Media Release
For Immediate Release
December 23, 2020

The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) is ready for the mandatory closure of all schools in the district from January 4-8, 2021.

As previously announced this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated a province-wide shut down will come into effect on December 26. This means in northern Ontario, elementary and secondary schools will remain closed to students until January 11, 2021. A link to that announcement can be found here.

At this time, both elementary and secondary students will return to “in-class” learning on January 11, 2021.

NNDSB continues to be thankful for the resiliency of our school community as we navigate this together.

Since last school year’s mandatory closure of schools, NNDSB has learned from the unprecedented shift to student learning. Families can anticipate a continuation of student learning throughout the closure period.

NNDSB is proud to continue offering high-quality education for its students to achieve their fullest potential.

Regular updates will continue to be shared with families and posted to NNDSB’s website: nearnorthschools.ca.

Information about Near North District School Board:
Near North District School Board is an English-language public school board serving the North Bay – Parry Sound – Nipissing area. The Board consists of approximately 10,000 students in 27 elementary schools, seven secondary/senior schools and various alternative learning centres. For more information, please visit nearnorthschools.ca and follow Near North District School Board on social media.

For more information, please contact:
Josh Casey
Information/Communication Coordinator
Near North District School Board
P. (705) 472-8170, extension 5083
E. Josh.Casey@nearnorthschools.ca

December 21, 2020

**NNDSB Note: The following story was written by District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board**

The spirit of giving and helping those less fortunate is alive and well in the Nipissing District. Groups of local citizens have taken the time to let the less fortunate know that they are thinking of them through gestures of kindness.

“It’s very heartwarming to see the community support people who find themselves without the comfort of family and a home of their own – it shows that the community cares,” says Mark King, Chair of the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board. “These are just some examples to illustrate that compassion.”

Teacher Stewart Bowness at Laurentian Learning Center (Near North District School Board) had been working with his students to bake homemade Christmas goodies, delivered last week to the low barrier shelter at 590 Chippewa street in North Bay.

“It was a real pleasure and honour to accompany Jessica Mason and Brandon Lunel from Stewart Bowness’s class from our Laurentian Learning Centre as they exhibited their skills and showed their kindness by providing baked Christmas goodies to our neighbouring friends at the Low Barrier shelter across from Chippewa Secondary School,” says Jay Aspin, Board Chair of NNDSB.

Members of the West Nipissing Knitting Circle/Cercle de tricot and Sewing For a Cause/Coudre pour une cause, programs of the West Nipissing Community Health Centre in Sturgeon Falls, spent time knitting and sewing warm items such as hats, scarves, blankets and pyjamas for those staying in shelters at the Crisis Centre North Bay and the Warming Centre, offering a touch of hand crafted comfort. Many others in the community have made similar donations, including congregants of St. Andrew’s United Church who donated socks and warm winter wear as part of a church collection drive and One Kids Place who, in partnership with Your City Sports, was able to donate socks as part of their annual #sockraiser campaign.

King adds, “I’d also like to take this time to thank all of the people in the community and in the field of human services who have worked especially hard this year to ensure people’s needs are met. The community as a whole has really come together and it shows.”

Board Elections

Near North District School Board (NNDSB) held its annual organizational meeting on December 15, 2020. Trustees virtually elected Board leadership for the 2020/2021 year. The Board of Trustees and Director of Education proudly announce the re-election of Board Chair Jay Aspin, and Vice-Chair John Cochrane, effective December 15, 2020.

Aspin, who represents Zone 1; City of North Bay and Cochrane, who represents Zone 4; Parry Sound, have served as the incumbents of their respective positions, and served as Trustees for two years since their election by the public in 2018. “I am pleased Chair Aspin will continue in the role of Board Chair,” said Craig Myles, Director of Education. “While this has been a challenging year, I am confident that Jay Aspin’s leadership, along with the trustees’ wealth of expertise and skill will ensure that NNDSB is in a strong position to continue providing high-quality education to students in our region.”

The Board chairperson, along with all trustees, serve as stewards of NNDSB with statutory authority and obligation to guide the affairs of the organization. They set the strategic direction of the board in response to the needs of their region and work with the Ministry of Education to ensure alignment on issues such as strategic planning, policies and government direction. Trustees elect a chair and vice-chair each year of their four-year mandate.

