PEACE WAPITI PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION NO. 76 WWW.PWSD76.AB.CA BOARD NEWS & EVENTS Subscribe online at www.pwsd76.ab.ca Upcoming Events Random Acts of Kindness Day, Friday, November 7. OCTOBER 30, 2014 BOARD DISCUSSIONS Tools for Effective School Councils – ASCA workshop highlight of PWSD’s Fall General School Councils’ Meeting Day off in lieu of parentteacher interviews, Monday, November 10. Remembrance Day, no classes, Tuesday, November 11. Next Board Meeting, Thursday, November 27, 10:30 a.m., Central Office. Left: Rhonda Schumm, ASCA Facilitator, presented a workshop on Tools for Effective School Councils. Right: Dana McIntosh, Board Chair, conducts the door prize draw for children’s books. Draft 2016-2017 School Year Calendar receives Board approval A draft of the 2016-2017 School Year Calendar has received Board approval following a review by PWSD’s Administrative and Executive staff. The new calendar outlines 187 instructional days and 11 professional development days. A printable PDF will be posted online at www.pwsd76.ab.ca/Resources/ ParentResources/calendars. Keep up-to-date with PWSD’s latest news and events! • Find us online at www.pwsd76.ab.ca • ‘Like’ us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/PeaceWapiti-School-Division-No-76 • Follow us on Twitter: @pwsd76 P eace Wapiti Public School Division (PWSD) hosted Principals and School Council Chairs and members at the 2014 Fall General School Councils’ Meeting held on October 28, 2014 at Sexsmith Secondary School. Following supper and a Division update from PWSD, the highlight of the meeting was an Alberta School Councils’ Association (ASCA) workshop on Tools for Effective School Councils, led by Rhonda Schumm. The 70 attendees received tips on understanding community culture and basic volunteer psychology. School Councils were also provided with resources and strategies to assist them in their efforts to engage school communities. During the Public School Boards’ Association Fall General Meeting held earlier in October, PWSD Trustees won a draw for three children’s books. The books were handed out as door prizes during the School Councils’ Meeting. PWSD’s Division Update newsletter was shared with the group, and may be viewed online at http://bit.ly/PWSD-Oct2014. Former Deputy Superintendent receives PSBAA award D r. Rodney Lee, former Deputy Superintendent at PWSD, was recognized at the October 30th Board Meeting as the recipient of this year’s Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta (PSBAA) Special Contribution to Public Education Award. Dr. Lee has been a proactive influence in public education for more than 36 years, the last 25 of which have been with PWSD. He has been active on numerous committees and task forces. He was a leader in the original development of School Councils. Beyond retirement from public education, Dr. Lee continues to lecture at Grande Prairie Regional College in the area of Ethics and the Law in Education. The award was officially announced during the PSBAA’s 2014 Annual General Meeting in Edmonton on October 17. Dr. Lee will receive the award at PSBAA’s Spring General Assembly in May, 2015. PEACE WAPITI PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION NO. 76 L-r: Superintendent Sheldon Rowe, Dr. Rodney Lee and Board Chair Dana McIntosh. Board supports upcoming transportation funding meeting T he Board voted to send a letter to the Alberta School Boards’ Association (ASBA) in support of Buffalo Trails School Division’s request for a meeting room at the ASBA Fall General Meeting to allow Boards to discuss transportation funding. EDUCATING TODAY FOR SUCCESS TOMORROW 1 BOARD NEWS & EVENTS PWSD students fared well in 2013-2014 PATs and Diploma Exams G rade 6 students at PWSD schools achieving the acceptable standard in Language Arts Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) were on par with the province. An improvement was seen in Grade 6 Math PATs, while Grade 9 PATs results sat close to provincial averages in the areas of Language Arts and Science. Grade 3 PATs are in the process of being phased out and replaced by Student Learning Assessments (SLAs), which were administered in September, 2014 at PWSD schools. Diploma Exam results were positive for PWSD. Students scored above provincial averages in English 30-1 and 30-2, Social Studies results improved significantly over last year, and the percentage of Physics students achieving the acceptable standard was higher than that of the province. Utilization Report D uring the Utilization Report to the Board, Deputy Superintendent Mark Davidson noted that most PWSD schools are able to accommodate programming needs, but the continued population growth around Grande Prairie is causing utilization issues at four schools. A school is deemed fully utilized when enrolment reaches 85 per cent of capacity. Harry Balfour School, with a utilization rate of 98.2 per cent, is experiencing pressure on its resources as it strives to accommodate unprecedented