The Highlighter - PDF document

The Highlighter March 3 , 2015 Delegations Cowichan Valley Schools Heritage Society Carolyn Prellwitz of the Cowichan Valley School Heritage Society gave a presentation on their role in preserving the history and artifacts of local schools. They requested administrative procedures be developed for Policy 2900 – School District Heritage Policy , to ensure that historical data is retained. Roots of Empathy Nancy Buan and members of the Roots of Empathy Program and/or Steering Committee (Bonnie Potter, Anne Batie, Heather Allen , Wendy Lambert and Brenda Reed) spoke about the many benefits of their program in building social/emotional literacy in children from Kindergarten to Grade 8. SD79 Occupational Therapy Susan Stacey, District Occupational Therapist, gave a history of Occu pational Therapy services in the School District and requested an increase in funding to meet current need. Good New s District Primary Challenge - Our District Primary Challenge took place on Thursday, February 5 th and was hosted at L’Ecole Mt. Prevost. All elementary schools in the district were represented in at least one Challenge event, most schools in two or more. As well all schools had their own Challenge events meaning all elementary students will have benefited from the Challenge program. Primary (Grades K - 3) Science and Technology “Reach for the Sky” Drama “Jack and the Beanstalk – and then…” Primary Science Challenge - 22 teams participated The challenge was: Build the tallest freestanding tower with the materials provided . Materials 10 – 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, 10 straws, 3 pipe cleaners, 10 paper clips, 1.5 meters tape (masking) Gold – Drinkwater - 188 cm Silver – L’Ecole Mt. Prevost 1 - 163 cm Bronze – Maple Bay 1 - 159 cm Good New s District Primary Challenge, continued Drama Challenge – 21 teams participated The challenge was: At the end of the story, Jack comes down the beanstalk and then cuts it down. Unfortunately, the giant comes down as well. Now Jack and some of the vi llagers have to come up with a plan to rid the village of the giant without killing him. Gold – L’Ecole Mt. Prevost 1 Silver – Maple Bay 1 Bronze – Crofton/L’Ecole Mt. Prevost 2 (tie) Distributed Learning – Bowling Activity 14 Kindergarten to grade 9 Distributed Learning students went bowling on February 26th. New BAA Courses Two new BAA Courses are being developed this year: Baking 12, Self and Society 12. Baking 12 is designed for students who have an interest in baking, and who may be considering a career in the baking industry. Self and Society 12 provides students with the opportunity to explore more deeply the psychological theories, concepts and methods presented in Psychology 11 all of which are aimed at furtherin g an understanding of human behavior. Warmland Community Classroom (Draft Proposal) The Warmland Community Classroom, a draft p ilot project for Grade 9’s at Cowichan Secondary , is designed to meet the educational needs of our community of learners and i nspire them to pursue lifelong learning. “ The key focus is on personalized learning - w here students have more opportu nity to pursue their passions and interests – while maintaining B.C.’s high standard son found atio nal skills like reading, writing and nu m eracy.” – BC’s Education Plan January 2015 . Further information about this proposed project will be available at future board meetings. Robotics at Ecole Cobble Hill Elementary Lisa Leclerc, VP at Ecole Cobble Hill, shared a short video that was create d to show their students what they do during Robotics. She works with groups of 18 students from different grade levels twice weekly for 30 minutes over the course of an 8 - week period. Students are given a problem to solve, a computer and a Robotics kit and they must build a robot that can accomplish a given task to solve a problem. They can accommodate 3 - 4 groups per school year. The program is not only offered to gifted students. They have students in the club with designations and behavioral issues as well. The environment is inclusive and teams work collaboratively to solve a problem that can sometimes be encountered in the real world. The money used to buy the kits was raised through weekly popcorn sales over roughly 3 years. Education Student Travel The Board granted approval to the Cowichan Secondary School grade 9 – 12 band trip to Seattle, Washington, USA from