“It’s a privilege to continue to serve this region as Chair of the Board and to be working with our talented trustees, the Director, and the administration in carrying out the responsibilities for Near North District School Board,” said Aspin. “I look forward to fostering a culture of collaboration and impactful change as we continue to develop a strong student centric focused organization in the face of COVID-19.”

Reports Presented

Director’s Annual Report 2019-2020

Director Myles presented the 2019-2020 Director’s Annual report, highlighting the breadth and scope of programming and system initiatives NNDSB has accomplished over the last year. This report is especially meaningful as it outlines the progress made in achieving the strategic pathways in the current multi-year strategic plan. Key areas of achievement are noted to be increased experiential learning, a more inclusive environment for all students, enhanced communication practices, and overall accountability. Click here to view the report.

Report to the Minister of Education

The Board reviewed and approved its third and final report for submission to the Minister of Education regarding the progress made towards fulfilling the recommendations from the special advisors’ report. This report represents the last in a series of three reports submitted by the Board on the journey to increasing public confidence and transparency. Major themes in the third report include succession planning, establishment of evidence-based organizational alignment, and governance capacity building.             

Multi-Year Strategic Plan Update

The Multi-Year Strategic Planning (MYSP) Committee provided a report to the Board regarding the next steps in the development of the new MYSP. This update follows the meeting in November at which the Board approved the MYSP draft framework. Information was presented to note the plan is being constructed to align with the board improvement plan for student achievement and wellbeing (BIPSAWB) and school improvement plans for student achievement and wellbeing (SIPSAWB). The Director’s Office has created a dedicated MYSP section on the website to highlight the progress, and provide a forum for continuous community feedback throughout the process. Click here to view the MYSP page.

Trustee Expenditures

Instilling public confidence through transparency and financial responsibility is key. As such, NNDSB is pleased to share the trustee expenditures report for the school year ended August 31, 2020. Overall, expenditures were $23,000 less than last year. View the full report here.

December 4, 2020

Since the beginning of COVID-19, schools and classrooms have changed, but learning has not. In fact, schools have incorporated more outdoor learning.

Argyle Public School is one of the many schools within Near North District School Board that is learning outdoors. The onset of COVID-19 has brought some positive changes to the Kindergarten (ELKP) classroom and its educators Sonja Cudmore and Robyn Ramsay who are excited to see students embracing the outdoors.

NNDSB’s philosophy is to offer students a rich learning experience in both the classroom and beyond. Outdoor education brings learning to life with increased opportunities to advance curricular learning in real-world, authentic contexts. NNDSB engages in outdoor education in all seasons, to deliver interdisciplinary outdoor learning opportunities k-12.

“Students are practicing social distancing, so we thought it was appropriate to spend more time learning in our natural classroom,” stated Cudmore, who noted their schoolyard is a beautiful space for an outdoor classroom; surrounded by farmer’s fields, bushes, and a small pond. “We bring the learning outside by going on scavenger hunts, nature walks, outside math and science. Nearly every subject has connections to learning outside.”

Students even had the chance to go on a pumpkin hunt in the playground, decorating their found pumpkins, and ultimately learning about the lifecycle of a pumpkin. The learning doesn’t stop there. In fact, that’s just the beginning. Students have the opportunity to investigate various common spiders and their webs, which they became fascinated with. Using yarn and other materials, students created their own webs on the school fence to learn about the techniques used in web creation.

Playing outside allows students the freedom to move and explore their environment and make investigations about their world. “Our students have really enjoyed observing nature in our schoolyard,” said Cudmore who noted students have noticed an abundance of Woolly Bear Caterpillars and began to ask questions about them. “They wondered why butterflies lay eggs which led to a discussion on the lifecycle of butterflies. We kept track of the number of caterpillars we spotted each week using 10-frames and tallies and then created a pictograph to display the data.”

She added by November, students observed there were fewer caterpillars, but more chrysalises, which began a discussion on why that might be. Since that discussion, teachers read several books to the students, which helped everyone understand the changes they were seeing.

