This update provides a summary of the public meeting of Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board held Monday, March 24, 2014 at the Education Centre. It is an unofficial summary of the meeting; official minutes will be approved at the next regular meeting in April 2014.
Employee recognition
Chair of the Board Dwayne Inch acknowledged the career of Don Tregenza, Controller of Facility Services who is retiring at the end of April 2014. Don has been with the organization for approximately 20 years. He was hired as Controller of Plant by the former Hastings County Board of Education in August 1994. As Controller of Facility Services, Don has provided leadership in support of our organizational priorities, which have included additions and new school builds, modernizing learning environments, enhancing environmentally-friendly and green workspaces, implementing key Ministry of Education initiatives, such as accessibility standards, and the implementation of security systems and safe schools initiatives across our system. Don has provided significant leadership on numerous committees and has been instrumental in developing important community connections with business, industry and government personnel. Don's contribution to maximizing and aligning facility resources to provide excellent learning and working environments is evident in all of our schools and workplaces.
Chair Inch welcomed Nick Pfeiffer, PhD, P.Eng, who will replace Don as Controller of Facility Services. Nick began his career as Manager, Operations and Maintenance, with HPEDSB in February 2011. He has provided significant leadership in the areas of construction, maintenance, energy management, capital projects, as well as staffing and supervision. Nick's leadership and commitment to aligning facility resources to support excellent learning and working environments will continue to serve our system well.
Presentation
Harry J. Clarke Public School: First Nation, Métis & Inuit Collaborative Inquiry
Superintendents of Education Mark Fisher and Cathy Portt welcomed school administrators and teachers from Harry J. Clarke Public School who are involved in a project called Indigenizing the Curriculum through Collaborative Inquiry. At HPEDSB, 1,132 students have self-identified as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, although we know there are more who have not self-identified. In North Hastings, 18% of the student population is Aboriginal. The goal of this project was to seamlessly blend Aboriginal content into the curriculum. The inquiry question was: If we develop character, self-esteem and self-awareness in all students, in particular Aboriginal students through teachings of cultures and values, will students' feeling of belonging to our school community improve? The outcome has been a conscious planning to look for links to First Nation, Métis & Inuit culture, collaborative sharing of knowledge, more awareness of how much there is to learn and valuing a team approach.
Thank you to the following presenters: Troy Maracle, Aboriginal Education Coordinator; Andrea Bird, Grade 2 Teacher; Monica Brown, Grade 3/4 Teacher, Alison Yee, Grade 5/6 French Immersion and Tamara Sayers-Pringle, Grade 7/8 Destinations Programme.
Tyendinaga Public School: Numeracy Project
Superintendents of Education Trish FitzGibbon and Cathy Portt welcomed teachers from Tyendinaga Public School who have been involved in a project called Closing the Gaps in Mathematics. It involved several educators in three of our school groups working together to address proportional reasoning and mathematical processes, such as reasoning, making connections and thinking. The inquiry question was: If we model, encourage and highlight multiple strategies focused on proportional reasoning and provide authentic learning tasks, then will we see our students use a variety of meaningful representations? The educators have learned together through co-planning and co-teaching.
Thank you to presenters: Deirdre Gordon, Principal; Teachers Kim Boldrick, Lisa Freed, Rachelle Googe, Lisa Osmond, and Tracy Vanslyke, Curriculum Coordinator.
Recommendations
Report from Committee of the Whole
Highlights from this report included the following:
- Dixon Drive property purchase.
Short-term borrowing resolution
Board members approved a borrowing resolution for short-term financing for construction of a new elementary school to replace Harmony Public School, a six classroom expansion at Harry J. Clarke Public School and school improvements at Prince Charles Public School (Trenton). The funds will be repaid when capital funding grants have been received.
2014 School Board elections/trustee election determination
School board elections will be held on October 27, 2014, as part of municipal elections across Ontario. Nine trustees are elected for Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. One additional trustee is appointed by the Mohawks of Mohawks of the Bay of
Quinte. Board members approved two motions related to trustee election determination.
T
ender for Full-day Kindergarten additions and renovations
As part of the Ministry of Education Full-day Kindergarten Capital Funding Program, funding was approved in the amount of $2,742,096 to construct additions and renovations to accommodate FDK students. Renovations will be made to classrooms at Kente Public School, Maynooth Public School and Sophiasburgh Central School. Additions will be constructed at Foxboro Public School and Tyendinaga Public School. Board members awarded a contract in the amount of $1,865 to K. Knudsen Construction Limited.
