EdCamp 905

Empowering learning by connecting voices of educators, students, parents, community members. #edcamp905

[EdCamp 905 @EdCamp905]

On half of the entire @EdCamp905 team thank you to everyone who attended #edcamp905 rich discussions, networking, learning. It's what #edcamp is all about! Special thanks the the amazing team of volunteers! @ONeducation teachers are amazing and commitment! It was just a start!

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

NEW: Ontario’s education unions are officially serving notice to bargain today.

Among their demands:

• smaller class sizes (capped at 24 students for grades 4-8, and 26 for kindergarten)

• ending mandatory e-learning for high school students

• spec ed investments

[Colin D'Mello | Global News @ColinDMello]

NEW: The Ford government just used its majority to pass a motion to take an extended 21-week break from the Ontario legislature.

MPPs will return to their desks just days before Halloween.

https://t.co/c93MUO0Grn

#onpoli

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

New: Education unions are set to trigger bargaining this week, kicking off a tight summer timeline to reach a deal before contracts expire.

Anticipating tough negotiations, unions had asked to start talks earlier, but Paul Calandra tells me there’s “more than enough time.”

[Peel District School Board @PeelSchools]

June is Pride Month! A celebration of the diversity, joy and contributions of Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities. Across our schools and communities, Pride is an opportunity to come together, show support and uplift one another. It also connects us to an important history.

Pride actually began as a protest—a brave movement where people stood up, raised their voices, and fought for the right to be treated with fairness, kindness, and respect. Pride is a meaningful reminder that everyone deserves to feel safe and valued for exactly who they are as we continue to foster environments where everyone feels a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their authentic selves, this month, and throughout the entire year!

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

Thousands of protesters accused the Ford government of privatizing public hospitals at a rally at Queen’s Park on Thursday.

Given the government’s significant investments in private clinics, I ask the health minister if Ontario is now operating a two-tier health-care system:

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

Asked why trustees are being restricted from attending conferences while he attended an education forum overseas, Calandra argued the two are not comparable: “The difference is, I’m the minister of the Crown, responsible for a $43 billion ministry." https://t.co/T5jJlcV1jD

[Markus de Domenico TCDSB WARD 2 Trustee Etobicoke @Markus4Ward2]

I delegated @DPCDSBSchools last night in support of flying the Pride flag. Before the meeting even started the police had to called in. In what has to be one of the most disgraceful outcomes for a Catholic Board I've seen in a long time, the motion to fly the Pride flag outside the board office and schools did not even receive a 2nd and so was not voted on. A second motion to allow the indigenous flag to fly every day as requested by our indigenous community received the same disrespectful treatment. TY @breacorbet for being the lone voice in support of students and staff

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

New FOI data: majority of Ontario students are rejecting the Ford government’s e-learning mandate.

70% of the first graduating class opted out or were exempt.

The province calls it a tool for digital literacy. Critics say it's a cost-cutting measure: https://t.co/a9aqpP98vC

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

NEW: An exhaustive review of roughly 200 flights in Doug Ford’s calendars reveal he essentially stopped flying commercial in late 2025, switching almost entirely to private flights.

Opposition blasted him during question period, but Ford insists he’s better than former premiers

[Colin D'Mello | Global News @ColinDMello]

There’s an oft-repeated spending scandal in Canadian politics that always serves as a reminder that taxpayers care about the dollars and cents, no matter how small.

Bev Oda’s $16 glass of orange juice.

https://t.co/9uAvhkUD5W

Today, the Ford government revealed nearly $200,000 in taxpayer dollars were spent to acquire a $28.9 million plane for the Premier, that was subsequently sold amid scandal.

https://t.co/soyUN68hJU

#onpoli

[Marit Stiles @MaritStiles]

Doug Ford mocked students for taking “basket-weaving courses” and blowing OSAP money on “luxury watches and colognes.”

A new report shows less than 1% of OSAP funds were misused.

Less. Than. 1%.

He invented a crisis to cut student aid – then pulled $30 million from people’s pockets to buy himself a luxury private jet.

I’ll keep fighting this government until the cuts to OSAP are reversed.

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

One of the toughest jobs in education is being a principal.
Every day, principals are balancing mandates, district expectations, meetings, parent concerns, student needs, staffing issues, budgets, discipline, testing pressures, and a thousand other responsibilities most people never see.
And somehow in the middle of all that, the best principals still find ways to encourage their teachers.
They show up in classrooms. They check on people. They celebrate small wins. They protect staff when they can. They try to keep morale up even when they’re exhausted themselves.
Great principals live in the tension between leading systems and leading people.
And the ones who never lose sight of their staff in the middle of all the pressure deserve more appreciation than they often receive.
To the principals who continue fighting for kids while also trying to support, encourage, value, and appreciate their teachers:
Thank you.
Your staff may not always see everything you do behind the scenes, but your presence, support, and leadership matter more than you know.
Education is still a people business. And great principals never forget that. @NAESP @NASSP

[EdCamp 905 @EdCamp905]

https://t.co/XVlLsHa46V

[Elementary Educators @ETFOeducators]

Minister Calandra says he doesn't want "a big, long, prolonged strike" during the upcoming round of bargaining.

