Presentations
St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Kelly Sundmark, teacher and students, Jacob, Ashlan and Kara provided a presentation on the school's Co-op experiential learning program.
Sundmark shared that for semester one there were 24 students participating in the program and 38 credits were achieved. In semester two there are 23 students participating in the regular co-op program with the potential of 58 credits to be achieved for the semester.
Sundmark presented that
there are two dual credit programs running this semester; one in construction and the other in tourism. Students participating in these courses receive two college credits and two high school credits upon completion. Students involved in the dual credit courses are also specialist high skills major students. The construction students will also complete certification in First Aid/CPR, Working at Heights, WHMIS, PPE, Traffic Safety and Chainsaw safety. The tourism students will also complete First Aid/CPR, WHMIS, Service Excellence, Smart Serve and Safe Food Handling. The students also had 'reach ahead' experiences with local fishing guides and tourist operators as well as local trappers.
Students talked about their experiences in the program.
Kara, Grade 12 student, had a co-op placement last semester at Walsten Air. There she shadowed the mechanics and learned about the daily safety checks, air plane service schedule and also had an opportunity to fly with the pilots. Her aspirations are to become a commercial airline pilot.
Ashlan, Grade 12 student had her co-op placement at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in the medical imaging department, where she was able to gain valuable experience. Ashlan has been accepted into Cambrian College's Medical Radiation Technology program.
Grade 12 student Jacob was in the dual credit program in the college tourism program. Jacob explored tourism throughout Northwestern Ontario with Green's Adventure. He learned about safety issues, fishing, guiding, planning and packing for trips.
Community Foundation
Darlene MacGillivray, Executive Director of the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation provided a presentation on the role and function of the Community Foundation. MacGillivray thanked the Kenora Catholic District School Board for supporting the Community Foundation for over 11 years.
For the December 31, 2016 fiscal year the Community Foundation had $4.5 million in endowment funds, $2 million in grants distributed since 2014 and $310,000 received as gifts and $340,000 distributed in 2016. There are currently over 50 charitable groups who have received grants since 2004 including breakfast and lunch programs at area schools, Pinecrest Home, Kenora Library, Lake of the Woods Museum, Kenora Handi-Transit and Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation.
Catholic Graduate Expectations in Real Life / Chromebooks
Mary Cunningham, Superintended of Instructional Services provided the trustees with a report on the Catholic Graduate Expectations in Real Life and how those expectations link to technology. Cunningham shared that the Catholic Graduate Expectations are a part of the curriculum from Kindergarten to Graduation and permeate everything at the Kenora Catholic District School Board.
The board recently embarked on a Managing Information for Student Achievement project that is closely linked to the religious education curriculum. The MISA research project will feature virtual reality and religious education, as students will be able to see what it is like to be in the Holy Land using the vibe system. Students will be using virtual reality headsets to visit different cathedrals around the world. The students will create a slide presentation of their findings using their Chromebooks. At the end of the project St. Louis School will host an open house.
REPORTS
Human Resource Services Plan
Tina Sinclair, Manager of Human Resource Services provided a report on the accomplishments within her department. The department has been working on implementing a new support staff performance review process that is reflective of accomplishments and core competencies.
Sinclair shared that as a result of changes made to benefit coverage through the central bargaining process, effective April 1st all teachers were successfully transitioned from Manulife to the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP). The department also implemented a new online training process for new employee training. The training process is easier for employees to use and also provides a tracking tool for the board.
Sinclair identified that the department's new goals would be focusing on attendance management and workplace wellness.
Personnel
The Board passed motions to accept the resignation of Mike McIsaac, Trudy Cederwall and Marian Kijak for the purpose of retirement. You can read more about these employees in their retirement writeups.
Property
The Trustees approved a motion to accept the bid from Oakwood Roofing and Sheet Metal Co. Ltd in the amount of $996, 348 for a new roof replacement at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
Special Education Advisory Committee
Anne Sweeney, provided a report on the February 17th and March 24th Special Education Advisory Committee meetings. The February 17th meeting was hosted at St. Louis School. Learning Resource Teacher Marnie Buffett talked about the school's Empowerment program. The March 24th was hosted at St. Thomas Aquinas High School where Learning Resource Teacher, Sylvia Coma presented on the school's Special Education Plan.
Catholic Education Week
Mariette Martineau, Religious Education Coordinator, provided the trustees with a highlight of Catholic Education Week 2017 - Walking Forward Together. Martineau shared that Catholic Education Week is April 30th to May 5th and each school has a listing of activities. The community is welcome to attend and celebrate with their school community.
May 16 th Board Meeting in Red Lake
The Board Meeting of May 16th will be hosted in Red Lake. All trustees will be travelling to St. John School for the meeting. Trina Henley, Executive Assistant to the Director, will host the meeting at the Catholic Education Center in Kenora.
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 April.
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, May 16th at 7:00 p.m. from the annex of St. John School. Video conferencing will be available from the Catholic Education Center in Kenora. Everyone is welcome to attend.
For other editions of From the Boardroom please click here.