Bringing life to learning.
SCHOOL
What’s Up?
`` November 17-21 Bullying Awareness Week
`` December 1 World Aids Day
`` December 3 Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting
Superintendent’s Monthly Report to the Board.
Inclement Weather Procedures
For more information about where to check for updates on storm days,
please visit www.ccrsb.ca/closures.
`` December 5 National Day of Remembrance &
Action on Violence Against Women
`` December 10 Regular Public School Board
Meeting
www.ccrsb.ca
November 12, 2014
CCRSB Remembers…
During the past week, schools and offices across our Chignecto-Central Regional School
Board system took time to remember the tremendous sacrifices made by the men and
women who have served our country and continue to serve on our behalf.
Generations of Canadians have sacrificed so that all of us can live in a country that is
peaceful and free.
For this we are grateful and proud.
Minister's Panel on Education Releases Report
On Thursday, October 30, the Minister's Panel on Education released its report titled, Disrupting the Status Quo: Nova
Scotians Demand a Better Future for Every Student. The report represents the first comprehensive review of Nova
Scotia's school system in 25 years. Education Minister, Karen Casey, accepted the report and has committed to sharing
an Action Plan in response to the report in January 2015.
A total of 30 recommendations were made under the following seven themes:
1. Strengthen the curriculum to transform teaching and learning.
2. Make high quality teaching the norm in every classroom.
3. Prepare today's students for tomorrow's opportunities.
4. Ensure that inclusion is working for everyone.
5. Create a positive climate for learning.
6. Collaborate for improved health and well-being.
7. Build a modern-day structure for teaching and learning.
SCHOOL
Over the next several weeks, our elected school board members and staff will have the opportunity to provide feedback
to the recommendations as Minister Casey prepares her Action Plan.
1
CSI
Continuous School Improvement
Elmsdale District
Elementary
the writer’s voice and becomes habit forming. Through this
habitual practice it becomes easier and eventually allows the
writer to use new skills and understandings to fine tune this
craft”, said Alley.
Continuous School Improvement (CSI) emphasizes
the engagement of school administration, teachers and school
staff in an ongoing cycle of reflection and action within a
professional learning community culture. A school’s CSI plan
is built to incorporate the goals of CCRSB’s Strategic Plan:
Increase student learning; and Provide positive, safe, sociallyjust learning environments.
Elmsdale District is using several different strategies to meet
their second goal focusing on school climate. One such
strategy is the use of “Zones of Regulation” which identifies
four zones categorized according to the different ways a
student feels (states of alertness): blue, yellow, red and green.
The green zone is the most desired place for students. Green
zone behaviour indicates that the student is happy, focused
and ready to learn. The blue zone is used to describe a
student that feels sad, depressed, tired or bored. The yellow
zone is a warning that a student might enter the red zone.
A student may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety,
excitement, or silliness in the yellow zone. The red zone is
used to describe a student that may be elated or experiencing
anger, rage, or explosive behaviour. Students are taught
strategies to help them self-regulate and return to the green
zone.
The CSI journey for Elmsdale District Elementary School
began last spring when members of the school’s assessment
team – Melanie Breen-Maloney and Dania Hayward – came
together with Kelly Brown, education services consultant for
the Nova Family, and principal, Mary-Anne Alley, to analyze
both the provincial and school-based data available. With this
information in hand, they created preliminary CSI goals and an
overall CSI plan for Elmsdale District. The plan and goals were
shared with staff for input and approval, and then re-assessed
with input from the data collected from a school-based
assessment and a school-wide survey. CSI team members
Beth Gouthro, Jessica Schuringa, Tamara Minard and Principal
Alley then further refined the goals for the next three years:
Elmsdale District's climate goal is further supported by their
two “peace poles”. The four-sided peace poles have the
message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in English,
French, Arabic, and Mi’kmaq representing the languages
spoken in students’ homes. “It is a nice, multicultural aspect of
the peace pole that brings us all together in unity,” said Beth
Gouthro, Grade 5 English teacher.
•By 2017, the number of students meeting grade level
expectations in writing will increase by 5%, as measured
by classroom and provincial assessments.
