In accordance with the Ministry of Education’s Regulation 304, “School Year Calendar, Professional Activity Days,” the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) is providing the following summary of P.A. Day activities at the secondary level on Wednesday, September 2 and Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Please Note: That the first day of school for kindergarten to grade 8 students is Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The first day of school for grade 10-12 students is Wednesday, September 9, 2026. For students of Our Lady of the Lake CA and St. Katharine Drexel CHS, please see your school’s schedule for return to class dates.
Wednesday, September 2
In the morning, staff will participate in targeted training on cyber-safety, cyber-security and online privacy to address technology-related risks and ensure student safety.
In the afternoon, all YCDSB staff will participate in our annual Faith Day. This day provides all staff the opportunity to come together as a faith-filled community and focus on adult faith development. School administrators are tasked with facilitating a morning
of team-building activities and exercises grounded in our Catholic faith, focusing on tangible and concrete connections to personal faith development.
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Staff will participate in a number of professional development sessions, including:
- Updates to final evaluation, including mandatory written exams, weightings and designated exam period timing, to support consistency in evaluation and assessment practices across courses and schools.
- Professional learning on attendance and participation, with an emphasis on understanding and applying the criteria for the determination of final grades related to attendance and participation.
- An overview of the policy requirements and implementation supports related to the new Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement and financial literacy learning across the curriculum.
- An introduction to the Supply Ontario’s vendor of record, the Edwin platform, which will provide provincewide access to digital, consistent, high-quality and curriculum-aligned learning resources.
- Learning activities to become familiar with the LUMI AI tool in the Virtual Learning Environment and the board’s approved AI tools, as well as how to effectively and safely use those tools with students.
- Understanding the standards and required components of Individual Education Plans (IEPs), including student strengths and needs, accommodations, modifications and/or alternative expectations, instructional strategies and methods for reviewing student progress.