Bessborough is a JK to grade 8 school located in the Leaside area of Toronto, a well-established community of mostly single-unit homes. It was the first public school in Leaside and at one point the Town Hall. Bessborough celebrated its 75th birthday in 1998. We now planning the 100th anniversary celebration in the year 2023.

Bessborough is a dynamic neighbourhood school with a tradition of academic excellence. Active and involved parents participate in the daily lives of their children. As well, many former students are now parents and grandparents of children attending the school.

At Bessborough we strive to enable all students to reach high levels of achievement and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society. We value and are committed to providing a learning environment that is safe, nurturing, positive and respectful. Our Code of Conduct is rooted in commitment to our duties, respect for others and pride in ourselves. Safety is a priority and permeates all aspects of school life.

Students who join our school in Grades 7 and 8 from Rolph Road and Bennington Heights Public Schools take part in specialty programmes in vocal and instrumental music, visual arts, computers, drama, physical education, and science and technology. Our facilities include two gymnasiums, a music room, a computer lab, art rooms, and two science labs. The school houses the Bessborough Child Care Centre and also serves as a community centre for various local groups and agencies.

The picture of Bessborough Drive School was drawn by an art teacher that taught here for 20 years. His name was David Rice and it was completed in 1989.

All teachers can be contacted by leaving a telephone message at the office or emailing them by using their  firstname.lastname@tdsb.on.ca. Teachers cannot answer phone calls or meet with parents during class time.

Kindergarten           

• Ms. Adina Wolodarsky  
• Ms. Danielle Kerr 

Early Childhood Educators 

• Ron-Anne Guerrero

Grade 1

• Ms. Kimberley McNamara

Grade 1/2

• Ms. Veronica Hum
• Ms. Nicole Niezen 

Grade 3

• Ms. Stephanie Gamm (Stephanie.Borland@tdsb.on.ca)

Grade 3/4

• Ms. Michelle Shnaider

Grade 4

• Mr. Jason Chong

Grades 5/6

• Mr. Mark King
• Ms. Joyce Chow 
• Ms. Kelly Peach
• Ms. Ruby Balshin

Grade 7

• Mr. William Chang
• Ms. Sarah Buksner  X@MsBuksner
• Ms. Claire Dombrower 
• Ms. Ruby Balshin 

Grade 8

• Mr. Ryan Day
• Ms. Bernadine Rambarran
• Ms. Mirela Ciobanu
• Ms. Ruby Balshin

Teacher-Librarian:  Ms. Susan Thurow

Empower Reading Program:  Ms, Susan Thurow, Ms. Kelly Peach

Physical Education Teachers:  Mr. Gregory Ivan, Ms. Sarah Buksner, Ms. Laura Malouin

Music Teacher:  Mr. Justin McMillan

EA & CYW:  Ms. Karen Backus, Ms. Colleen Sparks

Student placements are decided by our Placement Committee, which consists of the sending and receiving teachers, the specialist teachers and the administration. The members of the committee follow the school’s placement policy and have the best interests of the children in mind. The following are examples of our guidelines used by teaching staff when placing students into next year’s class groupings.

They include:

• Academic Strengths and Needs
• Social and Emotional Strengths and Needs
• Class size

Creating balanced class groupings for every class is important.  All classes in our school have high expectations for academic achievement, whether they are straight grade classes or split classes.  Teachers teach the curriculum, and meet the needs, interests, and lived experiences of the students in their classes.  Occasionally, there may be personal information that is unknown to the school staff that may affect the child’s placement. Please feel free to share this information with your child’s present teacher.  

In our Family of Schools, students and parents are notified of their class placement for the school year on the first day of school. We are trying to eliminate any possibility of disappointing or causing undue stress to children if classes need to be restructured.