This has been a very exciting and busy month for School District No. 53! I would like to start my report by congratulating Mike Safek and Barton Tumlinson on their new positions in SD53. Mike will be the new principal at Osoyoos Secondary School and Barton will be replacing Mike at Oliver Elementary School as principal. The position at Osoyoos Secondary was created by a request from Glen Heinrichs to take a year’s leave of absence. We wish Glen the very best for next year.
Administrators will meet with trustees on Wednesday, June 5th to share the progress and results of their school learning plans for 2012-2013. They will also provide information of their school plans for 2013-2014.
We had a very successful district visioning process. Eighty-five people, representing administrators, senior staff, teachers, educational assistants, support workers, parents, mayors, trustees, and students attended our evening meeting to provide input of where we want our district to be in five years. Fifteen people representing the above partner groups met again the next day to capture all the themes from the chart papers. The information is now with the facilitator, Stacey Holloway, who will create a document for us with a new vision statement and goals for the next five years. This document will also give us direction for our 2013-2014 District Achievement Contract and provide us with an opportunity to reflect on these themes as we set our budget.
Larry Hunter, graphic artist from Penticton, captured our work and initial themes. He will finalize the graphic component when we receive the final document from Stacey. We hope to launch the vision in the fall and we are hoping to make the graphic interactive and easy to use as a tool for communication, reference and visibility on our website and also in our schools.
The Okanagan College trades trailer visited Similkameen Elementary Secondary School to provide hands-on experience for students there and also from our other high schools. Thanks to Boyd Turnbull for organizing this event.
Our Aboriginal Education Advisory Council met in April to approve the preliminary Aboriginal program for the 2013/14 school year. On May 30th at 6.30 pm our district will host our first district Aboriginal graduation at Osoyoos Secondary School.
We would like to thank the Osoyoos Soroptomist ladies for sponsoring the very successful “Taking Care of Ourselves, Taking Care of Others” program in all of our elementary schools. This program was very well received by students and we would also like to thank Mr. Mike Safek for coordinating it.
On Tuesday May 28th, at 7 pm at the Osoyoos Elementary library, the district will hold a community forum to discuss the request to open a daycare/toddler care at Osoyoos Elementary. We invite all members of the public to attend and provide input into whether another facility like this is needed in Osoyoos.
On May 28th and 29th Ms. Alyssa Hait and Ms. Lisa Ante will take 30 grade 8-12 band students to a retreat at Rockridge Canyon. At this retreat students will participate in music rehearsals, clinics, a talent show and other activities to enhance their achievement – sounds like fun!
On June 24th and 25th, Ms. Jacqueline Khodarahmi and Mr. Jeremy Sherburne will take 57 students from Oliver Elementary to Camp Boyle to participate in outdoor activities.
The preliminary revenue for September 2013 shows a decrease of $282,2012, with a projected decline of 84 students. Some good news, though, is that our kindergarten enrollment is at 163 at the moment, which is higher than expected, so we are hoping that the decline in students will be much less than 84 and that we therefore will see less of a decrease in revenue. The board will pass the preliminary 2013/2014 budget in June 2013. We held our Budget Advisory Committee meeting with partner groups on May 22nd. At this meeting we discussed how to move forward with our ever decreasing revenue.
The Board held a learning forum on inquiry time on May 8th at SOSS to gather further input from partner groups around inquiry time and also for the board and parents to gather a greater understanding of what this time will be used for. At our regular board meeting a motion was passed to approve inquiry time. Trustees feel that research and evidence from around the world show that quality teaching has a greater impact on student achievement than quantity of time. The Board has already been in contact with recreation departments in local communities and we hope that they will be able to offer programs on the 7 short days to accommodate the needs of working parents. Schools will also be looking at ideas to support parents needing child minding options.
The Board also approved the opening of Alternate Education Schools at OSS, SESS and SOSS, effective September 1, 2013. These programs are already operating but by declaring them separate schools, we can offer more flexibility for students and generate more funding for students attending these schools.
The Osoyoos Secondary and Osoyoos Elementary schools submission and fees for the hockey academy was approved. We are also excited to give students an opportunity to participate in the Osoyoos Secondary’s golf academy and the fees for this program were also approved.
Should you have any questions, please contact me at 250-498-1333
Submitted by Marieze Tarr, Chairperson
School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen)