Work is still being done at the areas two new schools.
For F.H. Clergue Elementary School and Superior Heights, the work left is all minor according to the Algoma District School Board.
At their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night, trustees were brought up to speed on the two new local schools as well as the new school built in Hornepayne, which is scheduled to be moved into later this month.
The local schools have work that is expected to be completed in the coming months, all of the work being what Superintendent of Business Joe Santa Maria called minor deficiencies.
He added that much of the work that needs to be done is not work that is noticeable while walking through the schools.
The board also received an update on the progress of the new school in Hornepayne which will house junior kindergarden up to grade 12.
Any outstanding work left at the new campus is expected to be finished this week.
The secondary (grades nine through 12) staff and students are expected to make the move to the new school by the end of the month while the elementary will move in one week later.
The trustees also discussed what has been a growing interest in the grade 7-8 program at Superior Heights and White Pines, which has been deemed a success thus far.
Provided there is sufficient interest, the board is looking into the possibility if expanding the program down the road.
Should there be enough interest, the board has looked into providing a French Immersion 7/8 program at Superior Heights and also expanding the current program to Korah Collegiate as well.
The board has schedule three public information meetings in February to gague the interest of expanding the program.
The meetings are scheduled for:
- Feb. 22 at White Pines;
- Feb. 23 at Superior Heights; and
- Feb. 28 at Korah
The meetings will address concerns such as bussing to and from the schools, scheduling for the students, class access and facility highlights among other areas.
The program was created to help ease the transition from the elementary to secondary level.
A board news release on these and other topics follows.
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At the first Regular Board Meeting of 2012 Algoma District School Board Trustees and Senior Administration reviewed a number of topics.
Director's 2011 Annual Report
Director of Education Mario Turco presented to the Board final copies of the Director’s 2011 Annual Report, a review of the year’s highlights and program initiatives.
The report includes information on the Board’s enrolment and demographics and latest results for the Board on EQAO assessments.
We are also pleased to outline in the Report the specific measures that have been put in place to improve outcomes for student learning as well as accomplishments in student, parent and community engagement.
The Director’s 2011 Annual Report will be submitted to the Regional Office of the Ministry of Education as required by the Education Act.
It will also be available for viewing online at www.adsb.on.ca/Meetings and Reports/Directors Annual Report. Copies will be made available through all of our schools by the end of January.
7-12 School update Korah, Superior Heights and White Pines
With interest growing in the Board’s Grade 7-8 program at Superior Heights and White Pines, the Algoma District School Board is looking to expand the 7 to 12 program to Korah Collegiate and Vocational School as well as providing an opportunity for a French Immersion 7/8 Program at Superior Heights provided there is sufficient interest and enrolment.
Grade 7-8 Public Information Meetings are being planned for Korah Collegiate (Feb 28th), Superior Heights (Feb 23rd) and White Pines (Feb 22nd).
These meetings are being held so that parents have the chance to learn more, ask questions, and make an informed decision concerning the 7-8 Program.
In addition to the Public meetings geared towards parents/guardians, presentations will be made by our 7-8 Program team to Grade 6 and 7 students at their home schools in mid February.
The Algoma District School Board 7-8 program has proven to be an exceptional learning environment for students and staff.
The goal of the 7-8 program is to create a more gradual transition into secondary school for our students in a fully supervised learning environment.
The 7-8 Public Information Meetings will address areas such as:
• Academic Program/Specialized Classroom Access
• School Facility Highlights
• Outline of the School Day Schedule for Grade 7 and 8 Students
• Teaching and Learning on a Partial Rotary System
• Reach Ahead Grade 9 Credit Opportunities
• Supports for Providing a Gradual and Supported Transition to the Secondary Program
• Extra Curricular Program Offerings
• Supervision Within the School
• Leadership Opportunities
• Bussing Information
7-12 Community consultation Central Algoma
In response to feedback from participants attending the first three public consultation meetings, the Algoma District School Board is in the process of developing a response to the question “If a 7/8 program was developed at CASS, what would you want to see?”
In order to develop the response, the board will be consulting and seeking input from staff, school councils, parents and students in grade 5, 6, 7 and 8.
The following areas will be addressed during the discussions:
Academic program/timetable
Athletics/extracurriculars/intramurals
Leadership/student opportunities
Facilities/specialty classrooms/access to modern and traditional technologies
Transitions
Aafety/supervision
All specific to a program at CASS.
A meeting is scheduled for the evening of February 2, 2012 at CASS. Interested parents are asked to contact their elementary school principal by January 27, 2012 to express interest and get further information.
