Local Community Study and Action Plan Report Part 1

The Plan
Madonna Catholic Secondary School is located on 20 Dubray Avenue, off of
Keele Street and Wilson Avenue. It holds a population of 519 students and is considered
to be an at-risk school. The population over the years has increased and is standing at a
good number for its schools capacity.
This all girls high school is considered to be a health and wellness school, and are
very conscientious with their practices in regards to the environment. For example,
recycling is heavily enforced in the classroom, students are told to steer away from
plastic water bottles, and their environmental club is an important gathering for the
students. Because the school has this main focus, it has been shown to become a
hindrance in regards to the cafeteria. Many of the students do not firmly believe in
healthy eating which is why they tend to go off campus for food. As a result, the cafeteria
selection has suffered since the catering of food to the school is only given based off of
how much the students spend.
This has caused the cafeteria to in turn to be heavily lacking in food, let alone
nutritious options. Because of this, the problem of students eating off of campus becomes
perpetuated. On top of having a healthy eating issue, a safety issue becomes an
underlying problem since the students are constantly leaving school without permission.
Since Madonnas population used to be low, the cafeteria had a very hard time
sustaining sufficient quantities of food to provide to the students. Also, the fact that there
are so many options for students off campus to eat in such close vicinity have even more
lowered their quantity of customers.

When speaking to the staff at the high school, they have been very vocal in
informing us that even though it is an at-risk school, students are still given quite a bit
of money on a regular basis, so the issue of them not affording it is minor and can be
dealt with accordingly. It is also important to mention another underlying problem that
can be addressed. When reflecting on how much money the average student gets for
lunch, if it is consistently saved, and students decide to pack their own lunches on a
regular basis, they can potentially pay off their post-secondary education if they are
persistent. Knowledge of how much money they are actually wasting is something that
should also be brought to their attention.
The purpose of our action plan is to first and foremost bring the attention to
students of healthy eating. We want to show them not only how important it is when in
school, but also in the long run physically, psychologically and financially. We will have
after school classes involving activities and interactive lessons, teaching them about the
benefits of eating healthy so that they become more conscious about what they are
putting in their bodies.
In regards to the cafeteria, the solution can be solved by student involvement.
Involving students in the food making or distributing process will not only give them a
personal attachment to the cause, but will also cause other students to want to contribute
to their classmates efforts. Also, finding out what students want to eat will be an
important issue we can question and implement so that their voices can be heard. As long
as it is under a healthy umbrella, if the students are willing to buy it then it will be a
beneficial process.

By providing students with food that they are interested in eating will in turn
project to lower the number of students leaving campus to eat elsewhere, and address the
safety issue.
Eventually, we hope to leave a footprint by teaching these students about the
purposes of healthy eating. We want to give them the passion to pass the knowledge on to
the next generation of students so that they can be aware of the necessity of it. We also
want to make it an enjoyable experience by involving them in creating posters for
example, where they can be featured promoting a certain meal or enforcing the healthy
eating mentality. This will then hopefully stimulate students to want to continue doing it
the next year. Also, if students start to spend more money in the cafeteria and get more of
the healthy food that they request, the caterers will become more inclined to service their
needs. We have discussed with the principal our ideas and she says that based on what the
demands turn out to be, she can arrange a meeting with the caterers of the school (Pina
foods) to implement changes for the better.
Lastly, eating on campus as opposed to off campus is a much cheaper option. If
we show students how much money they are exhausting and what in the long-term
effective saving can do, we can give them another reason to stay on campus, and even
make efforts to bring snacks from home so that they dont spend all of their money here.
Especially since it is in at-risk school, many parents arent as conscious as to how much
money they are giving their children. They are receiving unrealistic amounts of money
(compared to the income they receive) and it is being wasted at an excessive and
unnecessary rate. Although this may seem contradicting in regards to trying to find a way
to spend more money in their cafeteria, our bottom goal is to enforce healthy eating and

make students aware of their actions. They outcomes of this may vary, but nonetheless
will be positive as long as the student

