Dear Danforth and Greenwood Families, 

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has announced that they will be on strike, starting on Friday, November 4 and until further notice, unless an agreement is reached with the Government of Ontario. Starting Friday, and for the duration of this strike action, all TDSB schools will be closed for in-person learning for all students.

This means that Danforth and Greenwood will be closed tomorrow. Our teaching staff, who are not on strike, have provided work for students to complete tomorrow independently from home, and will remain available by email and phone to support students and parents.

While we are not distributing devices  or returning to online live instruction at this time, there are contingency plans being put in place to provide support should the strike continue into next week. 

I will update families on Sunday to advise whether or not the schools will open on Monday, and provide more details on how students and families can continue their learning remotely should schools remain closed.

Please continue to check the TDSB website for updates, and read more about tomorrow’s school closure here.

We are here to support you throughout this fluid and developing situation. If you have any questions please reach out by email (there will be no one to answer the phones). 

Bryan Wires

Principal

Greenwood S.S.  will be relocated to Danforth CTI as of September 2017. Greenwood will continue its program and retain its identity as Greenwood S.S. To commemorate this move a celebration is planned for June 6, 2017 at the school from 4:00p.m.- 6:00p.m. All former staff, students and community members are invited to attend.

 

Questions and Answers – Qs and As-Greenwood and Danforth 2017

1.     When will Greenwood Secondary School (SS) be moving into Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute (CTI)?

 Greenwood SS will be moving into the Danforth CTI building in September 2017.

 2.     Why will the school be relocated?

 The relocation was approved by the Board of Trustees in June 2016, following a Pupil Accommodation Review (PARC). To learn more about this process, please visit:

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/aboutus/strategyplanning/communityinvolvement.aspx?id=84

 3.     Will Greenwood programming be impacted by the change in space?

 Greenwood programming will not be impacted by the change in space.   

Greenwood students will have their own separate space within the Danforth building.  Greenwood will offer its current programs and services in the new site.

4.     Can you tell me a little bit about Greenwood SS?

Greenwood SS is a school for students who are new to Canada that offers intensive English as a Second Language programming along with specialized support for students and their families as they settle into their new life. The school helps prepare students to move to their community high school and complete the necessary credits to earn their diploma.  Greenwood SS has 240 students and is projected to maintain that number in the next few years.

 5.     Can you tell me a little bit about Danforth CTI?

Danforth CTI is a composite and specialized Math, Science and Technology school.  The school motto is “We learn by doing”. Students have access to a wide selection of innovative courses, offered in a caring, encouraging and inclusive atmosphere. The school has a large auditorium, three gyms, an outdoor playing field and athletic facilities. Danforth CTI is easily accessible through public transportation.

 6.     What is the Greenwood/Danforth Transition Committee?

 The committee is made-up of students, parents, school administrators and staff from both schools, formed to discuss implementation steps to ensure a successful transition for students at both schools. 

 7.     What are the next steps for the Greenwood/Danforth Transition Team?

 The committee has scheduled their next meeting in February to plan staff and student council meetings/presentations, organize joint activities and events, and tours of the Danforth building for Greenwood students.

 8.     Are you planning any construction work to accommodate Greenwood? When will it take place?

 In order to accommodate Greenwood students, the TDSB is planning to renovate some classrooms.  There will also be a new Greenwood library and dedicated cafeteria space to reinforce the character and identity of Greenwood SS within the new space.

Projected Timelines

Review of room allocation and scope of  work needed at Danforth building	January 2017
Tender process:  Invitation for bids (construction project)	March 2017
Site Preparation	June – July 2017
Construction	July – August 2017
Moving	August 2017
Greenwood successfully relocated	September 2017

 9.     Will Greenwood have its own administrator?

 Yes.  Greenwood SS will have its own dedicated school administrator.

 10.     Will the transition result in changes to the Danforth/Greenwood school calendar?

 There are no changes planned to the school calendars for 2017 – 2018 school year.  Danforth will continue to operate as a term school, and Greenwood will continue to be semestered.

 11.     How can I get up-to-date information?

 We will update students and parents as information becomes available. Please check the Greenwood and Danforth  school websites for additional information. If you have any questions please feel free to speak with the school administrators.

 

The Finding Home project, a moving collaborative project that reflects how Canadian students of immigrant parents, newly arrived refugee students, and immigrant youth interpret the concept of home, culminates in an exhibition of student work opening this week at the Aga Khan Museum. The project is a partnership between the Aga Khan Museum and artist-curators Vanessa Barnett and Elena Soní together with students, teachers, and administrators from Greenwood Secondary School and Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. It provided an opportunity for newly arrived refugee students to work through their journeys of adjustment to Canada through artistic expression. Many newly arrived refugee students from Syria, Columbia, Iraq, Sudan, Hungary, The Congo, Nigeria, and Eritrea participated.

The artist-curators are immigrant women who have experienced the reality of loss, separation, longing and memories of family having immigrated to Canada from South Africa and Venezuela from the realities of oppression and racism in their home countries.

Finding Home: Personal Journeys and Visual Narratives reflects the way refugee and immigrant young adults learn to take the invisible concept of home with them and recreate it in new settings. Authentic voice in finding home is one of the most important aspects of this project. Students created small, individual structures that are personal metaphors to represent their ideas. The students, all between the ages of 14 and 20, engaged in a process of expressing their dreams, fears, conflicts and hopes in a collaborative creation.    

Though Halloween has passed, it’s never too late to share some photos of the great costumes that were seen at Greenwood SS on October 31st.  Both teachers and students alike got in the spirit of the day by dressing up and participating in a home form pumpkin carving contest.  See below some of the great highlights of the day…

Over fifty Greenwood SS students recently had the opportunity to visit Chudleigh’s Farm in Halton Hills to have a truly Canadian experience – picking apples right from the trees!  On a picture perfect October day, we loaded two buses and made our way to the farm where students broke off into two groups to taste and learn about fresh apple cider, learn how apples grow and the correct way to pick an apple, and about the different varieties of apples.  After a walking tour of the farm, sliding down the massive slides and going on a wagon ride, students picked and ate delicious fresh apples right from the trees.   The apples were brought back to the school to be used in baking with the cooking classes.  It was not an experience our students will soon forget.

Millions of students across Canada take part in Terry Fox School Runs every year, making it one of the largest fundraising events in Canadian history.

The Terry Fox Run is a non-competitive event where people get together as individuals, families, and groups to raise money for cancer research in Terry’s name. It is a day of celebrating Terry’s legacy and helping to keep alive his dream of finding a cure for cancer.

Terry Fox Runs take place in over 9,000 communities across Canada every year and are accessible to anyone in a non-competitive atmosphere. Participants can run, walk, blade or bike and most of all have fun while raising funds for cancer research.

Greenwood Secondary School will participate in The Terry Fox Run by walking as a school through the community surrounding Greenwood SS on Friday September 23rd, 2016. We will follow an assembly day schedule, and snacks will be provided after.

Students are encouraged to raise money for cancer research, and to bring money and pledge forms to their home room teacher on Wednesday, September 28th. Every little bit counts!

“Anything is possible if you try”