School District 53 Regular Board Meeting March 11, 2015
As a person becomes more involved with SD 53 Board Meetings and reports it becomes very evident how much consideration is given to the importance of the relationship with the Okanagan First Nations.
More on the Aboriginal Education report further on but it is interesting to note that every Board meeting is called to order with a formal recognition of the fact that the meeting is being held on the Traditional Territory of the Okanagan First Nations.
Professional Development: Sylvia Slater, President of the SD 53 Teachers’ Union gave a power point presentation titled ‘Taking Care of Teachers’ with the sub-title, ‘From Chaos to Coherence; Managing Stress’. Her presentation focused on the real dangers associated with too much use of technology leading to depression and asked the question; if a happy a happy teachers makes happy students, what effect does an unhappy teacher have on students?
She drew the Board’s attention to the Canadian Mental Health report that 20% of Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. In effect, students are potential victims and a negative school experience caused by a stressed teacher could well be the starting point of problems in adult life. If one considers the impact of student bullying then managing all the potential source of unhealthy stress in schools is an absolute must if we are to prevent deteriorating mental health in that 20% of Canadians.
Interestingly, Global TV featured information regarding the negative impact of spending too much time using the technological marvels and there was a feature on ‘Group Hug Therapy’ where people who have lost the art of communicating with each other because of computers, texting and all the other electronic ways of connecting rather than talking and they are encouraged to lie on the floor and hug each other! I am still trying to picture this in some of the places I worked such an auto repair shop, the back of an armored car or the Apparatus Floor in the Fire Hall. I offer you ‘The Impact of Technology’.
Report from Administration: There will be a series of Culture camps in our district to provide teachers and administrators with insights into the history and culture of Aboriginal peoples. April 24th will be hosted by the Similkameen band and May 29th hosted once again by the Osoyoos Indian Band.
Skills Training Access Support for School-Aged Secondary Students: SD 53 was successful in receiving a grant in the amount of $5000.00 for applications to improve access opportunities for students living in our area that have to travel to post-secondary institutions to participate in trades training programs. Funds can be used to assist with transportation, relocation, work tools and clothing. These funds will be offered to currently enrolled students in the form of a bursary.
Threat Assessment Debrief: A debriefing a been held with the RCMP regarding the recent threat involving OK Falls Elementary School and Penticton schools. The RCMP is still no further ahead on the investigation but have followed up extensively with more than fifty tips. Staff-Sergeant Lozinski will be keeping SD 53 informed as to any progress in the investigation.
Alcohol-Free Graduation Celebrations: SD No. 53 is participating in the BC Liquor Stores annual fund-raising campaign to support alcohol-free graduation celebrations until March 31st. All funds collected will go to support dry grad celebrations for the school.
Deputy-Minister of Education David Byng attended the BC School Trustees Association’s Conference and among many topics he covered was the matter of budgets. It seems that the Provincial government is budgeting $576,000,000.00 for K-12 in the current year but the majority will be needed for wages for teacher contract settlements. On the other hand there is a $29,000,000.00 cut to Administrative Services which could be as much as $240,000.00 for SD 53.
When asked what plans have been or will be made to off-set the impact, Chairperson Marieze Tarr stated that it was too soon to determine what will be cut as the Board will not receive the final $ figure until this Friday at the earliest. Apparently the Province has already created a list to direct all School Boards on where they should make reductions. The School Trustees Association wants to meet with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education to discuss the budget and the impact of these ‘directed cuts’ on districts and students. Sort of a ‘Rob Peter to pay Paul’ situation!
Aboriginal Education: There are 2253 students in SD 53; 377 of these have Aboriginal Ancestry. This means that the signing of the second Enhancement Agreement with the OIB, LSIB, USIB and representatives of parents of students with Aboriginal Ancestry is vital to ensure that all those involved with students understand the culture of the First Nations and are able to provide educational programs which reflects that understanding. As an example, SD 53 has been teaching the Okanagan language for the last25 years.
Field trips: Students from SOSS Grades 8 to 12 should be going to the Gulf Islands April 6th to 10th.
Some lucky students from Osoyoos Secondary French Language classes are going to Montreal and Quebec City May 15th until May 23rd..
The Board approved Car Maintenance 11 as a Board Authorized Course. This program teaches students about auto maintenance and also includes a section devoted to Driver Responsibility.