•By 2017, Elmsdale District will see an increase of 5%
in the number of students reporting a positive, safe
respectful learning environment as measured by the
student/staff survey.
CSI leaders are expecting to see progress in student writing
via the assessments which will happen in May. It is also
expected that improvements will be noted in student use
of the problem solving tools that have been taught in the
classroom. The application of these strategies to students’
daily social interactions will ultimately have an impact on their
social-emotional well-being.
To meet their literacy achievement goal, Elmsdale District
has created specific targets and staff use writing resources
provided by CCRSB to help students achieve their goals.
Tying all of the work of students and staff together are teams.
Teachers of the same grade collaborate to create common
goals and expectations to ensure that similar teaching
philosophies are being implemented. This, in turn ensures that
students are receiving the same support class to class.
Principal Alley, believes their CSI goals will have positive
results. “We have certainly developed an action plan with
focused strategies that we feel will meet the needs of the
students over the next three years. We are expecting to see
improvements in both writing and a positive, safe, respectful
learning/living environment”.
In the second term all of Elmsdale District will participate in
“daily writes” an exercise that gives students 10-15 minutes
each day to write on a suggested topic, “The daily practice of
writing, whether it is for 10-15 minutes or longer, strengthens
2
SCHOOL NEWS!
Early French Immersion
Coming to the Celtic
Family of Schools
Cobequid Family
Students from Harmony Heights Elementary School
collected 716 pounds of food for the Farm Credit Canada
Drive Away Hunger food drive which was held in October.
All food items collected were delivered to the local food
bank. Well done!
In September 2015, CCRSB will begin offering
Early French Immersion (Grade Primary entry) at
A.G. Baillie Memorial School. In preparation for the
first year of this optional French program, CCRSB
is offering an introductory information session for
parents/guardians in the Celtic Family of Schools.
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 (Storm date –
November 20)
Location: A.G. Baillie Memorial School, 477 Victoria
Ave Ext., New Glasgow
Start time: 7:00 pm
The EFI program in the Celtic Family of Schools
is being added as result of the extensive review
and consultation that was conducted last fall with
parents, guardians, staff and community members.
On Wednesday, October 22nd Truro Elementary
School (TES) held a pow wow to celebrate Mi’kmaq
History Month. The Samqwan Boyz Drum Group from
Millbrook led the assembly, which included TES student
dancers in full regalia. Chief Gloade from Millbrook offered
an opening blessing. The assembly was well attended
by parents and guardians and was a wonderful way to
celebrate Mi’kmaq Heritage Month.
For more information about the Early French
Immersion Program or the information session,
phone 902-897-8965.
Students from Great Village Elementary School
recently practiced safety routines with members of the
Great Village & District Fire Brigade. Following a fire drill,
the firefighters met with students in an assembly where
students had the opportunity to see what the firefighters
looked like wearing their safety gear, and to hear what the
firefighters sounded like with their breathing apparatus.
All students were provided with a package of information
from the fire brigade and asked to plan and practice an
exit route at home for their family.
3
On September 24, students at River John Consolidated
School once again took part in the Terry Fox Run, an
annual nation-wide event to raise funds and awareness for
Cancer research. Grades 4 through 9 travelled the Jitney
Trail, while the younger elementary students did 13 laps
around the school for each of the provinces and territories.
Now in its 10th year, the Terry Fox Run/Walk at RJCS raised
a total of $651.00 for the Terry Fox Foundation, which
was a fine addition to the thousands raised over the past
decade! The students and staff wish to thank everyone who
gave so generously in their pledges for this very worthwhile
cause.
Celtic Family
The staff at West Pictou Consolidated School encourage
students to mentor others. Recently, the Grade 8 students
put their mentoring skills to the test when they taught the
Grade 6 students about microscopes!
North Nova Education Centre recently hosted the fourth
annual Chignecto-Central Regional School Board Elders
Conference on Social Justice. Andrea Paul, chief of the
Pictou Landing First Nation and CCRSB Board Member,
was the keynote speaker. With Chief Paul as their guide,
the student delegates explored the story of A’sek, (Boat
Harbour), and the Pictou Landing First Nation’s struggle
to reclaim the beauty of its local environment. Nova Scotia
Environment Minister, Randy Delorey, joined the conference
via Skype and spoke about the government’s cooperative
relationship with the people of Pictou Landing and the plans
to clean-up Boat Harbour. The Elders Conference brings
together student and staff delegations from all CCRSB high
schools in a seminar format to address issues of social
justice and to plan for ways to further the goals of social
justice in their own school communities.
