Gould Lake Outdoor Centre

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Limestone District School Board (LDSB) has&nbsp;achieved&nbsp;its strongest&nbsp;Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO)&nbsp;performance&nbsp;in&nbsp;four years, with gains in&nbsp;</strong></b><u><b><strong class="editor-text-bold editor-text-underline" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">every testing category</strong></b></u><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;for the 2024-2025 school year.&nbsp;LDSB’s EQAO results&nbsp;align with provincial outcomes in many areas, while showing notable improvements in others and among specific student groups.&nbsp;Limestone’s 2024-2025 results are at, or above, the provincial average in&nbsp;almost all&nbsp;measures.</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Results show an upward trend&nbsp;and momentum&nbsp;across all eight areas of assessment for students in Grades 3, 6, 9, and 10, including those with special education needs, underscoring&nbsp;the&nbsp;Board’s intention&nbsp;of&nbsp;making a positive difference in the lives of&nbsp;every student, in every classroom, in every school.&nbsp;</strong></b><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"These results reflect the daily dedication of Limestone educators, educational assistants, program teams, and school leaders,” says Krishna Burra,&nbsp;LDSB&nbsp;Director of Education.&nbsp;“I want to acknowledge&nbsp;the efforts of those who have&nbsp;focused on implementing evidence-informed practices, providing targeted supports, and collaborating across schools to ensure student achievement and success.”&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The elementary school report provides assessments of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics written by&nbsp;students&nbsp;in Grades 3 and 6. The secondary school report provides similar information relating to the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics and the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test&nbsp;(OSSLT).&nbsp;</span></p><h2 class="editor-heading-h2" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Results&nbsp;at a Glance&nbsp;</span></h2><ul class="editor-list-ul"><li value="1" class="editor-listitem"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 3 Improvements:</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;LDSB students showed a 5% to 8% increase in Reading, Writing, and Math, with 75% meeting the provincial standard in Reading, 65% in Writing, and 65% in Math, outperforming provincial averages. Students with special&nbsp;education&nbsp;needs improved by 8% to&nbsp;9% in these subjects.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></li><li value="2" class="editor-listitem"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 6 Gains:</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;Achievement rose in all areas, with 88% meeting Reading standards, 87% in Writing, and 51% in Math, matching or exceeding provincial rates.&nbsp;Students&nbsp;with&nbsp;special&nbsp;education needs&nbsp;made significant advances, especially in Writing with a 22% increase.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></li><li value="3" class="editor-listitem"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grades&nbsp;9 and 10 Results:</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> LDSB’s Grade 9 Math scores were slightly below provincial levels but increased by 5% from the previous year, with&nbsp;students with special education needs&nbsp;performing better than&nbsp;students with similar needs in other&nbsp;jurisdictions.&nbsp;The Grade 10 OSSLT saw 95% participation and 84% success, a 3% rise, with continued improvement among&nbsp;students with special education needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></li></ul><h2 class="editor-heading-h2" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 3 EQAO Results&nbsp;</span></h2><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 3&nbsp;student&nbsp;achievement saw a&nbsp;5% to&nbsp;8% increase in all subject areas in Limestone, compared to the 2023/24&nbsp;assessment results, with&nbsp;75% meeting the provincial standard in&nbsp;Reading, 65% in&nbsp;Writing, and&nbsp;65% in&nbsp;Math.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Results for&nbsp;the province&nbsp;showed a slight&nbsp;increase&nbsp;from the previous year&nbsp;for&nbsp;all&nbsp;Grade 3&nbsp;subjects&nbsp;and&nbsp;were&nbsp;slightly lower&nbsp;than Limestone&nbsp;across Grade 3 assessment&nbsp;subjects.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This new data shows improvement in all subjects, with&nbsp;Math achievement showing the most significant difference for&nbsp;students&nbsp;in Grade 3.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Of significant note&nbsp;are&nbsp;the gains in achievement in Grade&nbsp;3&nbsp;Reading,&nbsp;Writing, and&nbsp;Mathematics made by Limestone&nbsp;students with special&nbsp;education&nbsp;needs&nbsp;– up&nbsp;9%,&nbsp;8%, and&nbsp;9% respectively,&nbsp;compared to the 2023/24&nbsp;assessment results.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><h2 class="editor-heading-h2" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 6 EQAO Results&nbsp;</span></h2><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 6&nbsp;student achievement&nbsp;in Limestone&nbsp;also&nbsp;continues to&nbsp;build momentum with&nbsp;improvements in&nbsp;all subject areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In&nbsp;Reading, 88% of students&nbsp;met&nbsp;provincial standard&nbsp;in 2024/25&nbsp;– an increase of&nbsp;9% from the 2023/24 assessment&nbsp;and a higher rate than the province for&nbsp;2024/25.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Results in&nbsp;Writing&nbsp;showed an increase of 14% over the&nbsp;previous&nbsp;assessment year, with&nbsp;87% of&nbsp;students&nbsp;meeting provincial standard,&nbsp;at a higher rate than the province.