary Club Of Peterborough Installs Buddy Bench At St. Catherines Elementary School

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The Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha presented its first Rotary Buddy Bench to St. Catherines Catholic Elementary School Principal Shelley Adair and the staff and students of the school.

Nate Loch, a former student there and the inspiration for the project, shared candidly with the group in the school library his past experiences in both elementary and high school regarding bullying—of being both the victim and the perpetrator of bullying.

Left to Right: Donna Geary, Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha; Donna’s son, Nate Loch; Past President Kim Winter; St. Catherines Principal Shelley Adair; Rotary Club President Len Lifchus.

Nate closed his powerful talk with this message:

“I am optimistic looking towards the future of the schooling systems, and I’ve seen the great effort undertaken from the school board to try and tackle the gigantic problem of bullying. But this is where it starts, and this is where it can end—right here in this school, in the playgrounds and everywhere in between.

"I hope that as teachers you can guide the students into using this bench to promote inclusiveness and to be open to the idea of socializing with people they aren’t familiar with, or they might not be comfortable around. I hope to see this project succeed, and if it were to change the perception of a single child, I’d say it will have been a success.”

We love this initiative, and hope it spreads to more schools.

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: Day Students Are A Vital Part Of Life At Lakefield College School

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: Day Students Are A Vital Part Of Life At Lakefield College School

Sponsored post by Lakefield College School

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Peterborough Police Are Getting Numerous Calls About Motorists Disobeying School Bus Flashing Lights

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Peterborough Police Service's Traffic Management Unit has been receiving numerous calls, emails and voice messages with respect to motorists disobeying school bus flashing lights. 

Motorists are reminded that unless there is a physical barrier between the travel lanes, they are required to stop for a school bus when the bus is fully stopped and the lights are flashing.

Highway Traffic Act

Duty of drivers when school bus stopped

175 (11) Every driver or street car operator, when meeting on a highway, other than a highway with a median strip, a stopped school bus that has its overhead red signal-lights flashing, shall stop before reaching the bus and shall not proceed until the bus moves or the overhead red signal-lights have stopped flashing.  R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 175 (11).

     “median strip” means the portion of a highway so constructed as to separate traffic travelling in one direction from traffic travelling in the opposite direction by a physical barrier or a raised or depressed paved or unpaved separation area that is not intended to allow crossing vehicular movement.

The Traffic Management Unit will be devoting resources into educating and enforcing this very serious Highway Traffic Act offence, which comes with a set fine of $490 and 6 points.

Please share this post to remind motorists.

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: 7 Great Reasons To Join Lakefield College School for Their Open House

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: 7 Great Reasons To Join Lakefield College School for Their Open House

Sponsored post by Lakefield College School

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Peterborough Mom Returns To School, Posts Awesome Back To School Pictures & Message With Daughter

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Peterborough Mom Returns To School, Posts Awesome Back To School Pictures & Message With Daughter

"It's never too late to follow your dreams."

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Peterborough Principal Live Tweets His Day In The Life At A School

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St. John Catholic Elementary School Principal Andy Sawada is doing a really neat experiment on Wednesday (May 4th), taking us inside the life of a principal—and school—by live tweeting his day.

Using the hashtag #dayinthelifeoftheprincipal, Sawada is giving his followers a fascinating window into his day.

Principal Sawada with a student

Principal Sawada with a student

"This idea came up last week when one of my friends asked me what I do during the day," Sawada tells PTBOCanada. "Many people have an idea of what the principal role is, but the principal role has changed immensely since you and I went to school. So, I thought of live tweeting my day, which can be a challenge, but I usually tweet out school happenings at the @StJohnPVNC handle. Additionally, I thought that this could be a transparent way of showing and sharing what my job entails."

Here are some of his tweets so far...

Follow him here for more tweets.

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