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{mosimage}TORONTO - Catholic school boards should invest adequate resources into high school chaplaincy, says the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In a pastoral letter issued this month, the conference said while it recognizes the budgetary constraints that school boards face, chaplaincy is too important to be cut.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The is creating a new community advisory committee.

The board is calling for nominations to the committee “to enhance opportunities to provide input and advice to the supervision team.”

It alluded to provincially appointed supervisor Norbert Hartmann������Ƶapp Aug. 26 report entitled “ ” which had mentioned this committee. 

{mosimage}TORONTO  - The says students don’t have equal access to after-school activities in the province.

In a January 2009 report called “Equitable Education? The Cost of Extra-curriculars in Ontario������Ƶapp Schools,” the association recommended that the provincial government and school boards adopt a standardized fee system in Ontario and address the lack of access to after-school activities by students who can’t afford to participate.

“A substantial part of education is neither free nor equitable. The rich receive the benefit of experience while the poor receive a no-frills education; the wealthy can afford to participate in extracurricular activities while the poor cannot,” the report said.

{mosimage}TORONTO - It������Ƶapp a $50-million cut for computers and textbooks, but $600 million more for Ontario������Ƶapp publicly funded school boards next year.

 Although declining enrolment and the economic downturn are leading to cuts in computer and textbook funding, Catholic education groups say students will benefit from the Ontario government������Ƶapp commitment, announced in the March 26 budget, to more funding for public schools.

“These are difficult economic times for all sectors and I appreciate the steps the government has taken to maintain its support for effective initiatives around numeracy, literacy and secondary student success,” said president Paula Peroni.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Catholic schools in the Toronto area joined millions of people worldwide in turning off their lights for Earth Hour March 27, but for many, the practice is a daily routine.

In the , 18 elementary schools have been monitoring their energy consumption by classroom, with students rushing to turn off lights, computers and other appliances when a special warning LED “Save Energy” sign warns them of over-usage. The initiative is part of the board������Ƶapp Eco Champion program launched last year.

“So far these schools have saved 10 per cent of their total consumption on a yearly basis,” said Norman Vezina, the board������Ƶapp senior manager of environmental services. “It������Ƶapp amazing the impact they’ve had — you walk into (one of those) schools and you can’t leave a light on because students are chastising you.”

{mosimage}TORONTO - has a new trustee but the same old problem, says a Toronto Catholic parents group.

Murielle Boudreau, chair of the Greater Toronto Catholic Parent Network, says appointing Mary Ann Robillard, a former trustee and one-time assistant to Oliver Carroll, to the seat vacated by Carroll is like appointing her old boss.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Close to 6,000 students enrolled in the Toronto Catholic District School Board������Ƶapp special education programs will suffer from the upcoming reassignment of 67 teachers, says the head of the teachers’ union.

“How can you remove 67 teachers and not expect it to have a detrimental impact on the neediest students?” said Anthony Bellissimo, president of the , adding there is a waiting list to get needy students into special education classes.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The chair of a Toronto Catholic parent group says she plans to file a complaint with Ontario������Ƶapp ombudsman over the potential conflict-of-interest position of the provincially appointed supervisor for the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

In a letter to Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, Murielle Boudreau of the Greater Toronto Parent Network wrote that Norbert Hartmann “is usually in a conflict-of-interest situation whenever he presides over many aspects of the administration of the board” as his wife and daughter are Toronto Catholic school teachers.

{mosimage}TORONTO -It������Ƶapp “discriminatory,” “demoralizing” and should be taken down.

At least that������Ƶapp what an Ontario Catholic parent group is saying about a new government web site called “ ”

Brian Evoy, president of the , said the web site allows parents to choose schools based upon some discriminating indicators such as the percentage of students from lower-income families and those who don’t speak English as a first language. Provincial test scores are also a criteria.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Catholic faith plays a key role in student success, says American education researcher Fr. Ronald Nuzzi.

Nuzzi, director of the University of Notre Dame University������Ƶapp Alliance for Catholic Education, will be the keynote speaker at the 79th annual conference of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. The conference������Ƶapp main theme is “Catholic Education — Good News for All.” It is scheduled from May 7 to 9 in Toronto.