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In&nbsp;Math,&nbsp;results were equal to&nbsp;the&nbsp;province,&nbsp;with&nbsp;51%&nbsp;of&nbsp;students&nbsp;meeting&nbsp;the provincial standard, an increase of 11% for Limestone compared to the&nbsp;previous&nbsp;assessment year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Like&nbsp;the&nbsp;Grade 3 assessment results, achievement&nbsp;in&nbsp;all subject areas&nbsp;for&nbsp;students&nbsp;in&nbsp;Grade 6 with special education needs&nbsp;in Limestone&nbsp;has increased, with significant gains in&nbsp;Reading and&nbsp;Writing&nbsp;by&nbsp;12% and&nbsp;22%, respectively,&nbsp;since the 2023/24&nbsp;assessment. This increase in achievement&nbsp;for&nbsp;students&nbsp;in&nbsp;Grade 6&nbsp;with special education needs&nbsp;is higher than the province&nbsp;by 3% to 10%&nbsp;across all&nbsp;subject areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Limestone&nbsp;students&nbsp;and staff have worked hard to achieve these gains across Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, including the strong improvements for&nbsp;students&nbsp;with&nbsp;special&nbsp;education needs,” says Burra.&nbsp;“The momentum we are seeing is the result of consistent, evidence‑informed practice—targeted instruction, early interventions, collaborative professional learning, and a sharp focus on what happens in classrooms every day.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“We are proud of this progress, and we are committed to sustaining it by continuing the practices that work and adjusting where they do not,” he adds.&nbsp;“Our goal remains steady improvement over time, not one‑year spikes, for every&nbsp;student,&nbsp;in every classroom,&nbsp;in every school.”&nbsp;</span></p><h3 class="editor-heading-h3" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Primary Assessment (administered in Grade 3):&nbsp;</span></h3><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Area of Assessment&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">LDSB&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Province&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Reading&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">75%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">74%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">65%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">65%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Mathematics&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">65%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">64%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 class="editor-heading-h3" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Junior Assessment (administered in Grade 6):&nbsp;</span></h3><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Area of Assessment&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">LDSB&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Province&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Reading&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">88%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">86%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">87%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">85%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Mathematics&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">51%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">51%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 class="editor-heading-h2" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grades&nbsp;9&nbsp;and 10&nbsp;EQAO Results&nbsp;</span></h2><h3 class="editor-heading-h3" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 9 Mathematics Assessment:&nbsp;</span></h3><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Results&nbsp;for&nbsp;Grade 9&nbsp;Math&nbsp;in Limestone&nbsp;are slightly lower&nbsp;compared&nbsp;to the provincial results. For all participating&nbsp;students&nbsp;in the&nbsp;Grade 9&nbsp;Math assessment,&nbsp;55% achieved the provincial standard in Limestone,&nbsp;and 58%&nbsp;achieved the provincial standard provincially.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Limestone’s&nbsp;Grade 9&nbsp;Math results&nbsp;increased&nbsp;by&nbsp;5% as compared to last year.&nbsp;Results for&nbsp;students&nbsp;with&nbsp;special&nbsp;education&nbsp;needs&nbsp;achieving the provincial standard&nbsp;are&nbsp;higher than&nbsp;the province at&nbsp;34%&nbsp;for Limestone,&nbsp;compared to&nbsp;32% for the province.&nbsp;</span></p><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 9 Mathematics Assessment&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">LDSB&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Province&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 20px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 321px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 9&nbsp;Math&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 85px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">55%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 113px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">58%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Grade 9 Mathematics continues to be a priority area,” says Steve&nbsp;Hedderson, LDSB Associate Superintendent of Human Resources&nbsp;and&nbsp;Curriculum&nbsp;and Program Services: Math and FSL.&nbsp;“Limestone’s&nbsp;five‑point improvement year‑over‑year shows the work is taking hold. We&nbsp;are deepening supports in Grade 9&nbsp;Math—explicit instruction, daily practice, and&nbsp;timely&nbsp;interventions—and aligning professional learning so teachers have the tools they need. We&nbsp;are focused on building&nbsp;Math confidence and competency for every&nbsp;student.”