My name is Simon Cui, the current YRDSB Richmond Hill Ward 1/2/4 trustee, living in Jefferson Side/Jefferson Forest Community (JFC) of Richmond Hill nearly 10 years. Over years, I have actively participated in and organized various community events, including charity, sports and culture exchanges. I obtained my bachelor degree (1996) and master degree (2000) in computer science. I immigrated to Canada in 2001 and have taken a few different senior positions in government, the world's top 100 companies, and the top five banks of Canada. During my professional career, I won many honorary titles such as “Top 1 Contributor” and "The Best of the Best".
In the 2018 York Region District School Board (YRDSB) trustee election, I got 4562 votes and slightly lost to the previous trustee Corrie McBain (6114 votes). In the summer of 2020, due to Corrie's resignation, YRDSB decided to conduct a by-election! I decided to run again for our students and parents regarding education-related issues, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic, students can have a safe and high-quality learning environment with a safe, fair and high-quality school education infrastructure.
As a parent of two kids, I am deeply aware of the importance of education for the future of our children. After teaching English, Mathematics and French as a volunteer in my community for years, I have realized that I can help even more children and families by becoming a YRDSB trustee.
60 Wellington Street W., Box 40
Aurora, Ontario L4G 3H2
(437) 245-4422
simon.cui@yrdsb.ca
http://www.yrdsb.ca/Trustees/Pages/Profile.aspx?t=5
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I like music and can play Piano, Guitar, Guzheng, and Flute during my leisure time; I also love sports and exercises, including running, cycling, swimming, ice skating, skiing, tennis, badminton,
table tennis etc .
If the decision to participate in the 2018 election was due to dissatisfaction with the low quality of education, the new education syllabus, and school safety, the 2020 trustee election would be mainly driven by the concerns about the COVID19 epidemic, which includes, but not limited to, the impacts of the education system, parents' concerns about how to ensure the safety of their children and sustainable education methods during the epidemic. Listening to the opinions of public health experts and parents from communities, providing the most accurate public opinion and feedback information to the YRDSB, ensuring the quality and monitoring of quality of the education will be the key. In the challenge of new problems and new issues including COVID19, we should find a practical and effective way to face the epidemic and the challenges to the future education system.
As a parent with a skilled immigrant background, I deeply understand the importance of education to the future of our children. In my spare time, I actively tutor French, English, mathematics, guitar, flute, etc. for children in the community. During the 2020 epidemic, I cooperated with many community volunteers and various educational institutions to provide English writing, Math, Public speech, Painting, Calligraphy, Chinese Literacy and other activities. By organizing various educational activities for children, I gradually realized that more education services should be provided to more children.
During the COVID19 epidemic in 2020, Jefferson Chinese Community communities, Oak Ridge Chinese Community and other Richmond Hill communities worked together to actively donate and distribute the personal protection equipment (PPE) for our first line medical staff in local hospitals, nursing homes, and police stations.
Since 2015, I have been working with community members to organize and participate in a variety of activities related to student/child education.
Starting from 2015, supported by community residents, I began to organize community family camping programs in Canada and the United States. In July 2018, more than 40 children participated in the camping event.
It has been around 4 years that I organized the kids bicycling events during the weekend, we all rode together along the Oak Ridge Trail for 12 to 16 km each time..
Since 2015, I have participated in organizing the Christmas parties for my community. The performance of the Children's Choir and Dance Team is always one of the most popular performances in the party. .
JFC French tutoring/reading activities
From July 2017, I started to teach French, English and Math to children in my community every weekend in Richmond Hill Central Library. We read French books together plus learning grammars and homework. During COVID 19 period, I launched the online teaching classes, which covers Grade 4 to Grade 8 level French and more than 120 childrens joined this program.
JFC Children's Charity Concert (Sick Kids Hospital)
Since January 2017, working with my community, I participated in the organization of my community kids charity music concert for Toronto SickKids Hospital. More than 50 children from my community joined the charity concert and all the donations were sent to Sick Kids Hospital. Due to COVID 19, we cancelled the 2020 charity concert.
