A Message from the Director of Education: Lead, Learn & Inspire Monthly Bulletin

Thursday, Nov 20, 2025

Grand Erie Families,

While it’s not officially winter for another 31 days, the colder weather is here. When hazardous winter weather hits, there can be school and bus cancellations following our Inclement Weather Procedure

This week is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week across Ontario. Recently, we launched The Words Matter campaign for Brantford and Brant schools, which takes meaningful action against harmful language and identity-based bullying. Online safety and being a good digital citizen are important for everyone’s well-being. The Family Safety Toolkit can help parents and caregivers engage with their children to help them understand what it means to be online and how to be a good digital citizen, and set guardrails.

Each year, as part of the Strategic Plan, we set ambitious goals in Learning, Well-Being, and Belonging to support operational effectiveness. Recently, we concluded the 2024-25 Annual Learning and Operating Plan (ALOP) and opened the 2025-26 ALOP to guide our work over the next year.

Your grand adventures start here. If you or someone you know has a child born in 2022, they can start Kindergarten in September 2026 and registration is now open. In the spring, we will host Kick-Start to Kindergarten events for registered families to help with the transition to school for the first time.

You Belong Here as your child gets ready for the transition to high school. Future Grade 9 Information Nights for students and families are now happening at a secondary school near you. All eligible students transitioning to secondary school next year who plan to use transportation services must complete a transportation request form before the beginning of the school year. 

Effective September 2026, Technology and Innovation Hubs will be established at Cayuga Secondary School, North Park Collegiate & Vocational School and Simcoe Composite School. Each location will gradually offer a broader range of technology courses and provide students access to both hard technology and soft technology courses.

On November 12, the Police Resource Outreach Supporting Education (PROSE)™ program writing team was recognized as the 2025 recipient of the Ontario Justice Education Network’s (OJEN) Chief Justices’ Award in recognition of the success to build trust, understanding, and positive relationships between students, schools, and police. Also, the Communications department was honoured with an Award of Excellence for the PROSE program, as well as a Coup de Coeur award in recognition of a video supporting community building ahead of the opening of Grand River Public School, presented by the Canadian Association of Communicators in Education.

At Grand Erie, our focus is to support and enhance numeracy and literacy learning in the classroom and at home through a variety of engaging, interactive tools. Each month, we have compiled math resources and literacy resources to foster your child’s learning and support their growth.

On December 4, the Special Education Advisory Committee will host a virtual session featuring Emily Mostovy-Luna and Dr. Shelley Moore focused on strengthening collaboration between families and schools.

Each month, I highlight resources from School Mental Health Ontario. Recently, we rolled out Wellness Carts for elementary schools and kits for secondary schools to provide accessible tools and strategies that help students reduce stress, practice coping skills, and regulate their emotions when needed. 

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Dr. JoAnna Roberto, PhD

Director of Education-CEO and Secretary of the Board
Grand Erie District School Board

Important Upcoming Dates

View a full list of days of significance and Grand Erie events.

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