OCTOBER 2014
Students in grades 4 and 7 will soon be using iPads in math class.
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE MATH PERFORMANCE
Enhancing teaching and learning
in mathematics is the aim of a new
technology project about to get
underway in grades 4 and 7 classrooms
in RETSD.
math, the devices will be provided at
a ratio of one for every five students.
Students will use the devices for
whole class, small group and individual
instruction.
In September, 97 grades 4 and 7
teachers were equipped with iPads
loaded with special mathematics
software intended to help students
improve their math skills. More training
sessions for teachers are scheduled
this fall so they can be fully prepared
to start using the devices in their
classrooms in January.
In 2015–16, the project—called the
Technology-enabled Learning Plan
(TELP)—will expand to include students
from grades 5 and 8, and a year later
students in grades 6 and 9 will come on
board.
When teachers are ready to introduce
the iPads as another tool for learning
The Torch joins The Herald
This issue of The Torch not only marks
our 10th year of the publication, but
it’s RETSD’s first collaboration with
The Herald to provide people with
information about the goings-on in the
division and its schools.
“We’re really excited to be adding
the iPads to the teachers’ toolbox in
an effort to enhance teaching and
learning,” says RETSD superintendent
Kelly Barkman. “We’ve spent almost
two years laying the foundation for the
TELP. We’ve deliberately moved slowly
because we wanted to be sure to get it
right.”
instruction, and through investments in
educational technology as an integral
and integrated teaching and learning
resource.
Today’s students live in a world infused
with technology and it’s having a
significant impact on the way they think
and learn. But Mr. Barkman emphasizes
that the project is about education
first and technology second. “We’ve
been methodical about ensuring our
investments in this technology are
closely aligned with our educational
priorities.”
Many RETSD teachers routinely embed
technology into their teaching, but
this project will create a truly systemic
and sustainable approach to using
technology to enhance teaching and
learning, says Mr. Barkman, who adds
that an assessment plan for the project
has been developed to monitor its
success.
Two of the division’s priorities are to
enhance student achievement through
authentic and appropriate mathematics
The Torch was previously a stand-alone
publication distributed in the local
newspaper and in flyer packages three
times a year. This school year, we’re
trying something new.
a year. Not only will we be updating
you more frequently, but it will be at
a savings and we believe working with
The Herald is the best way to reach our
community.
Now, The Torch will have fewer pages
but will appear in The Herald five times
Keep your eyes peeled for The Torch
in the centre of the following issues of
Future phases of the TELP will look at
policies around allowing students to
bring their own devices and equipping
other staff with mobile devices.
The Herald: Dec. 17, Feb. 18, April 15
and June 3. You can also find it online
at www.retsd.mb.ca.
We’d love to hear what you
think of this change! Email us at
[email protected].
Superintendent’s message
Along with the turning of the leaves,
the beginning of every school year
brings change, whether it’s the exciting
first days of school for kindergartners
or the thrill for many of having worked
their way up to being high school
seniors. RETSD and its schools are
familiar enough from year to year that
they’re comforting, but new faces,
practices, opportunities and challenges
keep our schools buzzing each fall
straight through to the end of June.
You may have noticed one new
The new RETSD Board of Trustees
combined to become Ward 2.)
The votes were counted on Oct. 22 and
the people have spoken.
Trustees Carswell, Toews, Prysizney,
Ritcher and Kotyk were re-elected, and
trustees Sodomlak, Giesbrecht, Olynik
and West are new members of the
board. Welcome aboard!
Congratulations to the nine
newly-elected members of the RETSD
Board of Trustees: Ward 1—Colleen
Carswell and Jerry Sodomlak; Ward 2—
Rod Giesbrecht and John Toews; Ward
3—Eva Prysizney and Wayne Ritcher;
Ward 4—Peter Kotyk and Brian Olynik;
and Ward 5—Michael West. (We now
have five wards where there were
previously six; Ward 2 and Ward 3 were
Many thanks to trustees Robert Fraser,
George Marshall and Greg Proch,
who have now retired from their
positions. Mr. Proch served Ward 6
in the community of East St. Paul for
eight years. Mr. Marshall showed
commitment to our division for 32
change as soon as you saw The Torch
tucked into the centre of The Herald.
We decided this school year to share
our division news via our community
newspaper. Please let us know what
you think.
