**DSB ONE MEDIA RELEASE**

On behalf of the Trustees of District School Board Ontario North East, we wanted to ensure that our voices were heard and wanted to add them to the other voices across Ontario expressing concerns about revisions to the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

It is essential that the government embark on the consultations as soon as possible. In addition, it is important to maintain the current health and physical education curriculum until the consultations and revisions to the curriculum have been completed.

We need clarification from the Minister of Education regarding her expectations of the health and physical education curriculum for September 2018. We feel it’s critical that a focus on students’ health and wellness is maintained.

Our students need the knowledge and understanding of current day realities that they will face. We need to help them understand the importance of their online presence and provide ways to ensure that they are safe in this ever changing environment (e.g., sexting and cyberbullying).

We also believe the expectations of the current curriculum of consent and knowledge of body parts keep our students informed and safe. The 1998 curriculum did not consider the above concepts.

In our District School Board Ontario North East schools and workplaces, all students, families, staff and community members are honoured and valued. We are committed to equity and inclusive in our district.

We invite our District School Board Ontario North East families, students, staff or any member of our community who wish to share their perspective on this important issue to contact their Member of Provincial Parliament or the Minister of Education.