Kenora Catholic Welcomes a Visit from the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association
(September 27, 2018) Kenora Catholic Trustees put out the red carpet to welcome special visitors. Beverley Eckensweiler, President of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) and Chair of the Bruce-Grey CDSB and Nick Milanetti, Executive Director of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association visited the Catholic Campus. Students led the tours of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Ecole Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys and Pope John Paul II School.
Eckensweiler was snapping pictures on her iPhone, of initiatives, murals and artwork she saw in the schools. She was intrigued and impressed and wanted to bring ideas back to her school board. "There are so many neat and innovative things happening here. I took pictures of the classroom furniture, the artwork and I liked the indigenous work. So many things just popped out and I want to share them with our school board. The best part is how excited the kids are.
There was a hum of activity in the Learning Commons at Ecole Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys. Students were collaborating and working on their Chromebooks, designing virtual spaces using the CoSpaces program. "They are enthused about their new Learning Commons, with the neat furniture," said Eckensweiler. "They are eager to share what they are learning. It's apparent that they love what they are doing and they love to learn. It's wonderful to see. There are great things happening here."
Frank Bastone, Board Chair extended the invitation to host the OCSTA and talks about why the visit was important. "We travel to Toronto to the OCSTA Annual General Meeting and Conference and many of our peers from across the province don't have a perspective of the distance, geography and size of our area. We have a school in Red Lake that is three hours away. Hopefully, when they go to Queen's Park they can share their experiences with others and let them know that despite the distance, we are actually leaders in a lot of things at Kenora Catholic. We are taking initiative and developing some wonderful programs and leading in the province."
As the new President of the OCSTA, Eckensweiler is planning a trip to Queen's Park in November. "When I go to Queen's Park on November 27th I'm going to tell those MPPs and the Minister of Education that you've got to get out there and see what is happening in our Catholic schools, and to make sure that they head to the far corners of Ontario. Each of our schools and boards is unique and meeting the needs that are local. To me, that is so important."
After the tour was completed the trustees heard a presentation from Shakil Choudhury the author of Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them, as part of the board's Orange Shirt Day activities.
The delegation is heading to Thunder Bay on Friday for the Annual Diocesan Conference and Regional Meeting.