At the Regular Board Meeting held on June 19, 2023, the Durham Catholic District School Board of Trustees approved the recommended program and boundary revisions as a result of the Oshawa Program and Boundary Study.
Why did the study take place?
The Oshawa Program and Boundary Study was initiated to address potential program and service delivery models at one or more Durham Catholic District School Board schools in Oshawa which are being impacted by the increased growth in north Oshawa, and due to the Ministry of Education announcement in July of 2020 to replace Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School with a Grade 7-12 school.
When did the study take place?
The Oshawa Program and Boundary Study began in June 2022, and over the past year a committee comprised of staff and Catholic School Council representatives consulted with the community in order to bring forth recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The consultation process involved committee meetings along with family and community engagement including four public meetings/open houses, updates via email, the creation of a dedicated webpage, surveys, feedback form/phone line/email address, videos, presentations and more. Through this series of public meetings and various feedback channels, considerations and recommendations were compiled and brought to the June 19, 2023, Regular Board Meeting. We thank everyone for their input and open dialogue throughout the consultation process.
What will the boundary change look like?
September 2023:
Approved boundary change for St. Joseph Catholic School and Sir Albert Love Catholic School that will be applicable to any new registrations (i.e. registering after June 19, 2023) and will take effect beginning in September 2023. A portion of Sir Albert Love Catholic School boundary (Satellite Area) will be directed to St. Joseph Catholic School and a portion of St. Joseph Catholic School enrolment will be directed to Sir Albert Love Catholic School. This boundary change is only in effect for students registering after June 19, 2023. Current students and any students who registered prior to this date will not be impacted. Please see map for details.
Any Year 2 Kindergarten – Grade 8 students registering after June 19, 2023, in the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School boundary will be redirected to St. John Bosco Catholic School. New French Immersion students (Grade 2-8) will only be admitted where space permits. Current students and any students who registered prior to this date will not be impacted for the 2023-2024 school year.
September 2024:
Beginning with students who are currently in Grade 7 at Sir Albert Love Catholic School, when students graduate from Grade 8 (i.e. beginning in June 2024), they will transition into Grade 9-12 at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School (note that Sir Albert Love Catholic School currently feeds into Msgr. Paul Dwyer Catholic High School). Please see map for details.
Sir Albert Love will remain a Kindergarten – Grade 8 elementary school, pending a school consultation/survey.
A portion of the English/regular track boundary from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School will be moved east to St. Hedwig Catholic School. Current students and any students registered for the 2023-2024 school year will not be impacted. This boundary change only applies to new students registering for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see map for details.
St. Christopher Catholic School boundary will be expanded east to take in a portion of both St. Joseph Catholic School and Sir Albert Love Catholic School. Current students and any students registered for the 2023-2024 school year will not be impacted. This boundary change only applies to new students registering for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see map for details.
French Immersion program will open for Grade 9 students at Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School, to provide an option for French Immersion secondary students in Oshawa. The program will begin with Grade 9 French Immersion in September 2024, and will and grow to a full Grade 9-12 program. To read the April 2023 report to the Board of Trustees, please click here.
When the new Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School opens, the following will take effect:
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School will become a Kindergarten – Grade 6 elementary school. All Grade 7 and 8 students (English and French Immersion) from St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School will be accommodated at the new Msgr. Paul Dwyer Catholic High School. Please see map for details.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School will become a Kindergarten – Grade 6 elementary school. All Grade 7 and Grade 8 students (French Immersion) from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School will be accommodated at the new Msgr. Paul Dwyer Catholic High School. Please see map for details.
Further consultation is required to determine implementation plan for the following:
St. Christopher Catholic School will become an English Kindergarten – Grade 8 elementary school with its existing French Immersion program being re-located to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School. Through future consultation, implementation details including date this will take effect, and any potential legacy students (i.e., may allow Grade 7 & 8 students to graduate out, if numbers are viable), will be determined. Consultations will begin in September 2023. Please see map for details.
September 2023 Update: Consultations with French Immersion families at St. Christopher Catholic School are underway - click here to learn more. A drop-in information session has also been scheduled at the school for Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Note: At the Regular Board Meeting held on December 18, 2023, the Durham Catholic District School Board of Trustees approved the followingrecommended change associated with St. Christopher Catholic School French Immersion program:
St. Christopher Catholic School will become a regular Kindergarten – Grade 8 Catholic elementary school with its existing French Immersion program being relocated to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School. Implementation will begin in September 2024 with the Grade 1 to Grade 4 French Immersion students. Grade 5 to Grade 8 French Immersion students in September 2024 will be able to graduate out of St. Christopher Catholic School in the appropriate year, pending the opening of the new Grade 7 to 12 Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School.
To view the full report to the Board of Trustees at the June 19, 2023, Regular Board Meeting, please click here.