Did yo
u know
?
CCR SB’s
opera
ting budg
2014-2015
et for the
school ye
a
r is $201.3
Salaries a
million.
nd benef
its accou
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nt for 85%
dget.
4
Employment Equity: Reflecting
diversity in our schools & offices
CCRSB is home to 20,068 students this school year. Our
students are drawn from many different backgrounds –
economic, social, spiritual and cultural. Employment equity
strives to ensure that our students see their diversity reflected
in the adults who guide them through their many years at
school.
“That review showed us that we have a long way to go before
we truly reflect diversity in our workplaces for our AfricanNova Scotian and First Nations students. While 5.5% of our
students self identify as African-Nova Scotian or First Nations,
only 2.7% of the staff serving our students and our board self
identify as African-Nova Scotian or First Nations. We are less
than halfway to our goal of our staff representing the diversity
of our student population.”
At the beginning of each school year, new and previously
enrolled students are asked to self-identify their cultural
background; particularly African-Nova Scotian (ANS) and First
Nations (FN) students. This number of self-identified ANS and
FN students helps to determine CCRSB’s overall employment
equity goals. As of September 30, 2014, 431 students (2.1%)
self-identified as African-Nova Scotian and 685 (3.4%) selfidentified as First Nations.
How do we attract more employment equity candidates?
This is a question we continue to ask and try to address
from many perspectives, including within our on-going
partnerships. These partnerships include the CCRSB
Employment Equity Committee, the CCRSB Mi’kmaw
Support Group, the Cobequid Family ANS Support Group and
the Celtic Family ANS Support Group.
“Staff members from differing cultural backgrounds bring
all students a rich and varied educational perspective, one
rooted in their heritage and culture,” said Scott Milner, Director
of Education Services. “The important lessons that our
students can learn from a diversity of backgrounds, cultures
and opinions – through their fellow students and our staff –
cannot be underestimated.”
Employment equity goes much farther than a policy, though.
True equity in our schools, offices and at our worksites means
that all members of the CCRSB community recognize, respect
and embrace the differences that make us all who we are.
That’s what we are striving for as a community.
Employment equity recognizes the value and importance of
having a staff that mirrors the diversity represented in our
student population. Reasonable and fair employment equity
practices have been embedded into our Employment Equity
Policy (Policy #HR-04). This policy provides a foundation
for CCRSB’s efforts to meet the needs of our students
and our goal of fostering socially-just learning and working
environments. The Human Resources Department has
developed procedures and supports so that CCRSB’s
Employment Equity Policy is effectively implemented. Human
Resources staff members work with our principals and other
hiring supervisors throughout the staffing processes to ensure
equitable hiring practices are used.
“The Human Resources Services Department recently
completed a review of CCRSB’s employment equity hiring
practices as they related to First Nation applicants and
applicants of African descent,” said Allison McGrath, Director,
Human Resources Services.
5
On October 8th, 70 Maple Ridge Elementary students
and staff participated in the annual Walk to School. They
started the walk at 7:20 am and the first participants
walked four kilometres! It was an enjoyable walk for
students and staff that promoted physical activity.
Nova Family
Grade 4 students in Mrs. Sharkey’s class at Uniacke
District School are having a lot of fun learning what it
takes to become a champion! The class has been selected
from classrooms across Canada and the United States
to participate in a program called Classroom Champions,
which pairs classrooms with Olympic athletes. Classroom
Champions paired the class with Canadian swimmer
Ryan Cochrane, a two-time Olympian, Olympic Silver and
Bronze Medalist and six-time World Champion medalist.
Ryan sends the class videos and shout-outs each month.
Using these videos and lessons the class replies with video
responses, pictures, and pieces of student work.
Chignecto Family
The Cumberland North Academy Junior Striders, under
the direction of Mrs. Pugsley, are sponsoring a shoe drive
for the people of Haiti. They have partnered with the
Amherst Striders Running Club and have donated a lot of
shoes! They also wrote about it as a Daily Write.