student population growth. The recent announcement of a new school for Whispering Ridge subdivision falls short of the Board’s request for two new schools to handle population growth within Harry Balfour School’s current attendance area. Bezanson School’s utilization rate sits at 95.3 per cent, followed by 93.3 per cent at Wembley Elementary School and 83.5 per cent at Clairmont Community School. The Board will continue to lobby government for an additional K-8 school to address growth at Harry Balfour School, along with its second and third priority projects which have been identified in PWSD’s 2015-2018 Capital Plan as a new Grades 9-12 school located north of Grande Prairie, and a new K-8 school located in Clairmont Heights. OCTOBER 30, 2014 Transportation report P WSD’s Transportation Department manages a total of 102 bus routes. This year, a route was added in Grande Prairie, one route was eliminated in Beaverlodge, and Elmworth’s four routes have been amalgamated into three until an additional driver can be hired. A number of regular route drivers retired or resigned this year, resulting in changes to routes located in Grande Prairie, Beaverlodge, Hythe, Wembley, Ridgevalley, Woking and Spirit River. Five regular route drivers returned to the spare list. To alleviate driver absence requests, two new regular route spare drivers were hired. To date, cancellation of routes due to driver emergencies is up slightly over last year. Spare drivers remain in high demand throughout the Division. The Transportation Department replaced eight aging buses, bringing the fleet total to 103 buses with electric doors and 48 buses with air ride seats. A 17-passenger multifunctional white bus was replaced with a 21-passenger bus. Fuel station upgrades were completed in Elmworth, Eaglesham and Teepee Creek. Upgrades are planned for Woking and Bonanza next year. With the closure of UFA in Sexsmith, arrangements have been made with 4Refuel to disperse fuel in the County Industrial Park. A new short-term rider form, which must be submitted to the school, bus driver or Transportation Office within 48 hours of the requested change, has been well-received by parents, with minimal issues. The forms will serve to supply contact information in the event of an emergency. The report was presented by Ted Gobin, Transportation Manager. Locally-developed yoga course approved C ourses developed locally by other School Divisions across Alberta have, in the past, served to complement the current program of studies at PWSD high schools. A Yoga 15-3 course has been approved by the Board for the 2015-2016 school year. Policy updates T he Policy Review Committee and the Executive Team reviewed two policies but no motion was required as the intent of both did not change. Policy IFCG – General Use of Tobacco was updated to include e-cigarettes. The original form attached to Policy IHCD – Administration of Medical Assistance to Students focused on potentially fatal allergies. The updated form now includes all potentially fatal or debilitating medical conditions. ASBA Policies Bulletin New committee to pursue County partnerships I n light of the recently-approved new school for Whispering Ridge subdivision, the Board voted to strike a School Facility Partnership Committee consisting of Dana McIntosh, Board Chair, and the three local trustees – Wendy Kelm, Stefanie Clarke and Dale Crane. The first order of business for the committee will be to approach the County of Grande Prairie to discuss possible partnership opportunities within the new school. Conference and Committee Reports A Board News & Events ttendees reported on the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta (PSBAA) conference held on October 15-17, and the Audit Committee meeting held on October 20. In the Policy Review Committee meeting held on October 22, the membership agreed to change the day Board Agendas are published from Wednesday of the week prior to a Board Meeting to Friday, to reduce the number of last-minute additional items. Board News & Events is a report on news from Peace Wapiti Public School Division No. 76 and is published following each Board meeting. Travel requests receive approval T he Board discussed the proposed policy positions to be placed before ASBA membership during the business session of the upcoming ASBA Fall General Meeting on November 17, 2014. Content and Design: Angela Sears Communications Officer [email protected] Subscribe online: www.pwsd76.ab.ca PEACE WAPITI PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION NO. 76 S pirit River Regional Academy received final approval to travel internationally to Italy in April, 2015. Peace Wapiti Academy received approval in principle to travel internationally to Greece during Spring Break, 2015. Peace Wapiti Academy and Bezanson School received approval in principle to travel to Quebec in February, 2015. Approval for all travel is pending compliance with Policy HGCG – Off-Site Activities. EDUCATING TODAY FOR SUCCESS TOMORROW 2