From the Boardroom - February 15, 2022

See what's happening at the Boardroom Table.
Posted on 02/16/2022
This is the image for the news article titled See what's happening at the Boardroom Table. From the Boardroom for February 15, 2022


Did you miss the Board Meeting on February 15, 2022? Not to worry, here are the highlights from the meeting.

Watch the full meeting on YouTube:

 

 

BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS



School Improvement Plan with École Ste- Marguerite Bourgeoys

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Principal Hilary Aitken and Vice Principal Andrea Sachowski provided a report on École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoy’s School Improvement Plan. As part of the school’s Catholic faith, community and culture goal, the school is working on building a stronger sense of community. The school is exploring what that looks like for students, staff and families through various goals and initiatives such as weekly virtual assemblies, a growth mindset culture, Le petit pom pom,  Voici l'aperçu de la semaine as well as many other things!

The school has added a new member to the team. A 10-month-old sheepadoodle named Bijou, who is in training to become a certified emotional support animal. Bijou is quickly becoming the most popular faculty member at the school and received more Valentine’s Day cards than anyone else. Bijou spends her day listening to children read and providing support. 


Student Census 2022 Report

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Jamey Robertson, Superintendent of Instructional Services, provided a report on the 2021 Student Census. The census ran from November 16 – November 26 and just under 80% of students completed the census. Parents of Kindergarten to Grade 6 students (completed the census on their child’s behalf) were 47.3% of responses, and students in Grades 7 – 12 were 78.9 % of responses.

The next steps will be to collect additional information through school climate surveys and the board will be working with a research partner from Lakehead University to analyze the data and compare it to the Board’s Student Information System. The information will inform practices across the system.

Ontario school boards are required to conduct a census to identify and address systemic barriers and discrimination. Under the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and Ontario's Education Equity Action Plan, school boards must collect data using a student census and report on the results with a final report to the Ministry of Education in October 2022.



Student Trustee Report

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Student Trustees Maxwell Froese, Antonie-Marie Skead and Elizabeth Favreau provided a report on the activities and initiatives happening at St. Thomas Aquinas High School during February with a look forward to March. Student Trustees highlighted a successful return to the semester system, the return of sports, and band practices. The school celebrated St. Thomas Aquinas’s Feast Day, where every student received a cupcake.

Students also received a MADD presentation and had a prayer service for St. Valentine.

Students are looking forward to Lent and Easter prayer services.


Policy

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Trustees approved the review of Policy #12 – Policy Making with no revisions at this time. Trustees also approved revisions to Policy #17 – Advisory Council on Aboriginal Education effective immediately.

Policies highlight and support the important governance function of the Board and clearly define the role of the Board as a Policy Governance Board. Policies can be found on the KCDSB website at this link.


Child Care Announcement for St. Louis School

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Paul White shared that the Kenora Catholic District School Board was recently approved for a $400,000 Early Years Capital project for 15 child care spaces at St. Louis School.

The announcement was made on February 9 at St. Louis School by MPP Greg Rickford and partners at the Kenora Association for Community Living.

Alison Smith, Superintendent of Business Services and Marnie Buffett, Early Years Coordinator, were acknowledged and thanked for their work in securing the funding.

Smith reported that Kenora Catholic has already begun working with the Kenora District Services Board to begin planning the retrofit for 15 child care spaces. This announcement means that Kenora Catholic will now have childcare spaces at all of its elementary schools to benefit children and families.


2022 – 2023 School Year Calendar

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Paul White provided a report on the 2022 – 2023 School Year Calendar and provided an overview of option #2, which was the calendar option selected by the majority of respondents during the consultation process. The consultation was open from January 10 – 21, with 3,392 stakeholders across Northwestern Ontario participating in the survey. 53.4 percent of respondents chose Calendar Option #2. In this option, all students would begin school on September 6, 2022 and end on June 30, 2023.

The Trustees approved the motion to approve the 2022 – 2023 School Year Calendar as presented, which will be forwarded to the Ministry of Education for approval by March 1, 2022.



January Special Education Advisory Committee Report

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Trustee Anne Sweeney provided a report on the January 21, 2022, Special Education Advisory Committee Meeting. Sweeney highlighted the meeting at St. Louis Living Arts School where the committee learned about differentiated instruction and supports for student learning.


COVID-19 Update

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Alison Smith provided a report on the current COVID-19 situation overviewing the recent changes to the provincial COVID-19 school and child care screening tool, which was updated to reflect new guidance around isolation periods.

Trustee Paul Landry thanked staff for their work in adapting to all the changes, new regulations, and increased workload and for all that everyone is doing to keep students and schools safe. 


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Anyone wishing to address the Board of Trustees, must register by contacting the Paul White, Director of Education. For inquiries, please call 807-468-9851 or email at [email protected].

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