Junction Road Elementary and West End Elementary
schools recently held their annual Thanksgiving celebration
at the community centre. Students and staff enjoyed a
beautiful turkey dinner with all the trimmings! Students
presented thank you’s to the many parents and community
volunteers who worked to make the dinner possible.
The West Highlands Gymnasium Enhancement
Committee is thrilled to report that they have reached
and slightly surpassed their initial goal of $181,836! This
means that the enhanced gymnasium space is paid for.
Their committee and our generous community made this
happen in less than 12 months. We are extremely proud
and thankful of the tireless efforts and generosity of so
many. The Committee now turns its sights on raising the
$30,000 needed to provide bleachers within the enhanced
space. The committee is also thankful to the local Lions
Club for their generous contribution of a new score clock
and wireless remote for our fantastic new facility.
Each morning students and staff at Winding River
Consolidated (WRC) are read a prompt, and then given
10 – 12 minutes to "write away". Some examples of
previous prompts are: "I am a good friend when…;" "I
remember…;" and "The leaves in fall...". Students’ share
their “write away” work with their classmates and some
previous "write aways" are shared over the PA for the
whole school to enjoy. The school also has an "Author's
Chair" segment on their weekly WRC News Broadcast
where students and staff share various forms of writing.
Did you k
now?
CCR SB emp
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drivers
and has a f le
et of 240 bus
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buses travel
over 4,000,0
00
kilometres e
ach
year, tran sp
or ting
17,000 stude
nts
(85% of the to
tal
student popu
lation).
6
How do you define Social Justice?
Chances are if you put eight people in a room together and
ask them, “What does Social Justice mean to you?” you
will get eight different answers. As a society, we seek to find
common understanding and meaning. So, when we are
presented with a term or an idea that’s not easily defined it
can be viewed as an unwelcome challenge. Normally that
would be a problem.
“Stand Up. Speak Out., our anti-bullying program; the
restorative approach in schools; Employment Equity; selfidentification – all of these are a piece of Social Justice.
They teach students and staff that differences are a good
thing and that true equality comes from acceptance, not
tolerance,” said Paul-Martin.
Social Justice is an ongoing area of focus, as it should be,
at all CCRSB schools and offices. The 2013-2016 Strategic
Plan names Social Justice as a key pillar for our school
board.
That’s not the case for CCRSB’s Social Justice Lead Team.
Comprised of eight members, this diverse group of
educators is leading CCRSB’s Social Justice movement.
They are not daunted by a lack of common meaning. In
fact, it’s that lack of common definition – they say – that is
the true measure of Social Justice.
The ultimate goal is to make the concept of Social Justice
in CCRSB as prominent as the programs that support
it. To achieve that goal education must be provided, and
awareness raised, among all members of the CCRSB
community. Race, Cross-Cultural Understanding and
Human Rights (RCH) advisors at each of CCRSB’s 73
schools go a long way to making Social Justice a living,
breathing concept for our students. Now it’s time for the
next steps.
"Social Justice is often difficult to define because it is
broad, with many dimensions. It can mean different
things to different people because we each bring our own
knowledge, experiences and backgrounds to the various
components of Social Justice,” said Jocelyn Dorrington,
coordinator, African-Nova-Scotian cultural services and
Social Justice Lead Team co-chair.
“In order to fully engage in social justice work one must
accept that inequities exist, that ascribed privilege exists
and that power is a critical component,” said Dorrington.
“To achieve the goal of "equality" for everyone, we must
apply the process of equity while ensuring respect and
dignity for all. We must engage in Social Justice to create a
safe, socially-just and inclusive society. This must become
the norm."
CCRSB’s approach to Social Justice begins with our Race
Relations, Cross-Cultural Understanding and Human Rights
Social Justice Framework. The Social Justice Framework
identifies the multiple diversities that make all members of
the CCRSB community unique, but also the same: race,
gender, class, sexual orientation and abilities. Imagine the
concept of Social Justice like a back pack. We all wear one,
but the contents of that back pack change from person to
person.
The Social Justice Lead Team will be launching a video
ahead of the start of the professional learning sessions in
2015. An education and awareness campaign is also being
planned.
