School District #53 (Okanagan Similkameen) Board of Trustees
The Board is excited to announce that we are reviewing our meeting policies to provide more opportunities for the public to participate in our meetings. We are in the process of proposing a change to the Education Committee structure to allow representatives from principals, teachers, support staff, the Aboriginal Education Advisory Council and parents to participate in meetings. We are also in the process of adding a new policy called “Public Participation at Board Meetings” that will enable members of the public to speak to the board about items on the agenda prior to the Board discussing the items. These policies will be available for public input, on our website, until the November Board meeting.
We would like to invite the public to our November 6th Learning Forum at Cawston Primary School at 7.00 pm. The forum will take an in-depth look at the progress Similkameen schools are making towards their school-wide inquiry questions which deal with sSocial and emotional learning (SEL). Cawston Primary’s question is “Will a school-wide focus on self-regulation positively impact the academic achievement and social emotional development of our students?” Similkameen Elementary Secondary School’s question is “If we create a school-wide focus on connection and communication with students, teachers and parents, will this emphasis have a positive impact on the school culture and student success particularly in the area of attendance?” Please be sure to attend and learn more about the important work that we are doing in our schools.
This November, we will be doing the MDI (Middle Years Development Instrument) with all grade 4 students. Information on the MDI is available at http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/mdi/. The MDI is a unique tool for two reasons: It gathers information about the “whole child” rather than simply focusing on academic progress; as well, it allows us to hear children’s voices and so taps into areas that have great significance in children’s lives that are not typically evaluated in our communities. The MDI measures five dimensions of healthy development during the middle childhood years: social and emotional development, connectedness, school experiences, physical health and wellbeing, and after-school time.
We are cautiously optimistic about our Early Development Index (EDI) results. Our school district was one of 7 in BC to show a critically different change in overall vulnerability. Overall, we had a vulnerability rate of 32%, compared to a provincial rate of 32.5% and down from 36% in wave 4. This is a significant improvement and is very encouraging. We will need to further analyze the results to understand their full meaning. We will continue to work with our inter-sectorial partners to find new ways to support our families and move this important agenda forward. The EDI community summary report for our district is available at http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/maps/edi/nh/sd53/.
Catherine Scott and 3 students from Osoyoos Secondary School made a presentation to the board about their fieldtrip to the BC Leadership Conference, which was held at Rock Ridge Canyon, outside of Princeton. The students had an awesome experience with other secondary students from all over the province. We would like to thank Ms. Scott for enabling the students to participate in this worthwhile event.
Eight staff from 4 schools took over 80 students to the 2013 We Day activities in Vancouver on October 17th and 18th. This conference focuses on inspiring students to make positive changes in the world, as well as promote and foster social responsibility and leadership. This conference featured many outstanding presenters and entertainers including Martin Luther King III, Avril Lavigne, Kofi Annan, Shawn A-in-Chut Atleo, Kenyan Boys Choir, Hedley (band), cast members of Degrassi, Adam Beach, and many more. We Day is the movement of our time – a movement of young people leading local and global change. We Day is tied to the yearlong We-Act program, which offers educational resources, campaigns and support materials to help turn the event’s inspiration into sustained activation. Through We-Act, students commit to taking one local and one global action to better the world, earning their way to We Day.
The District has recently submitted a plan for approval to the Ministry of Education for the allocation of $294,183 to address learning improvement issues in classrooms across the district, as required by the Learning Improvement Fund legislation. The spending plan consisted of $157,860 for additional teacher support in classrooms, $79,100 for additional education assistant time in classrooms and a reserve of $19,447 to address other needs that may arise. This plan also identified $37,776 as part of the SSEAC framework agreement with CUPE.
September 30 enrollment is now confirmed. This number determines our funding by the Ministry of Education (school districts are funded per student). We have a total of 2,359.56 FTE (full-time equivalent) which is an overall decrease from September 2012 of 3.0 FTE. Elementary schools have increased by 27 FTE, secondary schools decreased by 21.25 FTE and YouLearn has decreased by 8.75 FTE from September 2012.
South Okanagan Amateur Players (SOAP) sent a letter to the Board requesting signage at the Osoyoos Secondary School theatre. SOAP also raised the issue of the use of the term “mini-theatre” in relation to the school theatre and a possible name change. The correspondence resulted in discussion by trustees confirming that “mini-theatre” is not the official name of the school theatre and that future signs and advertising should use Osoyoos Secondary School theatre. District staff will also look into signage above the entrance to the theatre.
At our Finance and Facilities Committee meeting trustees discussed the positive aspects of using reclaimed water at Osoyoos Secondary School fields. The Town of Osoyoos approached the board with this request and the committee is in favour of this in principle, pending more details.
The Finance and Facilities committee recommended that the Board proceed with a request for proposal for a daycare at the Keremeos Learning Centre. The Board has also approved a request for proposal for afterschool daycare and a preschool at Cawston Elementary school. These recommendations come from feedback that the Board of Education received at a community forum held at the Keremeos Learning Centre in September 2013.
Our District has entered into an agreement with Yukon Education. According to this agreement, there is now a working relationship between YouLearn and Yukon Education and students from the Yukon can enroll in YouLearn at a cost of $6,000 per student (K-9) or $750 per individual course for grades 10-12. We currently have ten full-time K to grade 9 students enrolled in this program.
Should you have any questions, please email me at mtarr@sd53.bc.ca or phone 250-498-1333.
Submitted by Marieze Tarr, Chairperson
School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen)