Fraser Institute rankings of ten local schools

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Bennington
Bessborough
Blythwood
Cody
Eglinton
Northlea
Rolph
Rosedale
St. Anselm
Whitney 		7.7/9.0
9.1/8.3
9 .8/9.5
8.5/8.8
7.9/6.5
7.9/8.2
7.8/7.8
6.8/6.2
8.1/8.3
8.3/8.8 		6.8/6.2
7.7/9.0
7.8/7.8
7.9/6.5
7.9/8.2
8.1/8/3
8.3/8.8
8.5/8.8
9.1/8.3
9.8/9.5 		Rosedale
Bennington
Rolph
Eglinton
Northlea
St. Anselm
Whitney
Cody
Bessborough
Blythwood
Here are some rankings produced by the Fraser Institute in its so-called Report Card of Ontario schools for 2012. The main and perhaps only criteria is the provincial  Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) exam administered in Grades 3 and 6. The two columns show, left, the schools alphabetically followed by their ranking. Right, the same schools sorted by rankings with the lowest ranking at the top. Each ranking shows two numbers separated by a slash. On the left, the 2012 ranking. Next to it, the average ranking over the past five years. Thus, in the case of Bessborough Public School, the current ranking is 9.1 while the five year average is 8.3.  As noted in the previous post, two local school are recorded to have finished with perfect scores (10) for 2012. They are Deer Park Public and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Some local schools like Hodgson Public School and Grenoble Public School are not shown in the survey for reasons so far unexplained.  Previous post 

Spanish moms join “strip calendar” frenzy

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A group of Spanish mothers has joined what appears to be a frenzy of women making “strip calendars” to raise money in the austerity-strapped European country. The moms goal was to raise funds for a school bus for their kids. But cases of calendar stripping are widespread. Last year church authorities complained after a group of Roman Catholics stripped for a calendar recreating scenes from the Passion of Christ to raise money for a youth group. In the case of the  Valencia mothers, reaction to the saucy financing has ranged from bemusement to anger. Many have questioned why the school bus had to be high-end tourist quality vehicle (See Video). Others have asked tartly: “Whatever happened to car pools” 

Bill Valliere co-founded Millwood Rd. sanctuary

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Long-time Leaside residents will remember William “Bill” Valliere. He died February 15, 2013 in Grafton, Ontario near Cobourg. Bill and his partner Yorio “Roy” Hayashi ran the pet store at 852 Millwood Rd. Founded in 1974, it ultimately became The Endangered Animal Sanctuary. The premises is now occupied by Expert Dancers. Nancy Taylor, who worked for the sanctuary for 15 years on Millwood, told The South Bayview Bulldog of the evolution of the business in Leaside and the many awards won with prize fish and other creatures. She moved with the business when it transferred into a country setting in Grafton where it is still located. Mr. Valliere was 73 and is said to have died peacefully in the comfort of his home, with a friend at his side.  Cremation has taken place in Cobourg. At Bill’s request, there will be no visitation or service. A celebration of his life will be announced and held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations made to The Endangered Animal Sanctuary, which Bill co-founded and was totally dedicated to since 1974, would be appreciated by the family. Condolences received at www. MacCoubrey.com.

Bless those who prefer to work on “Family Day”

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It’s Family Day and we wish you a very good one.  This Dalton McGuinty gift of a mid-winter day off with pay however should cause us to remember that until very recently most people worked on this day, and frankly, they didn’t notice that there was no Family Day. In fact, some of us would actually prefer to work today, but are prevented from doing so by the City’s concern that we might be — well — exploited or something. The City’s concern in this regard includes business owners who want to work and who would, we suppose, thus be exploiting themselves. Which brings us to Toronto’s much-valued quality of Diversity. We cherish it in this community but our recognition of it is selective. Hundreds of thousands of people in  and around Toronto enjoy a culture in which they take pleasure in going to work. Guess what. Many of them will go to work today. They do it not because they want to offend the law, or heaven forbid, get fined. They’ll do it because it’s their People’s culture since time immemorial. God bless them on this Family Day. 

Trudeau pegged as a rich boy, dabbler and airhead

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Michael Den Tandt

Eager parents swamp school ranking website

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The website of the Fraser Institute revealing the 2012 rankings for Ontario’s elementary schools has slowed right down to zero today as many people try to check on how their kid’s school is doing. Overall, this year’s report says that schools in the GTA show only moderate improvement.. The Fraser Institute Report uses nine academic factors based on the province’s standardized EQAO test scores to rate 2,714 public, Catholic, and francophone elementary schools in Ontario.  Some Toronto schools were tops in the province, however the average for GTA schools only jumped to 6.6 out of 10, up from 6.5 from last year. “This is why the Fraser Institute school report card is the go-to source for measuring academic improvement: it highlights school success stories from Murillo in the west to Cornwall in the east and from Timmins in the north to Windsor in the south,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies. Among the 20 fastest improving schools are Stella Maris and Heron Park, both in Toronto, along with Munns, located in Oakville. The institute says the school improvement is happening in all regions of the province, which shows that all schools are capable of improvement regardless of the personal or family challenges their students may face. On the down side, the institute found nearly 30 per cent of GTA schools scored below the provincial standard. The lowest ranking school in the GTA was Parkdale, while 15 schools tied for first place, with 11 of them in the GTA. Those included Hillmount, Kennedy and Seneca Hill, all in Toronto, and St. Justin the Martyr in Unionville. Other top-ranking schools in Toronto included Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Arbor Glen, Deer Park, Havergal College, Islamic Foundation and Sathya Sai. The Fraser institute says their report helps parents and educators prioritize learning challenges in their schools.