Host School Information

Madonna Catholic Secondary School
Student Enrolment: 536 (According to the Ministry of Education in 2013; however, this
year the student enrolment is at 600+ and growing).
ELL Learners: 34.4% (Fraser Institute)
Special Needs Learners: 21.6% (Ministry of Education)
Parents Average Income: $41,500 (Fraser Institute)
Students from Lower-Income Households: 29% (Ministry of Education)
Academics and Specialized Programs:
According to their website, Madonna C.S.S has demonstrated a steady increase in
many benchmarks of student achievement. This is evident in that 95% of their students
attend a post-secondary institution with over 80% entering into a Health or Health
Sciences related field. They have significantly improved their scores in literacy and
numeracy, according to the Ministry of Education website, earning a +13 point change in
literacy and a +11 point change in math over the past three years. Madonna offers a
Specialist High Skills Major program in Health and Wellness. This program allows
students real-world opportunities in the health care field and exposes them to a variety of
career options in the health care field such as, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, dentistry,
physiotherapy, etc. The school and SHSM program also participated in Metros Green
Apple School Program, where they received a $1000 grant to make healthy fruit and

vegetable juices for the Breakfast SHSM program. Two years ago, Madonna C.S.S also
introduced an MST program (Math, Science and Technology), which allows their
students to integrate all three areas with a hands-on component.

Community Demographics
Downsview Neighbourhood Profile (2011)
Population: 34,655
Children 0-14: 5,040 (17.4%)
Youth 15-24: 4,250 (12.3%)
Working Age 25-64: 19,125 (55.2%)
Senior 65+: 5,240 (15.1%)
Ethnicities:
Top 5 Ethnic Origins
Italian: 9,130
Filipino: 3,195
Canadian: 2,855
Jamaican: 2,620
Vietnamese: 2,010
Languages:
Top 5 Non-Official Mother Tongue Languages
Italian: 5,045
Spanish: 3,460
Tagalog: 1,565

Vietnamese: 1,380
Portuguese: 835
Household Income:
Median After-Tax Household Income: $44,087
Percent of Population in Low-Income: 20%

Parish Connections and Catholic Distinctions

Madonna C.S.S has a strong connection to the local parish St. Philip Neri and
has a long history based in Catholicism, as they were founded by the Faithful
Companions of Jesus; a religious order of Sisters. According to Madonnas About Us
page on their website they are strongly committed to living out the Catholic faith:

The most evident bond in the school community comes from a shared sense of
Catholic values provided through the environment of a Catholic school. Students
are provided with a rich curriculum of religious studies supported by a cocurricular program consisting of school and class liturgies, retreats, community
outreach, linkage with our local parish--St. Philip Neri--,peer helping, peer
mediation, and daily prayer.
Madonna C.S.S About Us Page, Toronto Catholic District School
Board website

Madonna Catholic Secondary School was founded by the Faithful Companions

of Jesus, a religious order of sisters--on the tenets of faith, charity and justice,

ideals which all who inhabit Madonna are encouraged to mirror in their daily
lives. In 1963, the order opened Madonna High School to 75 girls but this number
rapidly increased to more than 700 as the program and facility expanded. The
F.C.J. tradition has always been to communicate and give witness to Gospel
values and attitudes, to emphasize education in faith; a faith that sees and
discerns reality from the point of view of the Gospel and confronts reality with the
Gospel. The school was named after Madonna, Our Lady, whose virtues of love,
service, generosity, chastity and humility continue to inspire and guide the actions
of the Madonna community.
Madonna C.S.S School History and Tradition Page, Toronto Catholic
District School board website

TCDSB Health and Wellness Connections

The Toronto Catholic District School Board currently runs a Student Nutrition
Program (SNP) that aims to improve learning outcomes for children and youth by
providing nutritious meals/snacks so that students are ready to learn within a Catholic
school community. The SNP has grown considerably in the TCDSB since 2008; at that
time, provincial funding for nutrition programs was significantly increased as part of the
Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Currently in the TCDSB:

There are Student Nutrition Programs in 105 schools.

