Presentations
St. John School
Principal Corinna Glazier and Grade 8 students Molly and Paris provided a presentation on St. John School. The team presented that St. John School is a K - 8 Leader in Me Lighthouse School with 146 students. Students at St. John School are inspired by the Leader in Me process to be proactive, empowered to take charge and assume leadership opportunities.
Students Molly and Paris provided a presentation on the Grade 7/8 class project to redesign their learning environment called "Project Redesign". The students found the neon wall colours distracting and wanted to have a space with increased storage and comfortable seating. They wanted their redesigned classroom spaces to be a fresh start and a better learning environment. The students showed a video that highlighted the changes to the new space. There are new wobble chairs, a portable white board, new LCD projector and a workspace that is now very versatile and flexible. Video: St. John School Grade 7/8 Environmental Redesign.
Mental Health Strategy
Sue Devlin, Mental Health Leader provided an overview of the board's Mental Health Strategy and included a few of the projects and initiatives of the 2016/17 school year.
Devlin talked about the board's Supporting Minds Waterfall document that provides educators with helpful tips and strategies to support student well-being. Each school has Mental Health Champions in place who are able to support teachers in navigating mental health and modeling wellness in the classroom. Staff well-being is a priority and the KCDSB won the Northwestern Health Unit's Workplace Wellness challenge in 2016. The Mind Up program has been a success in supporting students. The Health Action Team survey with parents identified that the number one priority for parents is emotional and spiritual well-being for their child(ren) followed by supporting children with coping and managing stress and anxiety. The board responded quickly to the survey results and provided parents with workshops to provide support and guidance on their top mental health concerns.
Devlin also spoke about the board's new focus on Relationship Based Schools. The board has been working with Dr. David Tranter, Professor at Lakehead University on implementing the process of creating Relationship Based Schools throughout the board. Relationship Based Schools is a focus on creating authentic, genuine relationships and putting those relationships before curriculum and learning objectives. Relationship Based Schools is about putting children first. Education has an opportunity to model and teach successful relationships so students can learn to have good relationships with their peers and educators. It is vital to a child's success academically, socially and spiritually.
REPORTS
Financial Services Plan
Alison Smith, Superintendent of Business Services provided a report on the board's Financial Services Plan linking the plan to the board's strategic goals of Increasing Student Achievement and Well-Being, Fostering a Catholic Environment of Respect, Acceptance and Accountability, Using Resources Wisely and Discovering and Creating Joy in the Education Journey. Smith spoke about the department's focus on optimizing budgets to support the needs of students in schools and aligning with the board's focus on Relationship Based Schools to create a department that is friendly and supportive of the system and schools. The department has also implemented strategies to ensure accurate and timely budget reports and procedures to align with the board and Ministry of Education requirements.
The department will be focusing on implementing a process for Cashless Schools to allow parents to pay for school activities online. As well as implementing a process for Electronic Funds Transfer of payments for vendors to reduce the amount of cheques the board processes and to implement a more efficient process for vendor payments. The department will also be providing additional Finance and Budget 101 training.
Personnel
Retirement of Linda Boivin
The Board passed motions to accept the resignation of Linda Boivin for the purpose of retirement. You can read more about Linda's dedication and service in her employment biography.
Property
St. Louis School Capital Improvements
Andrew Poirier, Manager of Operational Services shared that St. Louis School has been identified as a priority in the Board's Capital Plan. The school is slated to have over $2 million in capital improvements over the next three years. You can read more about this here.
Program
2016 Graduation Rates
Mary Cunningham, Superintendent of Instructional Services provided an overview of the KCDSB's 2016 Graduation Rates. Students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School achieved 81.7 percent, which is up 4.2 percentage points from last year. The provincial graduation rate hit an all-time high at 86.9 percent.
Cunningham explained that the Graduation Rate is calculated by following the students who started in grade nine with the Kenora Catholic District School Board in 2012. The percentage represents all of the students who were able to meet graduation diploma requirements in five years, whether they stayed with the same school board or not. You can read more about this here.
Special Education Advisory Committee
Trustee Anne Sweeney provided a report on the Special Education Advisory Committee of April 21st. This meeting was hosted at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys where Learning Resource Teacher Tracy Walter-Fletcher presented on the school's Writing Without Tears initiative. Mariette Martineau, Religious Education and Family Life Coordinator provided a presentation on the Institute for Catholic Education's provincial survey entitled "Catholic Education - Renewing the Promise."
Phyllis Eikre, Director of Education provided a report on the Special Education Advisory Committee Meeting of May 16th. This meeting was hosted at St. John School earlier in the day. Grade 8 students, Molly and Paris presented on Project Redesign - to redesign their learning environment. Alison Smith, Superintendent of Instructional Services provided a presentation on the board's 2016/17 budget with a focus on the Special Education line. Smith identified that the Special Education Line brings in approximately $3 million in funding and costs the board $3.82 in programming. The budget is running a deficit of approximately $82 thousand. The board is looking at initiatives to tighten up the programming and close the gap to be more efficient.
Catholic Education Week and System Retreat Report
Mary Cunningham, Superintendent of Instructional Services provided a report on Catholic Education Week 2017 as well as the KCDSB System Retreat. Cunningham reported on all the initiatives and activities that took place throughout schools to celebrate Catholic Education Week. This year's theme was 'Walking Forward Together'.
2017 Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association Annual General Meeting Report
Phyllis Eikre, provided a report on the 87th Annual OCSTA AGM that was hosted April 27 - 29 in Toronto. The theme of the AGM was "Our Voice, Our Message, Our Future." Trustees were able to attend the Business Seminar that included information on internal audit processes, audit committees, accommodation reviews, OMERS forecasting and the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace.
The conference opened with a meaningful liturgy provided by the students of the York Catholic District School Board. Presentations were provided by the Honorable Mitzie Hunter as well as Dr. John Milloy who spoke about Faith's Contributions to Our Secular World. Trustees then had opportunities to choose from an array of breakout sessions.
Year End Celebration
Phyllis Eikre identified that the board is hosting its Year End Celebration and Retirement Awards on Friday, June 23rd. Eikre provided an overview of the agenda for the celebration.
Year End Schedule of Events
Phyllis Eikre provide the trustees with a schedule of all the graduation events and year end celebrations happening in schools across the board. To read the schedule please click here.
Visit with Sarah Campbell, MPP
Phyllis Eikre shared that the board is hosting a visit with MPP Sarah Campbell on June 8th at 11:00 a.m. Campbell will be visiting St. Thomas Aquinas High School and learning about the Anishinaabe Omiinigoziiwin App, the new Catholic Graduate Expectations and 8th Grandfather Teachings Mural as well as Streetfest 2017. Click here to read more about this visit.
Student Trustee Report
Student Trustee Jieren Bornia provided a report on the notable accomplishments, humanitarian activities and events happening at St. Thomas Aquinas High School for May.
You can watch Jieren's video presentation here.
Next Board Meeting
The next Board Meeting of the Kenora Catholic District School Board is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20th at 7:00 p.m. from the Catholic Education Center. Jieren Bornia will be introducing the new student trustee for the 2017/18 school year. Everyone is welcome to attend. For a full listing of meetings and minutes please click here.