Oakville Loose Leaf Collection Begins April 16, 2012

Guidelines for the pickup are as follows:

• Place all loose leaves on the boulevard or shoulder of the road, and not over catch basins or in the ditches in front of your house
• Put leaves out no earlier than one week before your scheduled day of pick up.
• Leave must be on the street no later than 7:00am on the first day of your zone’s collection day
• Ensure leaves are free of debris
• Remove leaves that have been put out after the collection dates

Halton Region picks up bagged leaves and yard waste on the same day as your garbage pick up. They only pick up leaves contained in paper yard waste bags or open, reusable, rigid containers labelled yard waste.

Click here to view your garbage collection schedule.

Click here for all information regarding loose leaf pickup in Oakville for spring 2012.

Parent Advisory Meeting Wed April 18, 2012

Parent Advisory Meeting Wed April 18, 2012

Parents of students attending Garth Webb Secondary School this coming fall are invited to attend a meeting tonight at Emily Carr Public School @ 7:00pm. Emily Carr is located at 2255 Pine Glen Road in Oakville.

The meeting will address the following issues:

• School colours / team name
• Bell times
• Mission / Vision / Values, Graduate outcomes
• Open House for August / Opening Ceremonies for September
• Parent Participation (future parent council, fundraising etc.)

The new school, named Garth Webb Secondary School, will open in September 2012 to grade 9 and 10 students in the area and is currently being built at 2820 Westoak Trails Blvd (between Bronte Road and Third Line.

Click here to view a boundary map of the new high school.

Click here to view the first floor layout.

Click here to view the second floor layout.

Click here to view the third floor layout.

New Trip Planner Helps Residents Get Around Town

Oakville transit has partnered up with Google to provide an interactive transit route planner on their website www.oakvilletransit.ca. The system was recently unveiled and will help residents of Oakville understand and plan the shortest and most efficient trips to their destinations.

Simply enter your location, your destination, and when you want to arrive there and that’s it! Google will specify instructions as well as show you a map of where you’re going.

Oakville Transit is also holding a scavenger hunt to kickstart the launch of the new google-based planning system. Your task is to follow the clues in each question (click here to see the questions) and record which route(s) you should take to get from the starting point to the finish. Click here to read the questions and get started!

The Town of Oakville has just released the 2012 capital budget report, which outlines how the town plans to spend Oakville’s finances. Included in the report are many different breakdowns such as where funding comes from to finance various departments, how much and what percentage of funding will be going towards things like transportation services and park maintenance, and the ratio of growth and non-growth capital needs.

The total recommended capital budget for 2012 includes expenditures of $59.9 million dollars. This may sound like a huge number, but in fact this number has been reduced by $13.2 million from the initial 2012 forecast from last year. The infrastructure planning and improvements program has the largest portion of the budget, totaling $24.7 million or 41.4% of the total. The next largest if for parks and open spaces, which accounts for $10.3 million or 17.3% of the total budget.

To read a total breakdown of the budget by program, including many charts and graphs outlining expenditures and financing, click here.

To read the executive summary of this report, click here.

The catholic elementary school currently being built on Colonel William Parkway in Bronte Creek is going up fast! Set to be open for classes in September 2012, the school will have room for 589 students and has been given a Ministry allocation of approximately $11.2 million

Recently, a construction update was put up on the Halton Catholic District School Board website. It includes photos of construction as well as an interesting timeline of the construction process.

Click here to view the PDF document of the construction update.

The Town of Oakville, in cooperation with the Oakville Public Library and the YMCA of Oakville are inviting you and your family to enjoy all the free activities on offer.

There will be over 150 free recreational activities and events for residents of all ages. Some of these include:

• Hockey practice with the Oakville Blades
• Interactive music workshops
• Children’s entertainers
• Discover snorkeling
• Speed skating
• Magin Lantern Show – Cinderella
• Exotic animals
• Library programs

The Town reminds you that last years Family Day events in Oakville were very popular. They encourage you to take Oakville Transit to the activities if possible.

