Scenario slides for Oct. 24 Public Meeting

Thanks for the information and the slides.

Hi Karina - I can't seem to add another doc to this forum. I've put up a .ppt version on the website.
devonshireparents.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/near-west-arc-public-meeting-oct-24-scenarios/

I am all for concept C, even though my children would have to cross Parkdale and go under the underpass there.
the "shape" of the catchment shouldn't concern a school board that has long had much more nonsensical boundaries than that one.
Not making use of "space" at Fisher to me is a red herring. Because the "space" there is not appropriate for young children and there isn't time nor money to make it so (and as James said "do it well.")
The major concern with this scenerio is how it effects Elmdale and the portable situation. I can't speak for the parents and children there, of course. I see that the idea of a small JK-6 EFI program at Fisher, just for Elmdale overflow is no longer on the table.
In terms of capacity, I would not have any problem with my kid (once she gets to that age) going to grade 6 at Fisher. So if that variation makes this solution more workable, I'm all for it.
I just think we should be going with a solution where even if the board is slightly nervous about numbers and unpredictability (isn't unpredictability the spice of life?),it's a solution that makes best use of an elementary school already in our neighbourhood. A school that has no issues with fencing, security or playgrounds.
There is no perfect solution, but this is as close at it gets with what the working group had to work with.
The weaknesses in Scenerio A are, to me, much much stronger (as weaknesses go) than the weaknesses in Scenerio C (not all strengths or weaknesses are created equally!) A mega 1000-pupil school is not what I envision for a neighbourhood school, especially one that was built as a high school and for which there are so many unanswered questions about how it would work. And it leaves Connaught under capacity, which makes no sense.
Finally, in terms of the dual track question and air quality concerns. I think the worries over single vs. dual track are overblown. Even my friends who have their kids at French schools say English plays a big role on the playgrounds and in the lunchrooms during recess/lunch.
But I think the air quality issue is a concern to some because our kids have young lungs and will spend their recesses and lunchtime etc beside the queensway, day in and out for years. Most of us who have homes very near the queensway (and I am one of those) are at work or away from the house most of the day, as our our kids (at school). We also have the choice to open and close our windows etc. And we made the decision to buy this house, knowing how close it is to the queensway (but knowing at the time that the elementary school was not beside it!). I feel for the parents who live nowhere near the highway but now have the prospect of having their kids in a playyard right beside it every day.

I'm going to use some coded language because I'm not sure that I'm authorized to pass this along, but FWIW I was speaking with a very experienced Devonshire school employee recently who expressed to me deep concerns about sending elementary school kids to Fisher. I think the term she used was that the idea is "nuts". It was her view the school is simply not built for kids that age, and that Connaught is such a natural choice.

I was a little surprised and disappointed that she had such a negative view, because I've tried to prepare myself for the possibility that our kids will end up at Fisher. But I guess it confirmed my sense that we should continue to push hard for the Connaught option (I know that many people are of that view already).

I like Option C the best. The schools being close to capacity/at capacity is ok with me. I think we can't look longer than 4-5 years given the unknown growth of the neighbourhood. I'd vote to keep grade 6 at their current schools as long as possible. If capacity is reached in 3+ years, let's implement the grade 6 to Fisher plan then. I'd rather see time and energy spent getting Connaught set-up for EFI properly.

Another reason I'd like to keep grade 6 at their current schools are because some areas of the Devonshire catchment might be better suited to going to Glashan for 7 & 8 now that they have EFI. Those kids will be going to Glebe highschool, so it would give them a chance to meet the students they will be in highschool with.