Since January 2018, I coordinated with the ski program with Yiluchi Ski School to provide professional ski training for more than 60 children in my community.
In the Spring Festival of 2018, coordinated with the Richmond Hill House League, a special public meeting was held for children in my community to strengthen the publicity and participation of hockey program. There are also many children in my community who join the house league later on.
From 2017, I started to work with BlueSky Badminton Club to provide badminton training for children in my community.
Since 2018, I regularly organize and encourage children in my community to participate in long- distance running exercise.
In 2019, with the support of our ward 1 and ward 6 councillors Greg Beros and Godwin Chan, we organized city-wide table tennis training and hosted in our Oakridge community centre and Rouge Woods community centre.
The schools are in Richmond Hill Wards 1, 2 and 4 including:
o Alexander Mackenzie HS
o Beverley Acres PS o Beynon Fields PS o Bond Lake PS
o Crosby Heights PS o H.G. Bernard PS
o Kettle Lakes PS o Lake Wilcox PS
o MacLeod's Landing PS o Moraine Hills PS
o O.M. MacKillop PS
o Oak Ridges PS o Pleasantville PS
o Richmond Hill HS o Silver Pines PS
o Trillium Woods PS o Walter Scott PS
o Windham Ridge PS
As a long-term community event organizer, I love our community and I am more concerned about the education of the next generation. With the encouragement and support of many parents in the community
,after careful consideration, I decided to participate in the by-election of the Richmond Hill 1/2/4 District Board of Education of the York Region District School Board trustee. I hope to serve this community better as a competent board member.
As an immigrant, especially an immigrant, I have a common dream with everyone. Children are the future of society. Education not only affects our children, but also affects the entire society.
Here are my commitments:
- SAFETY student, staff and stakeholder health in a COVID19 world, safe school environment and proactive countermeasures
- ADEQUACY teaching delivery methods, course arrangements and teaching quality
- FORWARD-THINKING various teaching methods under pandemic, innovative concept, high-tech teaching approaches
- EQUITY ensured fair opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or financial status
The detail approaches:
- Cooperate with public health experts, education experts and parents to formulate safe and effective methods and measures to protect the health of children and respond to the COVID19 epidemic;
- Develop a reasonable health and safety plan, reduce and limit the class size, halve the class size, and keep a safe distance between each seat;
- cooperate with health institutions, communities, and families to provide or require children’s necessary health protection equipment, including masks, hand sanitizers, facial shield and other personal protection equipment. Students below the grade 4 may consider using facial shield if mask is not feasible ;
- Investigate the possibility of installing temperature detection equipment at the entrance of each school, and installing transparent isolation panels on each desk. Meals should be taken on their own desks and temperature testing should be conducted at least twice a day;
- Coordinate with the local police station to provide anti-bullying training programs in schools;
- Provide information security awareness training programs in schools;
- Provide various teaching methods, including traditional teaching methods and distance teaching methods;
- Arrange courses according to the choices of parents and students according to teaching resources provided by the school;
- For remote online teaching, formulate a new education evaluation mechanism and ensuring mechanism, and find ways to improve the teaching quality for remote online education;
- Strengthen the communication between health experts, education experts and parents, establish a long-term mechanism, and find a feasible plan for the sustainable development of education during the epidemic while ensuring the safety of children;
- For new problems, including new epidemics, create the contingency plans and long-term mechanisms to find ways to deal with new problems, especially new epidemics;
- Regardless of gender, ethnicity, faith, rich or poor, give fair education and choice opportunities;
- For students who do not have equipment for distance education, provide appropriate equipments to ensure that they can continue to receive equal education during the epidemic;
(437) 245-4422
simon.cui@yrdsb.ca
60 Wellington Street W., Box 40
Aurora, Ontario L4G 3H2