As we all know, the TDSB voted to defer the motion regarding TOPS and overcrowding until June 2012. Meanwhile, a local working group, comprised of the trustee, school staff, students, and parents, is currently working on scheduling changes to address the overcrowding at MGCI. They will try to implement the new schedule, possibly during second semester 2012, or in September 2012. The staff plans on monitoring how this process will go for one semester, to observe how the changes will affect the school. The question is how these modifications will affect Garneau students.

The working group has decided on an optimum schedule, which will basically consist of five periods and a lunch. There would be four instructional periods, and one non-instructional period. Fortunately, there will be no split lunches, nor shifts per grades. However, lunch will be shorter, the school day will be longer, and the clubs might be slightly influenced by the new schedule. Stay tuned, Marc Garneau SAC will soon be visiting each class to explain in more detail about the planned modifications and receive feedback from the students.

There will also be two consultation meetings with parents: November 2nd at 5:30 pm, and November 7th at 7:00 pm. Make sure your parents plan to attend, as it is important for everyone to know what’s happening in the school.