Boundary Review Decision

Update - Sunday, March 25th

On Wednesday, March 21st, the Trustees voted on the recommendation for the boundaries of the Elementary schools in Ward 4. The following was decided:

1. École Forest Trail remains a single track F.I. centre and feeds from the West Oak and Emily Carr English boundary catchments. All students in grades 4 to 8 (as of 2012/2013) are to remain at École Forest Trail until graduation. F.I. students in grades 4 to 6 at Palermo (as of 2012/2013) are to remain at Palermo until graduation.

2. Heritage Glen becomes a dual track school with a start up F.I. program for grades 1 to 3. The feeder schools will be Heritage Glen and Cpt. R. Wilson English boundary catchments.

3. Pilgrim Wood becomes a dual track school with a start up F.I. program for grades 1 to 3. The feeder schools will be Pilgrim Wood and Abbey Lane English boundary catchments.

The board is allowing "grandfathering" to ensure families stay together.

Below is an excerpt of the minutes from the board meeting. For a full report, please visit the Board's website at www.hdsb.ca or click here to go directly to the Ward 4 Boundary Review page. Click here for the minutes including the approved recommendations.

Boundary Review Information

Information about the current boundary review for our ward can be found by checking the Halton District School Board website ... click here.

Specific updates issued by ÉFT School Council can be found under School Council/Ward 4 Boundary Review.

Boundary Review EFT Meeting - Wed. Feb 15

There will be another "Town Hall" meeting for EFT parents, Wednesday, February 15th in the EFT library 7-9 pm

Boundary Review Process - Update Feb 9, 2012

All of the proposed scenarios will affect ÉFT

A public consultation meeting will be held on Monday night, Febrary 13th at Abbey Park H.S. Library (7 p.m. - 9 p.m.). It is critical for ÉFT parents to attend this meeting to gain an understanding of the various scenarios and to communicate preferences back to the BRC and HDSB.

Please complete the feedback forms available at the meeting (and online). The forms will be reviewed by the BRC members and HDSB, and key concerns will be identified and taken into consideration when making their final decision. More forms submitted will equal a bigger voice. The School Board can only make an informed decision if they hear the voice of the community.

The proposed scenarios, and those no longer being considered, are available on the HDSB site (link below) on the right side under "downloads". The links to these scenarios include ward 4 maps with proposed boundary changes for each scenario, and population projections for each school based on those boundaries.

Links:

- Main HDSB page for the Ward 4 Boundary Review click here
- Criteria for considering scenarios click here
- Questions and Answers click here

The board will be updating their website with minutes, scenarios and other key points from the meetings so please check back often.

Our representatives are ensuring that the discussions focus on quality education and maintaining the integrity of all programs offered in the 8 schools involved as well as how the outcomes will affect the students in our ward. We must try to minimize the disruption to the children -- long term stability is important.

For comments or questions regarding the Boundary Review please email School Council at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Boundary Review Process - Update Feb 6, 2012

In the initial meeting on January 30th, the Boundary Review Committee (BRC) was asked to determine their selection criteria and were given 12 potential scenarios to review. At their second meeting, they managed to reduce the potential scenarios to 7. These have now been posted on the HDSB website. You can go to that site for the full information or use the links below to access specific information and documents posted on there.

All of the proposed scenarios will affect ÉFT and some of those options will change the programming to dual track. Below is a short recap of each of the 7 remaining scenarios being reviewed by the BRC followed by links to the HDSB site. The links to these scenarios include ward 4 maps with proposed boundary changes for each scenario, and population projections for each school based on those boundaries.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Scenario 3
1 single track FI (Forest Trail), 3 dual track (Abbey Lane, Heritage Glen, Palermo), 4 single track ENG (Captain R. Wilson, Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood, West Oak)

Scenario 6
5 dual track (Captain R Wilson, Forest Trail, Heritage Glen, Palermo, West Oak), 3 single track ENG (Abbey Lane,Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood)

