TDSB is proud to recognize Portuguese Speaking Heritage Month during the month of June. This year’s theme is “One language uniting cultures/Uma língua a unir culturas.” We’re pleased this year to be reaching out to all 246,000 students from JK to Grade 12 and to all 38,000 TDSB staff with many educational opportunities for them to learn about our rich and vibrant culture.

The contributions of the Portuguese-speaking community to Canada’s history are vast as it includes the arts, sports, medicine and public life.

Did you know?
• 250 million Portuguese speakers worldwide, making it the fifth-most spoken language
• Over 1,400 TDSB students speak Portuguese as their mother tongue or as a primary language
• Portuguese is the official language of eight countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Time & Principe and East Timor
• While the Archipelago of the Azores and the Archipelago of Madeira are a part of Portugal, they are simultaneously Autonomous regions which share in the Portuguese language
• As well, due to historic ties, various regions of the world including Macau, China and Goa and Damao, India, celebrate their Portuguese influences

Some of our educational opportunities included a launch to kick off Portuguese Speaking Heritage Month held at the Gallery of Portuguese Pioneers, a T-Shirt Design Challenge (winning design from Harbord Collegiate Institute) and the creation of a poster that was shared with all our schools.

We are excited to extend an invitation to all students, staff and the TDSB community to attend the City of Toronto Portugal Day Parade:

Portugal Day Parade
Sunday, June 9, 2019
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Along Dundas Street West, from Lansdowne Avenue to Crawford Street
TDSB Meeting Location: Gather at 9:30 am at the south east corner of Lansdowne and Bloor Street West