Principal Ghada Sadaka was amazing but every since she left, the school went down hill. The previous Principal Mme Laurie Finn, did not allow kids to help out with distributing lunches. She did not allow custodians to take garbage. We had to fold, bundle and send pizza boxes back to the vendor, parents had to take out garbage at events and also do the set up and remove the chairs and tables. Even though Principal Sadaka was there for a few months, she broke down barriers for Parent Council and motivated kids to do more volunteer work at school and participate in school lunches. She implemented a healthy snack Program! Prior to being assigned to SWL, she was on sick leave for a year and wasn't working. During that time she was on Facebook with her friends in Lebanon. She grew up with Catholic and Muslim friends in Lebanon and was corresponding with them. In her posts, she responded to her friends regarding Terrorism and what is happening in the Middle East. Some Muslim parents at SWL googled the posts which were Public because she did not switch her status on Facebook to private when speaking with Friends. These Muslim parents went directly to Noor Javed, a Muslim Reporter at the Toronto Star and accused her of Racism. These parents (i.e. Sadaf Siddiqui, Nazish Hussain and Sufia Khan-Hussaini) filed a Human Rights violation on our Principal causing a huge Media attack and campaign on our school. Those who know Ghada Saddaka knows she is not racist and was even a Chair of the Equity Committee at her previous school. The three parents who instigated the Press Attack on SWL even disrupted Council activities and tried to get parent councils to have her removed. If it wasn't for Principal Sadaka, parents would be folding pizza boxes and showing up every day to hand out lunches in order to raise $50k for the school each year. Some Muslim parents are unappreciative. Don't know the whole story and jump to conclusion. Your best interest should be your kids' education, NOT YOUR RELIGION. Our school comprise of Atheist, homosexuals, asexual, non-sexual, religious and non religious students and parents. School is not about religion. It is about learning and when you bring the Press and attack a Principal and call her racist, you better have more proof than just a couple of Posts that she was corresponding with during the time she was NOT Principal, on sick leave and was only talking to her Muslim friends. Get the facts and don't be ignorant. Putting your Muslim teenager in front of the Camera and telling her to lie about being afraid of the Principal is Child Abuse. Teaching your child to hate and lie on camera is the lowest form of a human being. You should know better Sadaf! Nazish's mother in law is Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong. She should know better than to promote hate. Sufia teaches at the Islamic Institute and lives in Stouffville but her child attends SWL in Markham. She should know better than to participate in this accusation and creating the media storm on our school. I would have expected high sense of morality given that both Nazish and Sadaf and their husbands are all lawyers and Sufia is a teacher!
Something is wrong with our Education System.At the primary level, teachers are give specific strategies to "teach" kids. They are told by the Principal, via Board Polices, no one fails, no one does exceptionally well. Some teachers abide by the strategies and some teachers don't. Those who do are those who don't teach more than what the curriculum dictates. Those who don't, go beyond the basic concepts introduced at their grade level, expose the next level up that would soon be taught in the next and higher grades. I see nothing wrong with this approach if this teacher is engaging and motivational. Especially in areas of Math and Science where concepts can be quite hard and gradually become increasingly difficult. If these teachers have the ability to explain concepts, motivate students and engage them, then I really don't care what strategies they employ to get my child to learn and love Math or Science! Effective teachers should be allowed creative control and employ strategies they see area working on the students. These types of teachers are hard to come by. They are dedicated, inspiring and nurturing. They are not just here collecting a pay cheque. The ones who do the bare minimum, stick with the compliance of what is necessary and required by the School Board, are just not 'good enough' for my kids. I am home schooling my youngest child at home to so he understands Math. He is not learning Math as he should during class. Parents are burdened to teach their kids at home or send them to after School Math Programs. Many parents in York Region provide extra help for their kids outside of school because the curriculum is inadequate to prepare our children for High School, University and the work force. Why should you care as a parent? Well, for one, Canada is far behind Asian and many European countries in Math and Science. Exchange students come to Canada for High School and breeze right through Math program by getting 90% - 100%. This is reality. Our kids who lag behind are getting 80%s, not enough to get into Math, Science, Engineering and Medicine. There are limited # of spots in every Program in Universities. Students from Private schools and exchange students are beating our kids to University Programs of their choice.There are no clear cut strategies and solutions but I do know that teachers who care and teach in a style and approach that reaches the student is a good thing. We should keep teachers in the system who have the ability to motivate and inspire students. Given them the creative freedom and flexibility to do what they do best. Teach!Why is Principal Deborah Joyce at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School in Markham giving Mr. Adel Messiah an unsatisfactory evaluation? He just won Best Elementary teacher of the year. Strategies take time to implement and effective teachers have to be part of the collaboration process in dictating what those strategies should be. They are the ones who care and give more of their personal time to teaching,Parents whose children had Mr. Messiha for Math, knows he's an inspiring teacher and they are motivated by his passion for teaching. Mr. Messiha's methods and approach challenge students further. Mr. Messiha and other teachers like Mr. Messiha should be the pinnacle of what teachers should be doing for students, not cast aside and demoralized by an unsatisfactory rating.The School Board needs to wake up and listen to parents and our concerns. Their policies on 'teaching strategies' are demotivating teachers like Mr. Messiha and we just don't have enough of inspirational teachers like Adel Messiha!Wake up York Region School Board, your job is to find teacher profiles like Mr. Messiha, who motivates, inspires and gives a lot of his personal time to prepare our children for High School and University, not place limitations on such teachers and forcing them to comply with ineffective strategies. Let Mr. Messiha work and continue to employ his strategies! Our kids love math because of Mr. Messiha!
This school is really amazing. The Principal Mme. Joyce, the Vice Principal Mme. Panny Lam and all the teachers are great. I like them all. It is a place with full of love.
After mme finn left this place went down in flames...what a shame.
The principal Deborah Joyce supports bullying that all I can say for now
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School is a Canadian School based in Markham, Ontario. Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School is located at 160 Hazelton Ave, Markham, ON L6C 3H6, Canada.
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