Friday, May 2, 2025
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The monthly Letter to Families is intended to keep you apprised of news that affects all students and families of Near North District School Board (NNDSB) and is distributed on the first Friday of the month.
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Monday, May 5 marks the start of Education Week, which runs until May 9.
This week celebrates the contributions of students, parents and education workers, and is a great opportunity to celebrate all the initiatives taking place throughout NNDSB and to acknowledge accomplishments made this school year.
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Between May 7 and June 11, Grade 3 and 6 students will take part in the provincial assessment of reading, writing and mathematics, primary division (Grades 1–3) or junior division (Grades 4–6). These assessments, developed by Ontario teachers and assessment experts, are administered to all Grade 3 and Grade 6 students in Ontario’s publicly funded school system by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
Each assessment includes a language and mathematics component, along with a voluntary student questionnaire. During the assessment, students will complete four language sessions and four mathematics stages that each take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Each session or stage will be completed in one continuous sitting, and the sessions and stages may be administered throughout the administration dates. Students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the types of questions on the assessment and its platform through EQAO’s online sample test.
The EQAO assessment questions are directly based on the expectations set out in the Ontario curriculum for reading, writing and mathematics, which are what teachers teach in the classroom every day. Therefore, your child does not need to prepare in any special way. For more information, please reach out to your child’s teacher or go to the EQAO website.
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This is a reminder of the five-part webinar series for parents and caregivers focused on substance abuse, addictive behaviours and youth mental health. The series is presented by School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO).
One webinar was held last month. The remaining sessions include:
- recognizing signs of substance use and addictive behaviours (English language session May 7 from 7 to 8 p.m., French language session May 13 from noon to 1 p.m.);
- how to talk about substance use at home (English language session May 14 from noon to 1 p.m., French language session May 21 from noon to 1 p.m.);
- current trends in student substance use in Ontario and what parents/caregivers need to know (May 22 from noon to 1 p.m., English language session with simultaneous French translation);
- technology overuse and problematic gaming (June 4 from noon to 1 p.m., English language session with simultaneous French translation).
Parents and caregivers can register here for the sessions.
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The Ministry of Education has approved the NNDSB 2025-2026 school year calendar. Here is a link to download the calendar from the board’s website.
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The next meeting of the Board will be held Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, and you are welcome to attend in person or join via Zoom. The link and login information can be found at the top of the Board and committee meetings page.
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In addition to staying informed via the board’s website, families can find NNDSB on Facebook and Instagram.
Sincerely,
Near North District School Board
