At our April OCASC Assembly meeting, OCDSB Principal Sandy Richardson spoke to us about the Balanced School Day. While I missed the meeting due to a Parent Involvement Committee Symposium in Toronto, I gather there was great interest in Sandy’s handouts. Sandy has been kind enough to share them with us. The following four items are available to download as pdf files.

• Healthy Eating Tips and Sample Menus from Halton Region [view document]
• One month of menus from the Perth District Health Unit [view document]
• Menu ideas from the Public Health Nutritionists/ Dietitians in Ontario [view document]
• The OCDSB 2005 Report Evaluating the Balanced School Day [view document]

Thank you Sandy for sharing your knowledge and your resources!

Please note that the April 8 Secondary School Committee (SSC) meeting has been cancelled as there were no issues requiring a meeting.  For more information please contact Nadine Clarke, SSC Chair.

The Community Council on Ethnocultural Equity, or CCEE, one of the OCDSB’s advisory committees, meets on Thursday, April 8 from 6:45 to 9:00 p.m. The main topic of discussion for the meeting is a “review of the CCEE’s mandate, vision, structure and modus operandi”. Parents are welcome to attend.  The meeting takes place at 440 Albert Street, Room C117.

Do you recognize this logo?  Keep your eye open for it around the OCDSB.  It represents the District’s exciting leadership initiative that takes many forms.  It’s about shared leadership, informal leadership, everyone working together for the best for our students.

The newest event takes place at the end of April:  ”On April 28, 29 and 30, we will gather a dynamic and diverse group of individuals — parents, community partners and staff from a variety of roles — from across the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. ”

Parents will be an integral part of this 2 1/2 day symposium.  If the leadership journey and making a positive impact sound enticing to you,  please join us on this journey of discovery.  For more information and to complete the required form to participate, please click here.

On the “better late than never” principle, and with apologies that we were not able to provide this information earlier, here are some workshops happening on April 1 that may be of interest to parents with autistic children.  Click on the titles for further information.

• Keeping Children with Autism Safe

• Non-Violent Crisis Prevention and Intervention Techniques:  Intervening with Individuals with ASD

• The Autism Registry pilot project Launch