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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, April 17, 2015 | 24 Catholic board asks parents to weigh in on boundary review by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) made it clear on Monday, April 13 that it wants to work with parents on creating boundaries that are best for their children. A community consultation meeting was held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School to gather input from residents on a boundary review for three Oakville schools -- Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School. The review process began in February with the establishment of a school boundary review advisory committee (SBRAC) assigned to studying the attendance areas for the three local Catholic secondary institutions. The committee's first meeting was held March 4, where members reviewed four options for boundary areas developed by board staff. "Tonight (April 13) is not about making decisions. We're not going to leave this room tonight saying, `Option one is the option or Ultimately, you are our stakeholders and we want to make sure that you know your children best and you know your communities best. Camillo Cipriano superintendent of education and school services Halton Catholic District School Board Do you have the CorreCt insuranCe Coverage? CNJ INsuraNCe & rIsk MaNageD solutIoNs Inc. has The soluTions! Jon-Paul Deerin · Home Owners Insurance · Small Business Insurance · Commercial Insurance · Automobile & Collector Cars Insurance · Wine & Art Collection Insurance BA, CRM, R.I.B (Ont.) Over 25 years Experience We are pleased to serve the Oakville area 201-2150 Winston Park Dr., Oakville 905-829-0097 · jpdeerin@cnjins.com option four is it.' Tonight is just gathering information," said Camillo Cipriano, superintendent of education and school services. "Ultimately, you are our stakeholders and we want to make sure that you know your children best and you know your communities best." HCDSB established a boundary review for the schools for several reasons. Among those are declining enrolment at Holy Trinity and St. Ignatius of Loyola, development north of Dundas Street that is starting to yield students, St. Thomas Aquinas is unable to accommodate any portables onsite, is approaching built capacity and its growing International Baccalaureate (IB) program will further accelerate growth pressures. The Catholic school board also points to the potential to redistribute high enrolment growth across Oakville secondary schools and reduce underutilized classroom space. "There is a perfect number for schools to have to offer great programming, to not be overutilized so that you're in portables and that kids can utilize all the great facilities," said Cipriano. "At the same time, you want to offset our schools that are underutilized where you're not able to provide all the necessary programs and extracurriculars that schools are essentially doing for our students." Mary Soler has a son attending Holy Family Catholic Elementary School and a daughter in the gifted program at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School. She was pleased the HCDSB brought the boundary options forward to the parents and community for consideration. But Soler said the biggest issue is an uncertainty regarding an option for parents to go to a public school if they don't like the one they're assigned to. "Sure, they're saying St. Thomas Aquinas has the IB program, but what does Holy Trinity offer? What does (St. Ignatius of) Loyola offer? What are those programs? It shouldn't be dependent on enrollment," said Soler. Frederick Thibeault, board administrator of planning services, said the "big part of the see St. Thomas on p.27 TribuTe To Max Khan (Former Councillor of the Town of Oakville) Celebrating the life of Max Khan General public is invited to attend a tribute in honour of our late friend Max Khan Max Khan Date: Friday, April 24 - 7PM Venue Oakville Town Hall - South Atrium 905-829-1040 www.bombaybhelrestaurant.com Indian Cuisine 1225 Trafalgar Road In collaboration with the Town of Oakville Sponsored by World Islamic Mission Canada & Masjid Noor-UL-Haram 2525 Hampshire Gate, Oakville, L6H 6C8 905-257-1342 · www.wimcanada.com World Islamic Mission Canada 2478 Ninth Line, Oakville L6H 7G9