Transportation
Student transportation will be provided to eligible students in accordance with the Student Transportation Policy PO429. Further details will be shared with families regarding any impacts related to transportation in August 2023 via the Durham Student Transportation Services Parent Portal or 24-hour automated phone line (1-866-908-6578).
If you have questions or comments regarding the Oshawa Program and Boundary Study implementation process or transition process, please complete the feedback form, contact us via phone at 905-576-6150 ext. 42252, or send an email to planning@dcdsb.ca.
Oshawa Program and Boundary Study Implementation Information for Each School
Oshawa Program and Boundary Study Implementation Updates
Information for families with student(s) currently attending a DCDSB school in Oshawa will be shared via SchoolMessenger. Updates will continue to be provided to families via School Messenger and on the Oshawa Program and Boundary Study webpage. Below are the implementation updates shared with families:
Oshawa Program and Boundary Study Background Information and Consultation
Information on the Oshawa Program and Boundary Study
On January 24, 2022, the Board of Trustees received the Long-Term Accommodation Plan 2022-2026 (LTAP) report and approved the guiding principles and actions to be undertaken. Within the LTAP report, staff were directed to undertake an Oshawa program and boundary study, with recommendations for any potential changes to be identified for a community consultation and implementation review (any potential outcomes would be subject to the provision of new PARG guidelines from the Ministry of Education, and the removal of the current moratorium). The study would help to address potential program and service delivery models at one or more Durham Catholic District School Board schools in Oshawa which are being impacted by the increased growth in north Oshawa, and due to the Ministry of Education announcement in July of 2020 to replace Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School with a Grade 7-12 school.
At the June 20, 2022, Regular Board Meeting Trustees approved the proposed boundary program and boundary “in-principle” recommendations to bring to the Oshawa families of schools for community consultation during the 2022-23 school year. Please click here to view Oshawa Program and Boundary Study report that went to the Board of Trustees.
Below are the scenarios that are being considered:
When the new replacement Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School secondary school is open, the DCDSB will have a vacant building in Oshawa that could be used as a single-track Grade 1-8 French Immersion school. Or alternatively, the DCDSB will also have a vacant building at Father Joseph Venini Catholic School, which could also be used as a single-track Grade 1-8 French Immersion school. In this scenario the Grade 7 and 8 regular-track students from St. John Bosco Catholic School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School would be located at the new Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School. This scenario would include related boundary adjustments for St. Joseph Catholic School/Sir Albert Love Catholic School and a satellite area of Sir Albert Love Catholic School that could link to St. John XXIII Catholic School.
When the new replacement Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School is open, the DCDSB will have a vacant building in Oshawa that could be used as a single-track Grade 1-8 French Immersion school. Or alternatively, the DCDSB will also have a vacant building at Father Joseph Venini Catholic School, which could also be used as a single-track Grade 1-8 French Immersion school. In this scenario, the Grade 7 and 8 regular-track students from St. John Bosco Catholic School and St. Anne Catholic School would be located at the new Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School. This would include related boundary adjustments for St. Joseph Catholic School/Sir Albert Love Catholic School and a satellite area of Sir Albert Love Catholic School that could link to St. John XXIII Catholic School.
When the new replacement Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School is open, the DCDSB will have a vacant building in Oshawa that could be used as a single-track Grade 1-6 French Immersion school. Or alternatively, the DCDSB will also have a vacant building at Father Joseph Venini Catholic School, which could also be used as a single-track Grade 1-6 French Immersion school. In this scenario, the Grade 7 and 8 French Immersion students from St. Christopher Catholic School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School would be located at the new Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School. This would include related boundary adjustments for St. Joseph Catholic School/Sir Albert Love Catholic School and Sir Albert Love Catholic School satellite area to St. John XXIII Catholic School.
To provide feedback on these proposed options, please email us at planning@dcdsb.ca.
Public Meetings
Through a series of public meetings, board staff will compile considerations and recommendations to bring to the June 19, 2023 Regular Board meeting.
The public meetings will be led a committee comprised of staff and Catholic School Council representatives from each DCDSB school in Oshawa. The committee has been meeting regularly since November 2022 to review options and gather information that will be shared with the communities for input.
The Durham Catholic District School Board is committed to an open and transparent process that allows for public input through a variety of means. Public meetings have been scheduled on the dates below to present the options under consideration and to offer our parents and guardians the opportunity to ask questions and provide input.
If you require accessible accommodations to participate in any of the public meetings, please contact Lori Jones at 905-576-6150 ext. 22238 in advance of the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Recording and Presentation from Final Oshawa and Program Study Final Meeting (May 4, 2023)
During the virtual public meeting on Thursday, May 4, 2023, the committee presented final options under consideration. In addition, parents, guardians and caregivers had the opportunity to ask questions and provide input.Please click here to download the presentation.
Please find a recording of this meeting below:
Implications of Boundary Reviews for Each Oshawa School - Video and PDF Presentations
Please see the video and PDF presentations below that outline the implications of the boundary reviews for each school in Oshawa.
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