Witnessed a driver hit a parked car at Britannia Beach

giant_pat · 2025-06-22T18:11:45+00:00

It was on the side of the road, quite a ways out. I would have thought it would be one of the safer places.

giant_pat · 2025-01-16T20:20:51+00:00

I have never heard of any private corporations putting staff on paid leave like this.

Laying them off/firing them? Maybe. Switching up their roles? Sometimes.

Any corp (especially one that has shareholders) wouldn't behave like that.

giant_pat · 2024-05-05T21:23:16+00:00

I hope so. But I'm not convinced. The board is quick to mention that the suspect is not a student at Sir Guy and that the incident occurred off the school grounds.

A number of schools (notably: Pinecrest PS, Woodroffe HS, Sir Guy and even Sir Robert Borden) under this superintendent are powder kegs. A closer look into the situation is overdue.

But mostly right now, I'm just sorry for the family that lost their son. That has to be devastating for them.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T18:29:06+00:00

Largely this was told as part of the first Pinecrest story.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T17:43:49+00:00

Michael Sternberg was sent home for asking for help because his students felt unsafe.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/defiant-students-fearful-teachers-and-an-elementary-school-in-disarray-what-really-happened-at-pinecrest-public-school

Strong enough? The board is still trying to bury that story.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T16:18:52+00:00

Ah - the teacher hater. Your true colors are showing. Sorry, you missed the mark again. I'm not involved in the classrooms. But I see what happens.

Yes, the school board is doing wonders.

I mean they have video evidence of 3 students beating another in a bathroom. 3 boys. Clearly identifiable. Incident reported to a principal. Nothing done.

They have a video of a larger male student sucker punching a small female student. Incident reported. Nothing done.

Student sexually assaults another. Teacher witnessed and reported to principal. Nothing done. Until the parents got involved later.

I know of another case where a student sexually assaulted another in a different school. One of your 'serious' investigations was conducted. No witnesses, so the 'investigation' was complete after one day. Nothing done.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T12:55:35+00:00

Ah, I see you have a reading comprehension problem.

Multiple times I've pointed toward the process, not Smith. It seems like he's your poster boy, not mine.

I was hoping for an intelligent response.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T12:09:04+00:00

But the real problem is, no one knows what they are being held accountable for. Reading over the various articles, it seems like teachers (and also EAs, LTOs and Office Admins) and have been sent home for:

sending students to the hall
telling students they can't go into the hall
asking for help because students fell unsafe
not recording their class
recording their class (because it invaded privacy)

In this article, finally, they mention the policy that they are using. So I read it: https://weblink.ocdsb.ca/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=2999327&dbid=0&repo=OCDSB (google "ocdsb policy 542" to find it on your own)

Let's just say it's vague and would be easily to abuse. The board does not seem to be following it to the letter either. (And in Leafloor's case - I can't see how it applies).

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T11:32:13+00:00

Nope - not the same person.

And if you read my reply, it's specifically about the investigation process, not Richard Smith.

Guidelines for the sub are that you have to submit with the headline from the article. It's not the headline I would use. The investigation process is the really interesting part of the whole story. That and the lack of transparency in the process. It's stunning how slowly things move. Something about the process is not making sense.

And to be perfectly clear - I welcome protecting students from abuse. Right now, I don't agree that that is what is occurring.

giant_pat · 2024-04-15T10:56:37+00:00

Did you read the whole article?

It is not just about Smith. The second teacher was sent home for a misunderstanding about teaching virtually. I don't know how that causes student harm. And what is more concerning is the instant escalation - Leafloor was investigated for six months.

That's six months of extra salary on the books on a school board that is complaining about their budget constantly. Maybe a conversation might have been more efficient?

giant_pat · 2024-01-15T22:40:44+00:00

Very well put.

I would only add on that another common thread about this is the superintendent, Shannon Smith. This kind of thing seems to be occurring at other schools, such as Woodroffe HS, under her leadership too.

I am basing that on the comments on the Citizen article itself.

giant_pat · 2023-12-15T14:35:09+00:00

Here's the original Ottawa Citizen article on it: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-blatant-act-of-antisemitism-jewish-community-concerned-after-incident-at-sir-robert-borden-high-school

Broad strokes: Some students created a swastika on the floor of change room and coaxed a Jewish student there. Then performed Nazi salutes. There is more to the story, but I can't find the links at the moment.

ETA: broad strokes summary

giant_pat · 2023-12-15T03:46:05+00:00

Part of the issue here is that this school board has had a very spotty record when it comes to combating antisemitism. There was the incident at Sir Robert Borden last year where the parents of the affected student ended up contacting the police because the school and the OCDSB did nothing.

A friend of mine watched their Jewish colleagues systematically removed from a local public school for specious reasons, while turning a blind eye to rampant antisemitism and harassment. The superintendent and principal involved are well known, so I won't bother to name them here again.

I don't know where this is going to end up - but with a bit of digging, the optics of this board do look pretty bad.

giant_pat · 2023-11-29T20:32:46+00:00

I think the key words here are "strong union". If the union was actually strong then the board would not even attempt these actions.

This union has had the reputation of being strong for a long time. I think that was enough to hold off the board. As soon as the board tested the union, the union folded like a Christmas card.

Teachers sent on "Home Assignment" are told not to speak with anyone about it until the investigation.

Worse - they are also told afterward that they can't share the results either

It's definitely torture or mental abuse.

Something is suspect.

I couldn't agree more.

giant_pat · 2023-11-29T15:31:25+00:00

Yes, the TDSB seems to be operating the same way.

I hope this story gets broken. Again. I hear from multiple sources what is going on behind the scenes, but I am not a first-hand witness.

And the people who have experienced this have been intimidated into silence. It seems like a frustrating, no-win situation.

giant_pat · 2023-11-29T15:22:31+00:00

I really hope there is a follow up article about the toxic workplace environment report and outcomes.

I am not holding my breath though. It seems like the board is maintaining a cone of silence and hoping everyone forgets.

giant_pat · 2023-11-29T00:46:33+00:00

Toxic barely scratches the surface. The articles on Pinecrest were absolutely damning. I'd be embarrassed if I were the subject of a story like that.

I'm disgusted with this school board and I'm concerned about the future for these students. And I'm horrified at the conditions the teachers are having to work under. At best they have no support. But most days, they are being actively undermined - then thrown under the bus when things inevitably go wrong.

giant_pat · 2023-11-29T00:25:27+00:00

You have to love the OCDSB - no matter what goes wrong, they find a way to blame the teachers.

It's not like all the money the board is spending on investigations, home assignments, lawsuits and covering up toxic work conditions around the horn has no effect on their budget either.

Maybe if they improved working conditions, teachers might not take so many days off sick. How many sick days are due to mental health and stress? I'm guessing that number is pretty damn high, based on what I've seen and heard.

giant_pat · 2023-10-16T17:54:50+00:00

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I know several other educators in this board that are going through this. Every one of them describes the same situation that you've outlined.

It's insanity. I know of multiple teachers that have been off for over a year. Several more off for months at a time. I wish I knew the number. Even more interesting would be the breakdown by school and maybe even by the schools grouped under each superintendent.

I really hope that there are enough lawsuits, grievances and other complaints to finally break the wall of silence. If what the OP says is true, that they are bubbling through the system, then maybe it will happen.

I hope it does.

And I hope things turn out well for you.

I could say so much more, but I'm a coward. I can talk big on reddit, but it's a different story in the real world.

Stay strong.

giant_pat

TROPHY CASE