For a full schedule of the Family Day events on February 20, 2012, click here. 

Thanks very much for reading. As always, if you would like to discuss your current real estate situation, I would love to offer my expert knowledge of the Oakville and Burlington markets. You can reach me at 905 845 9180, or by email at jamie.vieira@century21.ca.

Visit my website www.jamiesells.ca for more real estate information and tools.

Response From Ministry of Education Early Learning and Child Care Implementation Branch

Many residents of Bronte Creek have been curious whether the new catholic school being built on Colonel William (currently dubbed West Oak Trails #5) will have all day kindergarten or not. It appears as though there will not be, according to a response from the Ministry of Education Early Learning and Child Care Implementation Branch.

In their response, the Ministry stated that West Oak Trails #5 was not put forth by Halton Catholic District School Board for consideration for all day kindergarten during the site selection process for the 2012-13 school year. This is because the Ministry is already significantly over its pupil allocation for the program, and is unable to approve additional sites for all day kindergarten at this time.

The board was given an option to either consider the addition of West Oak Trails #5 for the 2013-14 school year, provided their pupil allocation permits, or implement the program in the 2014-15 school year. These remain a decision of the school board.

To read a copy of the email response from the Ministry, please click here.

Update: According to one of our valued contributors to MyBronteCreek.com, there is still hope for all day kindergarten at the new elementary school in Bronte Creek. There will be a meeting on February 21 at the school board in the boardroom @ 802 Drury Lane in Burlington.

For a list of contacts at the Halton Catholic District School Board, visit http://www.hcdsb.org/Board/Pages/Contact-Information.aspx

To read the post by our fellow MyBronteCreek member, click here and scroll to the bottom.

Recommendations Revised February 3, 2012 

The West Oak Trails #5, Mother Teresa, Our Lady of Peace, Pope John Paul II and St. Joan of Arc Catholic Elementary Schools School Boundary Review Committee (SBRC) held an Open House/Community Information Meeting on January 11, 2012, at Pope John Paul II Catholic Elementary School and reviewed comments and feedback on the Interim Report.

The new catholic school being built , currently dubbed West Oak Trails #5, was one of the topics of discussion at the meeting. Below are the highlights with regards to the new school in Bronte Creek.

• That, effective the 2012/2013 school year, the Board directs the Oakville municipal area north of Dundas Street to West Oak Trails #5 Catholic Elementary School;

• That, effective the 2012/2013 school year, the Board directs the school attendance area south of Dundas Street, west of Kwinter Road (including both sides of Kwinter Road), north of the pipeline and east of Millstone Creek, from Pope John Paul II Catholic Elementary School to West Oak Trails #5 Catholic Elementary School;

• That, effective the 2012/2013 school year, the Board directs the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Elementary School attendance area west of Bronte Road to West Oak Trails #5 Catholic Elementary School;

For the entire report, click here

The real estate market in Bronte Creek picked up a little bit in January after a typically slow December. There were 27 active listings during the month, up from 23 in December. This included 9 detached homes and 18 townhouses. The average price for homes for sale in Bronte Creek during January 2012 was $660,607, with detached homes averaging $828,033 and townhouses averaging $576,894.

There were 13 homes sold this month in Bronte Creek, with an average sale price of $652,746. The average list price of these homes was $660,607.

For a breakdown of statistics for real estate in Bronte Creek in January 2012, click here.

It has been discovered that homes in Bronte Creek have been victim of daytime break-in’s as of late. Typically these instances are happening between 11am and 4pm.

The top of Liptay Ave and Skipton Lane are known to have been targeted so far. However, all of Bronte Creek should be aware of this issue and be sure to lock their doors and windows. Be sure to keep a keen eye out for any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood. Let’s look out for our neighbours and keep the area safe for everyone!