Section 23 Programs
Each year the care, treatment and correctional facilities memoranda of understanding, in accordance with Section 23 of Ontario Regulation 287/98, are reviewed by Ministry of Education and school board personnel. These formal agreements outline the roles, responsibilities, and relationship of the school board and the facility. Board members approved programs to continue during the 2014-2015 school year at the following facilities:
- Parent-Child and Youth Clinic at Sir John A. Macdonald Public School;
- Honeywell House, Children's Mental Health Residential;
- Junior Day Treatment Program at Park Dale School; and
- St. Leonard's Home.
2014-2015 School Year Calendar
Each spring, school boards are required to establish a school year calendar for the next school year in accordance with Regulation 304 School Year Calendar. This regulation sets the beginning and end dates for the school year, stipulates school holidays, and prescribes the minimum number of instructional days (194) and the maximum number of professional activity days (6), examinations days
(10) and board designated holidays (2).
Board members approved the following dates for the 2014-2015 school year calendar:
- The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 2, 2014.
- The Christmas break will be from Monday, December 22, 2014 to Friday, January 2, 2015, inclusive;
- Semester 2 will begin Friday, January 30, 2015.
- The mid-winter (March) break will be from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20, 2015;
- The last day of school year will be Friday, June 26, 2015.
- The following six dates are designated as professional activity days:
- Friday, September 26, 2014
- Monday, October 27, 2014
- Friday, November 28, 2014
- Friday, January 30, 2015
- Friday, May 22, 2015
- Friday, June 26, 2015
- That ten examination days for secondary schools will be:
- Thursday, January 22, 2015 to Wednesday, January 28, 2015; and
- Thursday, June 18, 2015 to Wednesday, June 24, 2015.
Information
Calendar of events
A number of district and school events are scheduled for the remainder of March and April 2014.
Upcoming events include the following:
- Tuesday, March 25: School Night at the Lone Star Restaurant with 10% of food purchases donated to Susanna Moodie Elementary School.
- Wednesday, April 2: Launch of Jump Rope for Heart at Frankford Public School.
- Wednesday, April 9: Pink T-shirt day at all schools and offices. Students from several schools will participate in the We Day celebrations in Ottawa.
- Various dates in April: Prom Project at secondary schools, shopping for grad/formal wear.
Report from the Chair
Highlights from this report included the following:
- Approval of funding by the Ministry of Education to build a elementary new school in Trenton to consolidate Breadner Elementary School, College Street Public School and Queen Elizabeth Public School.
- Five focus groups have taken place for parents and community members. Two employee sessions have taken place. Student sessions are scheduled for April 2 and 3.
Report from Executive Committee
- Highlights from this report included the following:
- Remarks about the 360-degree approach to conducting the director's performance appraisal.
- Comments about the project to create an HPEDSB YouTube channel to compile videos showcasing efforts to support student achievement and feature students and employees.
Report from the Operations & Finance Committee
Highlights from this report included the following:
- Presentation by Gord Taylor, CEO, Tri-Board Student Transportation Services, Inc.
Review of trustee expense reports.
Report from the Program & Human Resources Committee
Highlights from this report included the following:
- Presentation about the Numeracy goal of the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (BIPSA).
- Presentation on a project called Cross-panel Numeracy, which focused on seamless transitions from elementary to secondary school.
- Report on the results of the School Climate Survey which was conducted in the fall of 2013.
Report from Student Trustees
Highlights from this report included the following:
- Student Senate meeting to determine a mission and actions for student senators.
Notice of Motion: 2013-2014 Revised Policies, Part B
This report was to give notice of motion that a recommendation will be brought forward to the April 28 , 2014 Board meeting to approve changes to the following policies:
- Board Policy No. 7: Board Policy Development and Review
- Board Policy No. 11-B: Program and Human Resources Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-C: Operations and Finance Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-E: Budget Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-F: Student Enrolment/School Capacity Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-H: Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL) Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-I: Audit Committee
- Board Policy No. 11-L: Student Discipline Committee
- Board Policy No. 14: Hearings on Termination of Teacher Employment
Upcoming public meetings
All meetings take place at the Education Centre unless otherwise noted.
- Thursday, March 27: Special Education Advisory Committee, Quinte Secondary School, 5:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 2: Parent Involvement Committee, 6:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 2: Executive Committee, 11:00 a.m.
- Monday, April 14: Program and Human Resources Committee, 5:30 p.m.
- Monday, April 14: Operations and Finance Committee, 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, April 24: Special Education Advisory Committee, Quinte Secondary School, 5:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 28: Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, extension 2354, [email protected]