COMMUNITY ADVOCACY
AT WORK
Announcement made Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - Silver Creek School to be transferred from the TDSB to the province. Read the release, watch the video and see the pictures below.
Announcement made Tuesday, April 4, 2017 that Silver Creek School is being transferred from the TDSB to the province.
Residents voice displeasure about potential sale of Toronto District School Board’s Silver Creek School
Announcement made Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - Silver Creek School to be transferred from the TDSB to the province. Read the release, watch the video and see the pictures below.
One Step Closer In Resolution For Silver Creek School
TDSB MEETING - MARCH 22, 2017
On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 representatives from Friends of Silver Creek School
(FofSCS) and Silver Creek Pre-School (SCPS) were in attendance at the TDSB
Meeting whereby the process to have Silver Creek School transfer to the province
continues with the proviso that Silver Creek Pre-School (SCPS) and The Etobicoke
Children's Centre (The ECC) continue to operate on-site.
The following motion was ammended and passed:
“It is recommended that the Toronto Lands Corporation be directed to initiate Regulation 444/98 for the disposition of Silver Creek Public School (65 Hartsdale Drive) and McNicholl Public School (155 McNichol Avenue) on condition that the external organizations that currently serve special needs children and their families will continue to operate at these two locations."
FofSCS wishes to acknowledge TDSB Chair Robin Pilkey for ensuring that the agenda item addressing SCS was not moved to the next meeting and for recognizing our members by commenting on how committed those in attendance were to be there that late for two meetings in a row.
FofSCS remain committed to seeing Silver Creek School, the attached green space with SCPS and The ECC operating on-site transfer safely to the province.
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2015: Silver Creek School identified by Toronto District School Board (TDSB) as “underutilized” and the school (and associated green space) recommended for sale.
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Silver Creek School houses both The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and Silver Creek Pre-School
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The Etobicoke Children’s Centre (The ECC) is dedicated to providing services to children, youth and their families who experience challenges related to mental health and autism. The ECC has been in our neighbourhood since 1999 and serves approximately 1200 children and their families annually.
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Silver Creek Pre – School has been operating at Silver Creek for 40 years with
approximately 70 children attending morning and afternoon classes; 80% of children have special needs.
Both schools have waiting lists. -
As a result of concerted efforts and ongoing dialogue with elected officials the meeting format for the May 24th meeting at Richview Collegiate was amended and the limit of deputations permitted at the TDSB meeting on June 15 was extended from 2 to 10.
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Over 13,000 signatures have been collected through petitions circulated door to door and online.
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Friends of Silver Creek are continuously working alongside Silver Creek Pre-School and The Etobicoke Children’s Centre to raise concerns and implement strategy for decisions moving forward.
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Elected officials have recognized the importance of preserving Silver Creek School, the green space and having the programs and services for children with mental health issues and special needs remain in our community.
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Friends of Silver Creek met with Colleen Hogan - Chief of Staff and Sam Andry – Director of Policy both from the Ministry of Education and MPP Yvan Baker to discuss concerns about development of TDSB land and to request community updates.
Significant Development Regarding Silver Creek School
Over the last few months there have been significant developments surrounding the status of Silver Creek School.
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and the Ministry of Infrastructure have worked together since June to enable the transfer of Silver Creek School to the province. Friends of Silver Creek School (FofSCS) have been working with Yvan Baker (MPP Etobicoke Centre), Ministry staff, The Etobicoke Children’s Centre (The ECC) and Silver Creek Pre-School (SCPS) to ensure that the Silver Creek School transfer does occur.
Read the complete update in the FofSCS February
2017 E-newsletter here.
Read the letter on the February 8, 2017 TDSB vote from Yvan Baker, MPP, Etobicoke Centre here.
TDSB Meeting - Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Please click here to view the agenda for the TDSB Meeting which will refer to Buttonwood Hill, specifically sections 17.1 and 17.2.
Decisions regarding Buttonwood Hill on February 8th will have an impact on programs at Silver Creek and McNicoll Schools.
READ Friends of Silver Creek School's email to TDSB Trustees sent Tuesday, February 7, 2017 here.