Note: Should a decision eventually be made to house a 7/8 program at CASS, the earliest this would happen would be the fall of 2013.
Students currently in grade 7&8 would not be impacted by this decision.
Hence the reason for inviting students/parents in the current grade 5 & 6 program.
Students currently in grade 7 and 8 looking for a leadership opportunity are welcome to submit their names for the input session as well.
The board is planning a fourth public meeting for February 28, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at CASS.
After visiting and researching several 7-12 models and using the input from the consultation process, a picture of what a 7/8 program at CASS could look like will be presented.
We hope to see a large parental turnout as the board moves closer to making a decision.
Robotics Aweres Public School
On January 13th Aweres Public School’s Robotics Team travelled to Oshawa to compete in the FIRST Lego League Provincial Championships.
They had an impressive showing, winning the Research Award out of all teams in Ontario.
They also received a second call back for the Robot Design category, which means they were in the running for the Design Award at the provincial competition. Aweres took first place at the Regional competition held at Sault College in November.
FIRST Lego League is an international competition designed to engage students aged 9 to 14 in research, programming and robotics. Participating teams investigate and create a solution to a real-world topics.
This year’s topic was a Food Factor Challenge and was based on the concept of preserving food from bacterial contamination.
School accomodation review
The Board was updated on the School Accommodation Review process.
Superintendent Kime Collver provided letters from the Alexander Henry High School community that have been submitted thus far to the Board for review and consideration.
Under the Ministry’s Guidelines, once the Pupil/School Accommodation Review Administrative Recommendations Report is made available (which was November 22, 2011), trustees and public will have a minimum of 60 days before the Board of Trustees will vote on the recommendations.
Superintendent Asima Vezina indicated that for schools under Accommodation Review in the Central Algoma area, meetings will continue after the 7-12 consultation process.
It is expected that the 7-12 consultation should be completed by May 2012.
Junior Kindergarten registration process
Our Board offers Full Day Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Full Day Senior Kindergarten (SK) in all of our schools.
This school year (2011/2012), 16 schools in Sault Ste Marie are offering full day JK with Ministry funding.
These public schools include:
Anna McCrea P.S.
Ben R. McMullin P.S.
East View P.S.
Grand View P.S.
Greenwood P.S.
H.M. Robbins P.S.
Isabel Fletcher P.S.
Kiwedin P.S.
Northern Heights P.S.
Parkland P.S.
Pinewood P.S.
Queen Elizabeth P.S.
R.M. Moore P.S.
River View P.S.
Tarentorus P.S.
Wm Merrifield P.S.
While all schools will be full-day programs by 2015 under the Ministry of Education’s plan, it was apparent to our Board that this phasing-in model creates an inequity across our city.
Thus, our Board decided last year to make the benefits of full-day learning available to all early learners in the ADSB.
Kindergarten Registration will take place the week of January 23rd.
Information can be found on our website (www.adsb.on.ca) including registration dates, and helpful information about what to bring when registering your child for Kindergarten.
Parents are reminded to call the school to make an appoint to register their child.
If they are not able to make the scheduled date of registration, they are encouraged to call the school to set up a more convenient time.
Children born in 2008 may be registered for Junior Kindergarten.
Children born in 2007 may be registered in Senior Kindergarten.
A pamphlet was distributed at the meeting and will also appear in the Sault Star on Saturday January 21st.
It spells out the Full Day Early Learning locations and Kindergarten Registration dates as well as providing a helpful list of Before & After Programs which are available for parents to contact.
Parents / guardians are encouraged to make Before and After school arrangements (if required), as soon as possible before the start of the 2012 / 2013 school year.
Update on new schools
The Board was updated on the progress of the Hornepayne JK-12 School.
Outstanding work is expected to be completed this week.
Superintendent Vezina described some of the features of the school to Trustees including:
• state-of-the-art library;
• spacious music room;
• large gymnasium which backs onto a common area that can be used by students staff and the commununity;
• well-equipped science labs;
• modern computer technology;
• geothermal heating; and
• environmentally friendly classrooms all of which have a modern design and are sure to provide students with a wonderful learning environment for the next 50 plus years.
An Open House is being planned for Sunday January 22 where the general public will be invited to tour through the new facility from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. or 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Students and staff start their first day of classes in the new school on Monday, February 6th and a Grand Opening will be held later in the spring.
Director of Education Mario Turco expressed his thanks and appreciation to everyone who has had a role in bringing Hornepayne JK-12 School to fruition.
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