Board News | Durham District School Board

Ensuring Student Success Remains at the Forefront of Education DDSB and Ontario school boards are collaborating to support students As we navigate through a time of uncertainty in education due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting school closures, educators across the province are working to ensure students are still able to reach their full potential. Here are just a couple of examples of how the Durham District School Board (DDSB), Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) are working together, pooling their knowledge, expertise and resources to assist students.

May 05, 2020

10 Additional DDSB 3D Printers Provided to Help Frontline Healthcare Workers UPDATE April 30, 2020: The DDSB has contributed another 10 3D printers to support this community effort and the valuable contributions being made by our frontline health care workers. Originally Released: April 20, 2020 _____________ DDSB Provides 3D Printers to Help Frontline Healthcare Workers DDSB teacher and Sinclair Secondary School alumnus are producing face shields for frontline healthcare workers Supporting frontline healthcare workers and helping to keep our community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic is very important to the Durham District School Board (DDSB) and teacher Julia Matys.

Apr 30, 2020

Seneca Trail PS Honours Teachers Who Passed Away To date, staff and students have raised over $2600 for Lakeridge Health’s Cancer Centre In 2015, the Seneca Trail Public School community lost one of their beloved teachers, Lisa Ducharme, to brain cancer. Since 2018, students and staff at the Oshawa school have honoured Ducharme by hosting ‘Ducharme Day,’ upon which they dress up in colourful scarves and donate $2 to Lakeridge Health’s Cancer Centre.

Apr 28, 2020

DDSB Sporting Equipment and Structures are CLOSED Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all sporting equipment and structures, including playgrounds, outdoor tracks and basketball courts on DDSB property are CLOSED for use. More info.

Apr 21, 2020

DDSB and Chartwells Loan Cafeteria Supplies to VIVA Retirement Communities Items including plastic trays and trolleys were loaned to help staff deliver meals to residents A total of 75 plastic trays, four trolleys, and two heat seal bags have been loaned to VIVA Retirement Communities in Pickering from the Durham District School Board (DDSB) and Chartwells. “Seniors are an integral part of our community and as a committed community partner across Durham Region, the DDSB wanted to give back outside of the classroom,” said Norah Marsh, Acting Director of Education at the DDSB.

Apr 17, 2020

Students Can Open a World of Reading with Sora Thousands of free eBooks and audiobooks are available to DDSB students using Sora Sora is a reading and listening app from OverDrive that was made available to Durham District School Board (DDSB) students earlier this academic year. With students now learning from home, it is an even more valuable resource for students and their parents to use.

Apr 14, 2020

DDSB Donates Medical Supplies to Lakeridge Health Over 158,000 PPE items donated The Durham District School Board (DDSB) has made a donation to help support Lakeridge Health’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Searching high and low across our 133 schools and learning centres, DDSB Facilities Services staff collected over 14,000 N95 masks, 141,000 pairs of gloves, 150 face shields, nearly 1,700 sets of goggles and other much-needed pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) items.

Apr 03, 2020

Feeling School Spirit Through Social Media Williamsburg PS staff are working to meet the needs of the school community via virtual initiatives In order to further prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Province of Ontario announced that schools will not reopen until May at the earliest. Over the last few weeks, the Durham District School Board (DDSB) has been working towards launching a Distance Learning plan on April 6th with teacher-led classroom instruction to students.

Apr 01, 2020

Lifting Spirits in a Difficult Time Williamsburg PS teacher performs outside a Whitby retirement home amid a new era of social-distancing “I thought it would be nice to pop by and lift their spirits during such a difficult time,” explains Dave McGonigal, a Grade 4 Teacher at Williamsburg Public School in Whitby. Every Remembrance Day, McGonigal plays the bagpipes in the school assembly.

Mar 30, 2020

Important Notice Regarding DDSB Playground Equipment The safety and well-being of our students, staff and school communities is our top priority at the Durham District School Board (DDSB). This is more important than ever during these challenging and unprecedented times of school closures, self-isolation and physical distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mar 26, 2020