Just too beautiful to worry about the cold

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Moore Park this morning
The City of Toronto has cancelled its Extreme Cold Alert even though it was still very cold out Sunday morning. And around South Bayview it was just beautiful.  We caught this Hudson Drive home in Moore Park decorated in February sunshine. So far as anyone can tell, the city got through the night without a homeless emergency the street.   The roads are slippery and caution is required if you are travelling far.  Temperatures remained around -10 C for much of the day. By Monday things will have warmed up drastically, with temperatures possibly rising into the positive by Tuesday, when we could get a mix of rain and snow. An extreme cold weather alert is issued when there is danger to homeless people due to the extreme winter conditions. They are generally called when Environment Canada predicts an overnight temperature of -15 C or colder. On Saturday night temperatures dipped well below -15 C, feeling closer to -25 C with the windchill at points.

Liberal candidates try to slow down Trudeau

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Justin Trudeau defended his record, experience and wealth during a fiery debate in Toronto on Saturday as his fellow Liberal leadership contenders sought to poke holes in the high-flying front-runner’s seemingly insurmountable lead. National Post. 

Toronto issues Extreme Cold Weather Alert

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Toronto has issued an Extreme Cold Weather Alert and is advising homeless people to seek shelter. Such alerts are standard and frequent during cold weather. The goal of making truly homeless people aware of coming dangerous weather is open to question. few of any access to media or informed source. But it i9s clearly better than nothing. Outreach and hostel workers may be able to communicate the information by word of mouth. This alert is in effect until further notice. Alerts are typically called in the morning for the coming overnight period so that community agencies have sufficient time to call in extra staff to provide enhanced services. During an Extreme Cold Weather Alert:
 • Shelters are directed to relax any existing service restrictions and are reminded that if a bed is not available at their site they are to allow the client to stay at the shelter until they are able to find a bed for them elsewhere in the system.
 • The City of Toronto immediately adds 172 shelter spaces to those available to staff looking to refer a client to a shelter bed.
 • Overnight street outreach is increased in the downtown core, focusing solely on warning people of danger and urging them to get into a shelter or another warm, indoor place. Workers will transport people to warm places if necessary.
 • TTC tokens are available at some drop-ins so people can use public transit to get to shelters.

LHS Online Code of Conduct has teeth

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Leaside High School has published an On-Line-Code of Conduct for all students. Vice principal Andrea Parise warns students that inappropriate postings in any social media networks will be immediately removed and students responsible for these postings would be subject to suspension and/or arrested for breaching the On-Line Code of Conduct. She adds that In some cases, post-secondary applications and/or scholarships have been revoked. Then she lists the specific offenses:  Name-calling or threats – Unwelcome remarks or slurs – Obscene gestures or jokes – On-Line harassment – Derogatory or offensive materials – Threats of outing someone (staff, student, community member) – Intimidation or physical violence – Or anything else that negatively affects an individual or group.  

U.S. tax break of $429 billion for Facebook

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It hasn’t drawn much attention, but Facebook’s first annual earnings report contains an accounting gem: a multibillion-dollar tax deduction in the U.S. for the cost of executive stock options and share awards. Even though Facebook (FB) reported $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from U.S. operations in 2012, it will probably pay zero federal and state taxes—and even receive a federal tax refund of about $429 million—according to a Feb. 14 statement from Citizens for Tax Justice.  Bloomberg News 

Tiffany sues Costco in U.S. over engagement rings

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The jewellery icon Tiffany has gone to war in court with low-price icon Costco in New York to stop the sale of what it calls counterfeit engagement  rings bearing the Tiffany trademark. It is a fascinating case which bring into focus the Costco practice of selling designer lines which it obtains through a third party of some type. In the Tiffany case, the trademark lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court also calls on Costco to forfeit profits from the ring sales, plus damages of $2 million per infringement. Tiffany said it believes hundreds, if not thousands, of Costco members bought engagement rings they believed were authentic Tiffany products but were not. Luxury retailers often sue to stop sales of alleged imitation products they believe cut into their own revenue streams and customer goodwill.  In Costco’s case, it also sells goods which are genuine at cut-rate prices. The practice undercuts small specialty retailers which rely on their profits to stay in business. “This is not the kind of behavior people expect from a company like Costco, and this case will shed a much needed light on this outrageous behavior,” said Jeffrey Mitchell, a lawyer for Tiffany. Mitchell also noted in the statement that Tiffany maintains an “aggressive and rigorous intellectual property program and regularly takes actions against counterfeiters and infringers.” A spokesman for Costco was not immediately available. In November 2012, a person shopping at a Costco in Huntington Beach, Calif., complained to Tiffany that she was disappointed to see Costco offering for sale what were promoted on in-store signs as Tiffany diamond engagement rings, according to the lawsuit.