Your Custom Text Here
Photo of Keith Baybayon, Student Trustee of Toronto Catholic District School Board
The role of a Student Trustee is to advocate for the students within a respective school board and voice their thoughts, opinions and concerns. It is not an easy task that one can breeze through without facing obstacles along the way, trust me, I know it all too well.
Read more
Photo of Jezebel Melo-Centanni and Charlene Jose. Photo credit: Arissa Masi
All high school graduates had to deal with the disappointing and unfulfilling final year of high school. Almost all local schools chose to keep their graduations virtual, and none of the schools are hosting a prom. Fortunately, the students are coming up with creative ways to host their own prom–one way is throwing a backyard prom.
Read more
Pictured from left to right: Alexandra Modi, Krystal Grover, Tanvi Balasubramanian and Ayesha Khan at the donation drive booth. Photo credit: Sinthura Chandramohan
What was once forecasted as a rainy and gloomy day took a turn for the better and resulted in the raising of many menstrual products and a significant community impact. The Bloom Red Project, in collaboration with Anthony Perruzza’s office, held a menstrual product donation drive for the Downsview community. Krystal Grover, the co-founder of The Bloom Red Project, and Ayesha Khan, the Councillor’s Outreach Staff and Aide, organized this event, coordinating volunteers, donation drop-offs, logistics and everything in between.
Read more
Jeremiah Ranger.
For the last 18 months of his life, Jeremiah Ranger never went to school.
Not one day.
That sounds shocking, I know. But the reality is that this meant he was only in school slightly less than previous years due to his frequent suspensions. He would be suspended for 20 days, return to school for a short time and then get suspended for another 20 days. It was a consistent case of educational whiplash.
Read more
Flyer for donation drive occurring on July 8th. Photo credit: Krystal Grover
Amidst the ever-growing list of civic and social justice issues slowly being brought to light in our world today, one especially prevalent problem remains hidden in the dark; period poverty. Period poverty refers to the inaccessibility of period products, waste management, basic sanitation such as toilets, proper disposals and soap, as well as lack of education regarding menstruation. Period poverty exists across the globe and impacts millions of people every waking minute. Even right here in Canada, 1 in 4 women have to choose between buying period products or buying food - a choice that absolutely no one should have to make.
Read more
Students and faculty pose during a solar panel installation February 29th, 2020. Photo credit: Codrina Ibanescu
As part of a series of climate-friendly initiatives, York University’s faculty of Environmental and Urban Change has been working on a number of innovative Climate Solutions Parks, both on campus and throughout the wider world.
Read more
Keith is the Student Trustee for all TCDSB students in Downsview. Photo credit: Google Images
On May 7th, 2021, the TCDSB Board of Trustees during a Student Achievement Meeting made a set of momentous decisions to promote inclusion and belonging for its 2SLGBTQ+ Students and Staff. They have voted in favour of three recommendations brought forth by their 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, to acknowledge June as Pride Month, fly the Pride Flag at the Catholic Education Center and fly the flag at all TCDSB Schools.
Read more
Residents and activists gathered for the virtual town hall. Photo credit: Jane Finch Action Against Poverty
On Wednesday May 5, 2021, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty in conjunction with Black Creek Food Justice Network, Jane Finch Education Action Group and Jane Finch Housing Coalition hosted a virtual public event speaking out against various injustices they feel have been wrought against the community.
Read more
Sign the petition against hybrid learning:
“School boards are using terms like the “Community Learning Model”, but the reality is that hybrid means there is one teacher for one class made up of online AND in-person students. It will not matter if your preference is that your child attend school in person or online - all students will be forced into some version of a virtual class and some version of an in-person environment.”
Flashback to early 2020 and the Ford government was staring down the gun barrel of teacher strikes all over Ontario. Unrest with parents was tangible and his public support in polls was sinking. At issue were class sizes and the quality of education. Then COVID-19 pandemic started, and those issues were put aside as students were sent home after the March break. A long, grinding year of on-and-off homeschooling started. Now, once again, education is creating controversy and parents and teachers are re-organizing.
Read more
Tamil students protesting in support of the victims of the Tamil Genocide. Photo credit: British Tamil Forums
When I was eight, I remember being angry that my parents cancelled my birthday party because of ethno-political conflict back in Sri Lanka. Several years later, I learned that the “conflict” my parents cancelled my birthday over, was a massacre of 40,000 innocent tamil civilians by Sri Lankan military forces
Read more