30,000 students participate in nutrition programs.
During the 2010-2011 school-year, over 5,250,000 meals were served.
The SNP is managed by TCDSB staff and parent/community volunteers.

SNPs are funded by provincial and municipal grants administered through the
Angel Foundation for Learning, along with parent/community donations. In most
elementary schools, parents register their children in the program and contribute a small
portion of the cost based upon the ability to pay. In secondary schools, the SNPs are
universal (available to all students at no cost) as secondary students may be less likely to
participate in the program when there is a cost involved.
Online, Madonna CSS is listed as a participating school in the SNP, which allows
our health and wellness program a starting point to build off of. With this SNP in place,
we hope to be able to expand knowledge, reinforce healthy eating concepts, provide
improved cafeteria food choices and improve overall student health and well being.
A similar program was launched in the TDSB in 2008 in order to boost students
success via the implementation of a free breakfast program. The breakfast program was
launched based off of results from a two-year study that found a positive correlation
between student academic performance and breakfast consumption.

Ministry of Education Outlines

In 2008, the government of Ontarios ministry of education department
implemented legislature entitle the Healthy Foods for Healthy Schools Act that was
designed for the purpose of setting mandatory nutrition standards in our provincial
schools. The act aims to make healthy options available to Ontario students, and requires
that food choices must be locally and environmentally focused. As studies have shown,
children who eat healthy are more likely to success in a classroom and are more ready to
learn when it comes to teaching (Ministry of Education). With this in mind, the Healthy

Foods for Healthy Schools Act covers both a physical health aspect, but also a mental
health aspect within the classroom. There are two subsets of legislation that fall under this
2008 Act which include Ontarios School Food and Beverage policy, as well as the 2008
Transfat standard. These policies were put in place by the Ontario government in order to
regulate the foods that were being sold in school cafeterias across the province. Schools
are allows a total of ten special event days where the standards set in these policies may
be over looked (pizza days etc.), but otherwise must follow the legislation of the Healthy
foods for Healthy Schools Act.
The School Food and Beverage policy applies to all cafeterias, vending machines,
lunch programs and bake sales, however does not apply to food that is provided to
students free of charge. The policy took effect September 1st, 2011 and has since been
running across Ontario. This policy sets the standards for what foods may be sold to
students, and divides food and beverages into three main categories. In category number
1 we have no nutritional value. This category consists of foods with low essential
nutrients, and high fat, sodium and sugar content. Energy drinks and fried foods are the
type of food that fall into this category and are not permitted to be sold in Ontario
schools. The second category is labelled healthy and is permitted to make up a total of
20% of food and beverages sold in Ontario schools. Foods in this category include things
such as bagels and cheese. The final category which makes up the final 80% of food and
beverages allotted for sale to students is labeled healthiest, and consists of food choices
such as extra lean ground beef and whole grain breads. The School Food and Beverage
policy mandates that Ontario schools must abide by the 80/20 rule, where 80% of foods
sold fall into the healthiest category and 20% fall into the healthy category.

Just as the aforementioned policy sets specific regulations, the Transfat standard
also sets a benchmark for schools to meet. Food and beverages sold in school cafeterias
and vending machines must abide by the ruling that any sort of spread (butter, cooking oil
etc.) cannot exceed a ratio of 2% transfat content, while other food and beverages cannot
exceed a total transfat ratio of 5%. This is calculated by reading the food nutrition labels
and dividing trans fat content by the total fat content and multiplied by 100% (grams of
transfats/total grams of fat x 100).
There has been a big push over the last few years to implement healthy eating
strategies in schools. Currently five other provinces across Canada have implemented
mandatory nutrition standards for schools, and these include: British Columbia, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Specifically in Ontario, twenty-eight
per cent of children between the ages of two and 17 are overweight or obese -- putting
them at risk of diseases including diabetes. As well, less than half of Ontario kids, ages
12-19, eat the recommended daily minimum of fruits and vegetables. Our action plan
aims to provide students with the knowledge to change their eating habits, as well as
improves access to healthy foods, to allow for easier and smarter food purchases.