Local Students Welcome Minister of Education and MPP
May 26, 2021
BRANTFORD – Students and staff at King George Elementary School hosted Ontario Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, who participated in a virtual classroom visit at the school today, accompanied by Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma.
It was an opportunity for students to ask questions directly to the Minister, learn more about how government works, and to demonstrate the quality of learning during the pandemic.
In this virtual Language Arts Class, the class focused on “inferencing”. The teacher shared with the students the clues and short letters that have been addressed to the students that she received from the “mystery guests.”
“I am so grateful to Ontario’s students and education staff for leading by example during this pandemic,” said Minister Lecce. “Working with these young leaders is an incredible source of pride and motivation. These engagements create opportunities to discuss issues of priority — from positive mental health to leadership development and the importance of the next generation of public service.”
“I commend King George Elementary School on the work they’re doing for the students in our community,” said Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma. “They are the next generation to lead us and hearing about what’s important to them at the grassroots level is critical in helping us plan for the future of our community.”
Grand Erie School Board Chair Greg Anderson said “that both the King George students and their teacher shone brightly today demonstrating how interactive and successful virtual learning can be.”
“We are very proud of our learning community at King George Elementary School. Our board staff, school trustees, school administration, and students were very excited to welcome the Hon. Stephen Leece and Member of Provincial Parliament Will Bouma to their virtual classroom,” said JoAnna Roberto, Director of Education at the Grand Erie District School Board. “This visit proved to be a very engaging and memorable opportunity that students will remember for years to come.”
QUICK FACTS
- Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy, brings total investments to $16.3 billion to protect people’s health and $23.3 billion to protect our economy. Ontario’s COVID-19 action plan support now totals $51 billion.
- Under the 2021 Budget – Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy, the government is providing unprecedented relief to parents with $1.8 billion in direct payments as part of the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit.
- The Ontario government is providing an additional $381 million, through the federal Safe Return to Class Fund, including investments of $50 million for air filters and other immediate measures to optimize air quality and ventilation.
- Ontario is also investing $550 million in the 2020–21 school year to build 20 new schools and eight permanent additions to existing schools.
- These new projects will create nearly 16,000 new learning spaces and will ensure that students and staff have access to the best classrooms and learning environments. During construction, these new projects will also create hundreds of jobs and contribute significantly to Ontario’s economic recovery.
- The government has committed to creating up to 30,000 new child care spaces, including up to 10,000 spaces in new schools.
-30-
For more information, contact MPP Will Bouma at 519-759-0361 or will.bouma@pc.ola.org