Volume 49 No. 11
BEACHMETRO.COM
August 25, 2020
Beach-based Concerns, frustrations Sandwich Sisters as start of school nears helping hostels By Amanda Gibb
By Amanda Gibb
FROM THE Beach to neighbourhoods across the Greater Toronto Area, Sandwich Sisters volunteers have prepared thousands of sandwiches for shelters since the end of March. “When the (COVID-19) pandemic hit, I thought, well, the shelters have to be hurting. I reached out to them and they said that they needed to close their kitchens down because of the pandemic,” said Beach resident Carolyn Quigley. Quigley said that she enlisted the help of her friends to make sandwiches every week to donate to the shelters. “We started off with eight of us making sandwiches in our homes over Zoom calls,” said Quigley. What started as a small act of community kindness has evolved to 14 “pods” across the city with more
than 280 volunteers donating more than 53,000 sandwiches plus other foods to multiple shelters. “Each day I was getting emails from everywhere. Toronto, Hamilton, North York, Leaside, Etobicoke, everywhere,” said Quigley. Quigley said that Lori Wells came up with the name Sandwich Sisters and has a number of other responsibilities within the group. “She has been keeping count of everything from sandwiches, juice boxes, snack bars, apples, and oranges. And she puts the pods together,” said Quigley. Each pod of volunteers has one pod leader that is in charge of making sure volunteers know what they’re doing, keeping a schedule, and reporting numbers back to Wells. “The pod leaders also supply food, funded by donations, to the Continued on Page 20
Leuty Lifeguard Station marks 100th anniversary By Alan Shackleton
THE LEUTY Lifeguard Station’s 100th anniversary was celebrated by a small group of Beach dignitaries late last month. The ceremony, which had to remain small due to COVID-19 restrictions, was held on the Boardwalk at the foot of Leuty Avenue in front of the plaque recognizing the building of the station in 1920. Those attending the July 21 event included Beach historian Gene Domagala, Beaches-East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, BeachesEast York Councillor Brad Bradford, former Beach Metro News general manager Sheila Blinoff, former area councillor Tom Jakobek, author Jean Cochrane, and Community Centre 55 executive director Debbie Visconti. A much larger community celebration to mark the 100th anniversary will be held next summer, said Bradford. “We’re going to have a big beach party in 2021 to celebrate the Leuty,” added Visconti. Bradford added that residents are invited to share their Leuty
stories, photos, paintings, videos or anything else related to the station over the next year to an online portal that has been set up in advance of next summer’s bigger celebration of the 100th anniversary. The portal can be accessed at https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/eULS1glr Though subdued and limited in numbers, Tuesday’s event saw a number of speeches including from former and present lifeguards. A group of lifeguards working out of the station this summer helped cut the ribbon to officially mark the 100th anniversary. Jakobek, who was a lifeguard at the Leuty station in the late 1970s, told the crowd he had many fond memories of working there including being on the tower and working the “rookie beach” at the foot of Hammersmith Avenue. “It was the best job,” he said, remembering he was paid $83.20 a week at the time. Jakobek added that as Toronto changes and the buildings and landmarks that were part of its past disappear, it’s important to remember and maintain the buildings that Continued on Page 5
THE PROVINCE’S plan to send students back to school has been constantly changing as parents, teachers, and officials raise their concerns. As of Friday, Aug. 21, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) was planning to start school for students on Sept. 15, one week later than had earlier been planned. Start dates for students will also be staggered over Sept. 15, 16 and 17, according to the latest plan by the TDSB which was approved late in the day on Aug. 20. Other aspects of the TDSB’s plan will be the mandatory wearing of face masks for students in all grades to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, smaller class sizes and physical distancing protocols. There will also be options for online learning. The TDSB will be dipping into its reserve funds to cover some of these additional costs, including the hiring of more teachers to help reduce class sizes. Conditions evolving Last week, Beach Metro News looked into the concerns of local trustees and parents as the new school year approaches. As the situation was constantly changing, the interviews in this article took place before the updated plan was introduced. “This whole experience has been akin to building a plane while flying it…The conditions are evolving,” said Toronto-Danforth TDSB trustee Jennifer Story. “At some point parents and teachers are going to have to make a decision. Students are going to have to make a decision about going back to school without having every question answered.” Michelle Aarts, the TDSB trustee for Beaches East-York, said that the constantly changing situation has “thrown the boards for a loop.” She said that the direction given on July 30 by the province for elementary students to go back full time in regular class sizes was unexpected and not what they had planned for. “I was shocked, it’s a mix of frustration and shock. The frustration comes from the fact the ministry has made our staff do phenomenal amounts of work, and then pull the rug out from under them multiple
PHOTO/ALAN SHACKLETON
Parent Jennifer Sheridan, left, speaks at a press conference outside Birch Cliff Public School last Wednesday about the province’s back-to-school plans. The press conference was also attended by Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, right, and Scarborough Southwest MPP Dolly Begum, centre. times,” said Aarts. Angela Kennedy, the Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee for Beaches East-York said that her board’s plan for the return to school is similar in a number of ways to the TDSB’s plan. “Things are changing on an hourly basis practically and I see that our senior staff are working day and night. The ministry is working hard, Public Health is working hard. Everyone is working hard to do the right thing,” said Kennedy. There are many unknown components to the province’s plan which have raised concerns, including what transportation will look like, how recesses and lunch breaks will be planned, along with entries and exits into school. Story’s thoughts on the plans highlight the need for funding to have the space to allow for social distancing and to hire more staff. More resources needed “I’m disappointed that the provincial government hasn’t put more resources into supplementary teachers and into securing additional spaces so that we can minimize class sizes and spread kids in a class out,” said Story. Story also described the current funding for infrastructure to enhance health and safety in schools as “woefully inadequate.” “Even if we were to get a massive and immediate influx of cash, it would take time to execute. There’s no way all that work could be done for September,” she said. Aarts said that instead of run-
ning a balanced budget this year, the board will be borrowing against reserves for approximately $30 million, even if more funding is announced. “Right now those reserves are paying for PPE for both staff and students, extra caretakers, cleaning supplies, and as much additional staff as we can hire,” said Aarts. She also cited the lack of funding for infrastructure and the need for better ventilation in schools. Health advice listened to Kennedy said she hopes that class sizes in her board will be reduced to 15, and that her board is spending money from their reserves on hiring more staff. “At this point in time, I think a full return is essential for elementary students. I think it’s important for the mental health of the parents and the students,” she said. Kennedy, who has been a nurse at Michael Garron Hospital for more than 50 years, thinks the health and safety advice from Toronto Public Health and the province has been good so far. “I’m really glad to see our politicians that are listening to the scientists and the doctors. It seems like the media is really respecting the epidemiologist advice and the infection control specialists…I feel quite confident in the advice that we’ve been given,” she said. Since these interviews have taken place, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced $500 million in funding to enhance physical distancing and improve Continued on Page 21