@etfopresident David Mastin says the ball is entirely in the Ford government’s court, pointing to chronic underfunding of the system as a major sticking point, "I’m sure if the government came to the table and said, ‘You know what, we recognize the errors in our ways, we’re going to reinvest $6.35 billion’, I think we could have a very easy, simple round of negotiations."

FULL STORY BY @TinaYazdani @Thetrilliumca: https://t.co/o99DqC18S9 #onted #onpoli

[Peel District School Board @PeelSchools]

“It started with a few racks of clothing… just something small to help.”

Back in 2018, Giulia Scarola, an Educational Assistant, saw a need at West Credit S.S. - a gap between students who had access to what they needed and those who didn’t.

“We started collecting donations,” she explained. “Just trying to make a difference in a small way.”

But it didn’t stay small for long. Today, The Vintage Shop has grown into something much bigger. It's now run by Giulia alongside a team of dedicated fellow EAs and student volunteers. Once a week, it opens right in the school hallways.

“There’s music playing. People are dancing, laughing, shopping,” she shared. “It’s not just a shop anymore, it’s also a space for connection.”

Students can browse clothing, shoes, and accessories - all donated and all free. “No questions, just choice.” That choice matters. “For some students, it’s about financial support,” she noted. “For others, especially students who don’t often get the chance to shop independently, it’s about building confidence.”

Inside the space, students try things on, help each other pick outfits, and slowly come out of their shells. They stand a little taller. They feel more like themselves.

The shop has even grown into a co-op learning experience. Students help run it, build customer service skills, organize displays, and work as a team. “It’s student-led in so many ways now,” she added. “They take pride in it.”

“Prom season always holds a special place with me,” she reflected. “They walk in one way… and then they find the outfit and something shifts. They leave feeling confident, comfortable and like they truly belong.”

Rooted in staff and community donations, and a commitment to sustainability, the shop also teaches something deeper: that reusing and sharing can be both meaningful and powerful.

“It started as a feel-good idea,” Giulia said. “Now it’s something students look forward to. It's a space that brings energy, confidence, and a sense of community into the school every single week.”

#PDSBEducationWeek #OurStoriesInAction

[Peel District School Board @PeelSchools]

“I’ve been with Peel District School Board for 23 years, but really, this journey started long before that.”

Rob Ridley laughs when he says it, thinking back to a Grade 3 assignment where he wrote about becoming a park superintendent somewhere far away, maybe the Yukon. “I guess I’ve always known I wanted to stay connected to the land,” he says. “Education just gave me a way to bring others into that connection too.”

Today, as the Coordinator of Land-Based Learning, Rob helps thousands of students and staff each year learn with the land, not just on it. His work stretches far beyond field centres. It’s in program design, school partnerships, pre- and post-learning, and those small, unexpected moments - like pausing with students to listen to a waterfall or marvel at a salamander.

“Land-based learning matters because it reconnects us to place, to community, and to ourselves,” he explains. “It’s hands-on, relational, and grounded in the understanding that learning is holistic and lifelong.”

This work is about more than outdoor education, for Rob. It’s about building relationships with the land, with each other, and with Indigenous ways of knowing that remind us learning is rooted in connection and responsibility.

“If we don’t feel a relationship to the land we live, learn, and play on every day, what are we really connected to?” he asks.

What keeps him going after more than two decades isn’t just the philosophy, but also the transformation.

“You see it right away. The moment students step outside, something shifts. They take risks. They collaborate. They start to see the world, and themselves, differently.”

He’s proud of the programs the team has helped to build - experiences that honour local ecosystems, centre Indigenous perspectives, and support students in developing a sense of stewardship and belonging that lasts long after a field trip ends.

“Legacy isn’t about how long you’ve been somewhere,” he says. “It’s about what continues to grow because you were there.”

And then he smiles.

“I love hearing new staff say, ‘I remember coming here as a student.’ That’s when you know the impact lasted.”

For Rob, that’s the goal. Not just learning for a day, but a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

#PDSBEducationWeek #OurStoriesInAction

[Tina Yazdani @TinaYazdani]

NEW: Government-supervised school board mistakenly distributes email identifying teachers at risk of layoffs, raising serious privacy concerns & prompting Ontario's privacy watchdog to look into the incident. My first official byline with @Thetrilliumca: https://t.co/GOWBrLZ9Pf

[Colin D'Mello | Global News @ColinDMello]

NEW: FOI cancellation notices have already started going out, just one week after Bill 97 - which made retroactive changes to Freedom of Information laws - took effect.

Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner says dozens of cases may be impacted.

#onpoli

[Peel District School Board @PeelSchools]

Polish Heritage Month recognizes the deep roots, cultural traditions and contributions of Polish Canadians. Take time to learn about the history and achievements of Polish communities and to celebrate the impact they continue to have across Canada and within our school communities.

[Marit Stiles @MaritStiles]

Teachers know it. Education workers know it. Students know it and parents for sure know it.

Our education system is facing mounting pressures and Doug Ford isn’t doing a thing about it. Today 255,000+ education workers are wearing red to show their support for investments in publicly funded education, from elementary to university classrooms.

Thank you to all the workers taking a stand today and everyday, for your students.