&nbsp;</span></p><h3 class="editor-heading-h3" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test&nbsp;- Administered in Grade 10:&nbsp;</span></h3><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, 95% of first-time eligible&nbsp;students&nbsp;wrote the test&nbsp;in Limestone, compared to 94%&nbsp;of&nbsp;students&nbsp;in the province. With&nbsp;this&nbsp;high&nbsp;participation&nbsp;rate,&nbsp;84% of all&nbsp;students&nbsp;in Limestone&nbsp;were successful, an increase of&nbsp;3%&nbsp;compared to&nbsp;the 2023/24&nbsp;school year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">OSSLT&nbsp;results&nbsp;for&nbsp;students&nbsp;with&nbsp;special&nbsp;education&nbsp;needs&nbsp;continue&nbsp;to&nbsp;show&nbsp;an&nbsp;improvement&nbsp;for the&nbsp;2024/25&nbsp;year,&nbsp;with&nbsp;65% of&nbsp;Limestone&nbsp;students&nbsp;being successful&nbsp;on the assessment.&nbsp;</span></p><table class="editor-table"><colgroup><col><col><col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 21px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 282px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Grade 10 OSSLT&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 97px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">LDSB&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 117px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Province&nbsp;</strong></b></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 282px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Participation&nbsp;Rate&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 97px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">95%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 117px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">94%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21px;"><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 282px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Success&nbsp;Rate&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 97px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">84%&nbsp;</span></p></td><td class="editor-tableCell" style="width: 117px; background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid black; vertical-align: top;"><p class="editor-paragraph" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">85%&nbsp;</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Strong Grade 10 Literacy outcomes begin with strong participation,” says Stephanie Sartor, LDSB Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Program Services: Literacy Focus. “With 95% writing and 84% successful, up three points from last year, we are encouraged by the trajectory, including the continued improvement for students with special education needs. Literacy is a shared responsibility across subjects, and we will keep pairing explicit instruction with targeted supports so every learner can&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;success.”&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Students in all publicly&nbsp;funded schools in Ontario&nbsp;are required to&nbsp;write provincial assessments, administered by EQAO, a provincial body that tests students’ skills in&nbsp;Literacy in Grades 3, 6,&nbsp;and 10 and&nbsp;Math skills in Grades 3, 6,&nbsp;and 9 in relation to Ontario&nbsp;curriculum expectations.&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Successful completion of the&nbsp;Literacy requirement is one of the requirements to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.&nbsp;The EQAO assessments have undergone significant&nbsp;updates, with the newer&nbsp;digital assessments offered entirely online through a digital platform for students over the past&nbsp;four&nbsp;years.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“The dedication of Limestone educators,&nbsp;educational assistants,&nbsp;program team members, and school leaders will remain foundational to&nbsp;continued efforts moving forward,” says Burra.&nbsp;</span></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The following message by the Honourable Paul Calandra, Ontario Minister of Education, is for parents and guardians regarding EQAO results and the appointment of a Student Achievement Advisory Body.</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Please select the following link to read (PDF): </span><a href="/documents/2a916cd2-b224-4a93-a4b3-b0a57ae98e62/Letter-to-Parents-EQAO-Dec-3-2025.pdf" rel="noreferrer" class="editor-link"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Letter to Parents and Guardians</span></a></p>

<p class="editor-paragraph"><img src="/images/bff4337c-478a-4c20-a057-a8a6e80ca7cb" alt="Parent Involvement Committee Gathering with Director" width="584" height="730" style="width:584px;height:730px;display:inline-block"></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Join us for a special </span><a href="https://www.limestone.on.ca/parent-involvement-committee" rel="noreferrer" class="editor-link"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Parent Involvement Committee (PIC)</span></a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> gathering with Krishna Burra, LDSB Director of Education. </span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When: </strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, December 4, 2025, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Where:</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> In-person or online</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In-person: </strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">220 Portsmouth Avenue, Kingston, Ontario</span></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><b><strong class="editor-text-bold" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Online:</strong></b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%3Ameeting_MmJlMGM0YWEtNDQ4NS00YzAxLWJhMmEtNjhjNmM5NDA0ZmRk%40thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257b%2522Tid%2522%253a%2522e1f4165f-ebae-4d82-a73c-a0de593830be%2522%252c%2522Oid%2522%253a%25222807506b-b7b9-4de9-8d10-c7f7c33103a9%2522%257d%26anon%3Dtrue&amp;type=meetup-join&amp;deeplinkId=49721d4d-f239-4e30-a5d3-f2d0a60ce03a&amp;directDl=true&amp;msLaunch=true&amp;enableMobilePage=true&amp;suppressPrompt=true" rel="noreferrer" class="editor-link"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Link to Attend</span></a></p><p class="editor-paragraph" dir="ltr"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We look forward to seeing you there!</span></p>