"Social Justice is understanding, embracing
and respecting the individual differences in all
people," said Patsy Paul-Martin, Coordinator,
First Nations Cultural Services and Social
Justice Lead Team co-chair. “Our individual
differences fill our back packs. When people
are actively engaging in a Social Justice
approach they learn to consider what is in
another person’s back pack, that helps to
prevent them from passing judgment or making
assumptions about others.”
Special thanks to all the RCH advisors in our schools and
the members of the Lead Team for guiding all of CCRSB
through this important and individual process.
In the New Year, the Social Justice Lead Team will begin
providing Social Justice professional learning for CCRSB
staff based on the multiple diversities highlighted in the
Social Justice Framework. Each module is made-up of
a video – developed and filmed by the Lead Team – and
hands-on activities for participants.
Social Justice Lead Team Members: (Front L-R) Doreen
Richard, Patsy Paul-Martin, Jocelyn Dorrington.
(Back L-R) Delroy (Les) Mullins, Trevor Boyd.
(Missing from photo) Katey Gloade, Leanne Arsenault and
Bruce Fisher
While the professional learning will provide staff members
direct training about Social Justice, both Patsy and Jocelyn
point out that many staff members – and students – have
already been involved with projects and programs that fall
under the umbrella of Social Justice. They just may not
realize it.
7
school year. They can do that because the assessments
measure not what students will learn in the year to come,
but what students learned primarily the year before.
Assessing
assessments
in Mathematics
and Literacy
“The Grade 4 Mathematics assessment, for example,
measures students’ understanding of the outcomes
addressed up to Grade 3. With those results in hand,
the Grade 4 teacher can better target his/her instruction
to reinforce previous learning, where required, while
introducing new Grade 4 learning targets in Mathematics,”
said Callaghan.
Each year students across Nova Scotia participate in
common provincial assessments. These provinciallydeveloped exams in Mathematics and Literacy are
designed to provide teachers, students and their parents
or guardians with a snapshot of a student’s understanding
of the outcomes for each subject. Provincial assessments
are completed for students in grades 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
Grade 12 students in CCRSB also participate in boardwide Mathematics and English examinations.
Schools also use the results from assessments to inform
their Continuous School Improvement goals, which then
support the school board’s Strategic Plan.
Assessments in middle and senior high school fall near
the end of the school year. Again, the intent is that the
results may be used to help plan for the coming school
year. The Grade 8 Reading, Writing and Mathematics
assessment, for example, is written each spring and the
results are ready for Grade 9 teachers in the early fall.
So, why do we need
assessments?
Assessments – no matter the grade level – are a valuable
resource for all members of the CCRSB community.
Parents or guardians with questions about their child’s
assessment results should speak with their child’s teacher
or their school principal.
“Assessments are a very necessary tool in every teacher’s
and school’s educational tool box,” said Aaron Callaghan,
CCRSB Acting Coordinator of Assessment. “Based on
the results from the assessments, teachers are able to
tailor their classroom instruction to better meet the needs
of the particular students in their class.”
Individual assessment results for students are available for
parents and guardians via the Student-Parent Portal on
Power School. In addition, the Nova Scotia Department
of Education and Early Childhood Development publishes
the results of the provincial assessments, by school
board, on their website: http://plans.ednet.ns.ca/results
each fall.
That’s why many assessments are written in the early
fall. By writing the grades 3, 4 and 6 Mathematics and
Literacy assessments at that time, teachers and schools
are provided the opportunity to take what was learned
and use it to support student learning during the current
75 %
Grade 3 Reading
70 %
90 %
Grade 3 Writing: Ideas
88 %
81 %
Grade 3 Writing: Language Use
79 %
78 %
Grade 3 Writing: Organization
76 %
68 %
Grade 3 Writing: Conventions
66 %
CCRSB
77 %
Grade 6 Reading
75 %
NS
79 %
Grade 6 Writing: Organization
79 %
88 %
Grade 6 Writing: Ideas
88 %
65 %
Grade 6 Writing: Conventions
65 %
76 %
Grade 8 Reading
74 %
86 %
Grade 8 Writing: Ideas
86 %
0
20
40
8
60
80
100