Scenario 7
5 dual track (Captain R Wilson, Forest Trail, Heritage Glen, Palermo, West Oak), 3 single track ENG (Abbey Lane,
Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood) Note: Similar to scenario 6 but grow Forest Trail ENG and West Oak FI programs

Scenario 9
1 single track (Forest Trail) 3 dual track (Abbey Lane, Heritage Glen, Palermo), 4 single track (Captain R Wilson, Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood, West Oak) Note: Similar to scenario 3 but start Abbey Lane FI and Heritage Glen FI programs with Grades 1‐3 in Sept 2012

Scenario 10
1 single track FI (Forest Trail), 3 dual track (Abbey Lane, Heritage Glen, Palermo), 4 single track ENG (Captain R Wilson, Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood, West Oak) Note: Similar to scenario 9 but create a boundary within the Palermo catchment (Palermo N of Pipeline) in order to remove some JK-7 Palermo ENG students to send to Captain R Wilson and remove some 1-3 Palermo FI students to send to Heritage Glen FI; new registrations due to new development in the Palermo N of Pipeline area should be redirected to Captain R Wilson (JK-8 ENG), Heritage Glen (1‐3 FI)

Scenario 11
1 single track FI (Forest Trail), 3 dual track (Abbey Lane, Heritage Glen, Palermo), 4 single track ENG (Captain R Wilson, Emily Carr, Pilgrim Wood, West Oak) Note: Similar to scenario 10 but new FI programs at Abbey Lane and Heritage Glen start as a gr1 program

Links
- Main HDSB page for the Ward 4 Boundary Review click here
- Criteria for considering scenarios click here
- BRC January 30th, 2012 Meeting Minutes click here
- Scenarios no longer being considered click here
- Scenarios being considered click here
- Questions and Answers click here

The board will be updating their website with minutes and other key points from the meetings so please check back often.

For comments or questions regarding the Boundary Review please email School Council at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Boundary Review Members

The HDSB has undertaken a review of the boundaries for all elementary schools in Ward 4. A Steering Committee, made up of board members and trustees, had been set up in December and now have requested for 2 representatives from each school to form a Boundary Review Committee (BRC). Representing Ecole Forest Trail PS will be Sarah Ecclestone and Sharon McDowell.

Our website will be updated with new information as it is available so please check back often. (Under School Council / Ward 4 Boundary Review)

There will be a public information meeting at Abbey Park High School on Monday, February 13th 7-9 p.m. where the BRC will present possible scenarios and get public feedback.

Ward 4 Public Meeting - Boundary Review

A Public Information Meeting will be held Monday February 13 (7-9pm) at Abbey Park HS in the Library.

It is critical for ÉFT parents to attend this meeting to gain an understanding of the various scenarios and to communicate preferences back to the BRC and HDSB.

Please complete the feedback forms available at the meeting (and online) and submit them to the HDSB by February 17th. The forms will be reviewed by the BRC members and the HDSB, and key concerns will be identified and taken into consideration when making their final decision. More forms submitted will equal a bigger voice.

The School Board can only make an informed decision if they hear the voice of the community.

Forms will be made available at the meeting (and online) for the public to provide their feedback on the scenario(s) being shared. These forms will need to be submitted by February 17.

Click here for more information on the Boundary Review process, scenarios and other pertinent information.

Ward 4 Boundary Review Committee (BRC)

By now we trust you have all received and read the letter from our Superintendent of Education, Stuart Miller regarding the Boundary review in Ward 4 elementary schools. A hard copy was sent home in backpack mail and an electronic copy was forwarded by our school's administration. Click here for a copy of that letter.

The letter explains that a Boundary Review Committee (BRC) is being created with 2 representatives from each affected school. These individuals must be selected and names forwarded to Mr. Miller by January 26th.

If you are interested in being considered as a representative for Forest Trail in BRC, please reply to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and provide us your name as well as your child(ren)'s grades (whether at this school or elsewhere). A short rationale as to why you are interested would be helpful.