As well, there have been several
changes to the RETSD Board of
Trustees, which you can read about
below. We look forward to working
with this new board to tend to the
needs of our schools and the division
as a whole.
years—24 of them as a trustee in the
former Transcona-Springfield School
Division and the past eight as trustee
for Ward 1 in RETSD. Mr. Fraser retired
after dedicating himself to the division
for 37 year—25 of them as a trustee in
the former River East School Division
and the past 12 as trustee for Ward 3
in RETSD.
When the next issue of The Torch
comes out on Dec. 17, we’ll tell you a
bit more about each of our trustees
and provide the results of the board
elections, which determine who will
serve as chair and vice-chair.
See the story inside (Number of
small classes continues to grow)
to learn more about how we’re
managing ongoing change with our
20K3 initiative, and check future
issues to keep up-to-date about the
reconfiguration of the River East
Collegiate catchment area.
Continuity gives us roots; change gives
us branches, letting us stretch and grow
and reach new heights.
– Pauline Kezer
Kelly Barkman
Superintendent/CEO
and implementing the study’s
recommendations.
Over the three years, the division
has found that it’s easier to improve
attendance in smaller schools. In
larger schools, it takes more than
two years of interventions to impact
a school’s culture to support regular
attendance. Schoolwide approaches
with incentives seem to produce the
greatest results. It’s also easier to make
a difference with students who have
minor attendance problems than those
who have well-established patterns of
absenteeism.
RETSD takes on attendance
If your child misses two days of school
per month, they will miss one month
of school in the year. If they miss 15
days of school per year, they will miss
an entire year of school by their senior
year.
Some Prince Edward School staff members help to plant 96 trees around the
school property. A large group of volunteers pitched in, including not only
staff but Prince Edward students, parents, the parent advisory committee,
and students from neighbouring Munroe Junior High School.
These are some sobering facts.
Absenteeism can seriously limit
students’ success at school which can
impact their life earnings and potential
for employment. This is why River East
Transcona recently addressed school
attendance issues with a three-year
initiative, studying the barriers to
attendance within our community
As a result of our efforts, there has
been an increase in the number of
students with perfect attendance.
Students who have minor struggles
with their absenteeism and those with
chronic attendance problems benefit
from a variety of one-to-one supports,
as well as schoolwide initiatives.
The most recent development in our
work to improve student attendance
has been the production of a brochure
offering students and parents tips.
This brochure has been distributed
throughout the division and is posted
on the RETSD website.
Murdoch ‘Takes Pride’
River East Transcona schools recognize
they’re part of a larger community and
do their best to encourage community
spirit in their students.
of Park Manor, a seniors’ residence
across the street from the school.
Murdoch MacKay Collegiate students
demonstrated that spirit on Sept. 19,
when they took part in a Take Pride
Winnipeg challenge to beautify their
community.
Teacher Bruce Klippenstein, who
supervised and participated in the
challenge, made the cleanup into a
scavenger hunt to make it more fun for
the students. Each student was asked
to take photos of certain things in the
community and return with the photos
– and a full bag of garbage.
The students cleaned, trimmed and
weeded the gardens that surround
the school, and picked up garbage in
neighbouring parks and on the grounds
Schools across RETSD participate in
Take Pride Winnipeg challenges and
Murdoch MacKay puts in the effort
twice a year, in the fall and the spring.
who were age three in 2004, are now
old enough to babysit.
A number of these “graduates,” along
with some grandparents and program
staff, took part in the anniversary
celebration at Kildonan-East.
YPC is open to young parents citywide
and meets at Kildonan-East every
Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. For
more information, drop in for a visit or
call 204.223.9450.
An innovative program held at
Kildonan-East Collegiate celebrated its
10th birthday on Sept. 30, and some
of the first people to use it have likely
celebrated their own 10th birthdays
recently, as well.
Operating since 2004, Young Parents
Connecting (YPC) brings together
young parents who have infants and
children up to the age of three. It’s a
community drop-in program supported
by River East Transcona, the Winnipeg
Regional Health Authority and Healthy
Child Manitoba that welcomes all
Please don’t call our transportation
office, our board office or media
outlets. Doing so ties up phone lines.
Instead, check our website or the
media.
Severe weather and
bus cancellations
Photo by Amrit Ubhi, KEC Photography.
Young Parents Connecting
celebrates 10th birthday
them about every 15 minutes. You can
also check local television stations. If
we have not announced or posted a
cancellation alert by 6:45 a.m., buses
are running.
young moms and dads under the age
of 21 who are expecting or have a child
under the age of three.