May 11 to 13, 2015 and to the Frances Kelsey Secondary School band performance tour to Seattle, Washington, USA from April 29 to May 1, 2015. District Scholarships The Superintendent announced that SD79 is receiving funding from the Ministry of Education to offer 60 District Scholarships of $1,000 each to graduating students this year. Portfolios include applied skills, second language, fine arts and athletics. Students will display their District Scholarship presentations during the week of May 25, 2015. Good New s Compassion Week (Feb 23 rd to 27 th ) Compassion week was celebrated at District schools in the following manner: Monday – Random Acts of Kindness Day Tuesday – Multicultural Day Wednesday – Anti - Bullying Day – WEAR PINK! Thursday – Diversity Day (LGBTQ Awareness Day) Wendy’s House The Island Network and Island Early Years recognized the leadership role that Wendy Erickson played on the island and in SD79 with a $1,000 donation to Wendy’s House for equipment and supplies. Palsson ROARS Palsson Elementary now has a mascot, a cougar, from which they developed “Positive PAWS” that tie in with their new motto, “ Palsson ROARS”. The R=respect O=ownership A=attitude R=responsibility and S=Safety. Staff members give out the positive PAWS when they see students following the code of conduct. Since they started in mid - January, their board has been refilled 3 tim es to capacity. Palsson Elementary – Planting along Oliver Creek Phase II Bob Crandall from the Cowichan Lake Salmonid Enhancement Society and Hatchery reported that they had a wonderful time planting along Oliver Creek Phase II with Palsson Elementary school students on February 25th. They planted Western Red Cedar, Salmon berry, Red Osier, Ocean Spray, Willow stakes and Alder. The group consisted of 22 grade three students, three teachers, one VIU student and five volunteers. Lake Cowichan First Na tion helped with the lifting and carrying of the plants and keeping students away from the waters edge. The students filled plug boxes with hardwood cuttings for future plantings. A native grass seed mix was spread over any areas that were roughed up. A great time was had by all. Bob extended thanks to everyone for showing up and helping. Board of Education Trustees Candace Spilsbury , Chair Barb de Groot , Vice - Chair Elizabeth Croft Randy Doman Rob Hutchins Cathy Schmidt Joe Thorne Business & Operations 5 - Day District and Spring Break School Board Office Closure The Board approved the closure of the School Board Office to the public for the five - day district closure from March 9 to 13, 2015 inclusive and the spring break from March 16 to 20, 2015 inclusive. Bylaw No. 1 – School Board Procedures Three readings were given to amend Bylaw No. 1 – School Board Procedures to reflect the change in committee name from ‘Committee of the Whole’ to ‘Board Education and Business Committee’. The amendment was approved. Policy 1040 – Annual Operating Budget The Board agreed to suspend Policy 1040 – Annual Operating Budget and directed staff to develop a budget process for their consideration. Budget Development Process The 2015 - 2016 Budget Development process schedule was approved. Policy Amendments The Board passed a motion agreeing to amend its policies by replacing the words “Finance Committee”, “Human Resources Committee”, “Operations Committee ”, “Policy Committee” and “Education Committee” with “Board Education and Business Committee”. Schedule of Upcoming Meetings and Events Event Date/Time Location DSAC Meeting March 4, 10:00 am CSS – Cowichan Campus Consultation with Palsson Elementary March 4, 4:00 pm & 6:30 pm Palsson Elementary VISTA Meeting March 6 – 7 Parksville, BC Board Education & Business Committee Meeting March 24, 4:00 pm Boardroom Special Open Board Meeting March 26, 4:00 pm Boardroom DPAC Meeting April 2, 7:00 pm Library, CSS Closed Board Meeting April 7, 3:00 pm Boardroom Open Board Meeting April 7, 4:00 pm Boardroom Special Board Education & Business Committee Meeting April 9, 4:00 pm Boardroom 2015 - 2016 Budget Public Consultation April 11, tbc tbc 2015 - 2016 Budget Public Consultation April 13, tbc tbc Advisory Committee Meeting April 14, 4:00 pm Annex Special Board Education & Business Committee Meeting April 15, 4:00 pm Boardroom BCSTA AGM April 16 – 19 Vancouver, BC Board Education & Business Committee Meeting April 21, 4:00 pm Boardroom Special Open Board Meeting April 23, 4:00 pm Boardroom