Your can email TDSB Trustees to share your support of keeping The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and Silver Creek Pre-School on-site and in our community.
Visit this link for a list of TDSB Trustee emails http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Leadership/Trustees.aspx
FofSCS Update & Letter from Yvan Baker, MPP
The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and the Ministry of Infrastructure have worked for seven months on a transfer of ownership of both Silver Creek School and McNicoll School.
After the September 15, 2016 announcement that the province was looking into a "whole site solution", Yvan Baker, MPP Etobicoke Centre distributed a community letter announcing his commitment to maintaining the Silver Creek Pre-School and The Etobicoke Children's Centre
on-site at Silver Creek School and in addition, maintaining the green space for school and community use.
Yvan Baker, has been active in efforts to ensure a positive outcome and has provided an update.
Your can email TDSB Trustees to share your support of keeping The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and Silver Creek Pre-School on-site and in our community.
Visit this link for a list of TDSB Trustee emails http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Leadership/Trustees.aspx
Friends of Silver Creek School Members Presented
Outstanding Volunteer Service to the Community Award
On Sunday, January 15, 2017 Yvan Baker, MPP hosted his annual Holiday Levee & Community Recognition Awards in Etobicoke. Various individuals and volunteer groups were recognized for their dedication and service to the community.
We are proud to announce that Janet Griffiths-Maxymiw and Fred De Haan, founders of Friends of Silver Creek School were each presented with the Outstanding Volunteer Service to the Community Award.
Congratulations to Janet, Fred and all the other award recipients!
Click the photos below to see more.
IMPORTANT UPDATES & INFORMATION
Update from Yvan Baker, MPP for Etobicoke Centre:
Yvan Baker, MPP for Etobicoke Centre has sent out a letter in follow up to the province's announcement on
September 15, 2016 that a "whole site solution" was being explored to save Silver Creek School, the green space
and to keep programs on-site.
Read the letter in full here.
September 29, 2016 UPDATE
Yvan Baker, MPP - Member Statement in the Legislature regarding "Silver Creek Public School”. Click to watch the video.
Silver Creek School and its green space is still at risk
of sale and development.
Let Mayor John Tory, Councillor John F. Campbell, MPP Yvan Baker and
Janie Romoff , General Manager, Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation know that the community wants #NoSale of the green space at Silver Creek Park today.
September 15 Community Meeting UPDATE: Last night Yvan Baker, MPP announced that the province is exploring a "whole site solution that does not involve severing the green space." This is very encouraging however, until there is a CONFIRMED resolution Friends of Silver Creek School and the community will need to continue in their advocacy efforts. Check back for updates.
Friends of Silver Creek School sent a letter to Mayor John Tory requesting action to preserve the 6 acres of TDSB owned green space adjacent to Silver Creek School.
Copied on the letter are Yvan Baker, MPP, Etobicoke Centre and Councillor John Campbell, Ward 4.
I was surprised by the fact that neither quantitative nor qualitative data from site by site comparisons of the twenty-one “surplus” buildings could be provided to clearly justify why Silver Creek should be among the first five buildings prioritized for sale.
Borys Wrzesnewskyj - M.P., Etobicoke Centre
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2015: Silver Creek School identified by Toronto District School Board (TDSB) as “underutilized” and the school (and associated green space) recommended for sale.
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Silver Creek School houses both The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and Silver Creek Pre-School
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The Etobicoke Children’s Centre (The ECC) is dedicated to providing services to children, youth and their families who experience challenges related to mental health and autism. The ECC has been in our neighbourhood since 1999 and serves approximately 1200 children and their families annually.
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City of Toronto notes on the TDSB Silver Creek property review that “if this property is sold, operations and access to the park and pool could be affected”.
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Together with community support, Friends of Silver Creek have and continue to make, great strides in an effort to preserve Silver Creek School, its green space and to continue to have the Silver Creek Pre-School and The Etobicoke Children's Centre continue to operate out of SCS.
However, there is still more work to do as the future of Silver Creek School is still uncertain. Together, Friends of Silver Creek and the community at large must continue to advocate to see the services stay on site at Silver Creek School (as per the TDSB recommendation) and to maintain the green space as part of Silver Creek Park.
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