At YPC, participants connect with a
public health nurse and a nutritionist in
an informal setting to learn more about
pregnancy and parenting. They also
connect with their children through
song and play, and share tips and
stories with other young parents over a
light meal.
The first people to make use of the
program are now seasoned parents
who could offer plenty of advice to
those who are just getting started. And
some of the first children to participate,
Sometimes, severe weather causes
us to cancel buses. The general rule is
that if the wind chill is -45◦C or colder
at the Winnipeg Airport (as posted by
Environment Canada at about 6:10
a.m.), we cancel buses for the whole
day but schools usually remain open.
All metro Winnipeg school divisions
follow one system, based on this rule.
Where to go for information after
about 6:30 a.m.:
We will post an alert message on the
RETSD website home page (www.retsd.
mb.ca) if buses are cancelled. Major
radio stations will also announce busing
cancellations and usually broadcast
A kindergarten student from Bernie
Wolfe Community School practises
escaping out the window of a fire
house trailer. Bernie Wolfe hosted the
Manitoba kickoff for Fire Prevention
Week, Oct. 5–11. The trailers educate
students by simulating a real fire with
artificial smoke and a heated door.
“We’re very pleased that we’ve been
able to continue to create more small
classes across the division,” says
superintendent Kelly Barkman. “Not
only do we have more classes with
20 or fewer students, but we also
have fewer classes with more than 25
students.”
In September 2013, a total of 10.5 per
cent of K–3 classrooms in RETSD had 25
or more students. In September 2014,
that number dropped to just two per
cent.
“We understand the value of keeping
class sizes small at the early grades and
we’re confident that by 2017, we’ll be
compliant with the province’s 20K3
requirements.”
École Margaret-Underhill students prepare to release their doves at the Peace Days kickoff.
EMU helps kick off Peace Days
Two excited students from École
Margaret-Underhill stood in front of a
crowd at The Forks on Sept. 11, their
hands gently cupping two symbols of
peace—doves—which they released
into the crisp air that signalled the end
of summer.
Hundreds of Winnipeg early years
students watched as the doves flew
off. The students were there to kick
off Peace Days, declared by Education
Minister James Allum as Sept. 11–21,
2014.
The first Peace Days were held in
Winnipeg in 2010 and the celebration
has been growing ever since. The
Peace Days mission is to “promote and
advance peace and compassion as well
as celebrate the harmony and cultural
diversity of the citizens of Manitoba.”
The 2014 Peace Days were filled with
related events, such as the Manito
Ahbee Festival, an international art
exhibit, film screenings, a speaker
series, the Compassion Games, and
the grand opening of the Canadian
Museum for Human Rights (CMHR).
Prior to the kickoff ceremony, the
students participated in a Walk for
Peace that circled the CMHR. Soon,
schools will begin making field trips
there. June Creelman, the CMHR’s
director of learning and programming,
says the museum will begin
programming for schools this January.
As part of the government’s smaller
class size initiative, school divisions
are required to ensure 90 per cent of
kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms are
at 20 students or fewer by September
2017. The remainder can have no more
than 23 students.
Meeting the requirements is a juggling
act, Mr. Barkman says, because
numbers can fluctuate from year to
year, requiring staff to be assigned
or reassigned to areas where they’ll
have the biggest impact. As well, new
teachers are hired as necessary. Special
funding from the province helped the
division hire three additional teachers
this school year, bringing the total to 13
newly-hired teachers in the last three
years.
“We predict we’ll need a total of 38
new teachers to be fully compliant by
2017. Some of that cost will be at the
division’s expense,” says Mr. Barkman.
Meanwhile, RETSD’s decision to
relocate some schools’ Grade 6
students into middle years schools—
a move that took place this fall—has
freed up additional space, taking that
factor out of the equation in some
locations, as the division continues to
reduce class sizes.
Number of small classes
continues to grow
RETSD continues to make strides
in response to the provincial
government’s smaller class size
initiative, dubbed 20K3.
This fall, 59.2 per cent of classes in
kindergarten to Grade 3 have 20 or
fewer students, compared to 53.7
per cent a year ago. The division’s
percentage of classes with 20 or fewer
students is right on target with the
provincial 20K3 average of 59 per cent,
cited by Education Minister James
Allum on Oct. 6.
Miles Macdonell Collegiate students Laryssa Yakimoski (far left) and Sian Leonard
(far right) with Cormac Foster and his mom, Nicole, who represented Winnipeg
on The Amazing Race Canada and stopped by an Amazing-Race-themed event at
Miles Mac (Cormac is an alumnus).