Superintendent’s Report October 2015
Our Board goals for the school year 201516 are to improve student achievement, to provide safe and inclusive school environments, and to work collaboratively with all divisions to maximize student access to programs and services. I would like to highlight some of the major initiatives this fall that demonstrate progress towards our Board goals. Safe and Inclusive School Environments ● October is Mi’kmaq History Month in Nova Scotia. Consistent with our Board’s goal of inclusive school environments, our staff have endeavoured to build awareness of Mi’kmaq history and heritage not only during the month of October but during the entire school year. In the Minister’s Action Plan, Treaty Education resources are being created to strengthen the curriculum and embed new resources for Mi’kmaq language and culture in the curriculum. ● During the month of September, our Student Services staff have been supporting transition plans for new students as well as
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students moving from level to level. A new role within our Board this year is one of a complex case facilitator. This role has provided case management support for students and their teachers through partnerships with parents, school program planning teams and outside agencies. ● School Bus Safety Awareness Week was from October 1925. Buster Bus has accompanied our bus drivers on school visits to teach students safe entry to, and exit from, buses. In addition, both our local police, as well as public utility board inspectors, have been distributing pamphlets on school bus safety. However, according to our transportation coordinator, a serious safety issue for our bused students continues to be vehicles passing school buses in spite of flashing red lights. Student Achievement ● Our Early Years Centre at Jubilee Elementary has 40 students attending either a morning or afternoon session. Our Four Plus program has nine students at Harbourside Elementary. These programs have established valuable partnerships with the Family Place Resource Centre. Early Years Centres provide important services to children in the year before entering school. Designed to fit the needs of their communities, the core services include playbased early learning programs as well as family supports and resources. ● Also based at Harbourside is our African Nova Scotian literacy/numeracy support teacher who will provide support to
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students as well as mentoring support to teachers to embed African heritage into the curriculum. ● On October 21, over 60 students from each of our high schools attended Education Day at the Big Data for Productivity Congress in Halifax. Our Minister of Education & Early Childhood Development, Karen Casey, opened the sessions for students who then had an opportunity to hear from Hilary Mason, a young data scientist from Silicon Valley, as well as Gavin Uhma, a young multimillionaire entrepreneur, who is a graduate of Cape Breton University. The students were encouraged by Minister Casey’s commitment to bring coding to the classroom earlier than planned. I would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to the Department for this initiative as well as Ms. Stephanie Campbell and Mr. Rhyan Coleman, who very capably handled the logistics of organizing our students and staff for this exciting event. ● Again, under the goal of student achievement, Mrs. Vicki Podetz, from Oceanview Education Centre, has been named French Educator of the Year by the Canadian Parents for French. This award acknowledges her excellence in French second language teaching as well as her initiative and innovative practices.
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Collaboration among all Divisions to Maximize Student Access to Programs & Services ● A major collaborative initiative of all departments is our school review process. By November 2, our first public meeting for each School Options Committees will be completed. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our parents, community members, principals, central office staff, and facilitators, Jim Burton and Bernie MacKinnon, for their continued efforts in this important process.