Students look forward to taking their learning outdoors and investigating the world around them,” said Ramsay, “The outdoors provides the perfect environment for students to explore their wonderings about nature.”

November 27, 2020

Robots are taking classrooms by storm, but not like any of those futuristic type movies. Instead, students are being immersed in valuable experiential learning opportunities, which will help them in their careers after secondary school.

Grade 9 students at Northern Secondary School have incorporated robotics in ways that you didn’t think were possible – robots and woodshop?! Well, it’s happening.

Since COVID-19 and enhanced protocols came into place, along with the implementation of an octomester format for the 2020-21 school year, technology teacher, Kevin Baker, and media studies teacher, Carmen O’Brien, worked together to create learning that provides a transferable skillset that students use in both classes thus making for an easy transition from one class to the next in a mode of extended learning.

Both classes incorporate robotics in various ways, which introduces students to a wide range of possible extracurricular and career options.

In Baker’s class, students are introduced to electrical, woodworking, and hydraulics while they construct a fully operational robot to pick masks up off of the floor.

“We are learning the basics of hydraulics with wooden arms. The task is to pick-up masks from the ground and of course no one wants to pick them up with their hands, so we are building a robot,” stated Alex, who noted that there was a lot of planning, designing, building, and learning by trial and error. “I’m very satisfied with the completed project.”

This is a culminating assignment for the students, who at the end of the Octomester, present their completed robot to Baker and test it out. Students design their robot to be a combination of a VEX Robotics, electrically driven chassis with a wooden, hydraulic arm mounted on top. The remote-controlled robot is designed to pick up an unused mask from the floor.

“Woodworking is an amazing skill to have,” stated Alex. “I’ll definitely be using it further down the road.”

A few doors down, students in O’Brien’s class learn how to program robots from scratch using programming blocks in the EV3 LEGO programming software.

“Students have learned how to program robots, how to use three different sensors; touch, ultrasonic, and colour sensors,” explained O’Brien. “They’ve used those sensors to detect objects that are in front of the robot and programmed the robot accordingly so that it can move autonomously through either a maze or through the

First Lego League mission board, and accomplish different missions at the same time.”

O’Brien added that programming can be challenging, so students develop problem-solving skills to identify which parts of the program work, which ones don’t, and why, to get their robots to successfully complete the mission or maze.

“Robotics is becoming more and more prominent in the job market,” stated O’Brien. “If we look at this pandemic, more companies are switching to automation because robots won’t get sick, won’t need time off and can work 24 hours a day.”

She noted that this not only introduces students to a possible career avenue but also helps them develop much desired problem-solving skills that they can use in their everyday lives.

As part of Near North District School Board’s on-going commitment to educating students for the future, as a parent or guardian, learning doesn’t stop once you graduate.

Last week, in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, NNDSB hosted an informational session on “Online Risks and Emerging Trends” to educate parents and guardians on developmentally appropriate strategies for parents to engage in conversations with children and youth about online safety. Dozens of families from across the region participated in the event.

During this 60-minute presentation, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) outlined three areas for consideration: content, contact, and conduct. Parents were encouraged to get involved with what their children are doing online. The best approach? Put the child in the driver’s seat and let them be the teacher as they demonstrate their newest game or app. This allows parents to understand what kind of content their child is accessing, and provides the opportunity to ask questions about how the newest platform works. Like all safety practices, such as wearing a seat belt, adults must be providing constant reminders about being safe online.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection outlined how children use the internet to create, post, and share content, which can lead to issues of conduct. Also discussed was how to begin conversations about difficult topics related to child safety online, such as sending or receiving nude pictures, cyberbullying or how to address issues of extortion.

Board Trustee Fry attended the session and provided praise for the amount of information provided to parents and echoed the need for continued communication between parents, educators and students so that every environment, whether in-person or online, are safe spaces for all.

NNDSB would like to extend a sincere thank you to Karyn Kibsey and Samantha Falk from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection for their insight, and expertise. Parents are encouraged to visit protectkidsonline.ca for more information.

November 16, 2020

Near North District School Board (NNDSB) has proudly introduced the onset of a new multi-year strategic plan to set the stage for the next five years.

Together with the executive team, trustees have spent the last several months reviewing reports, and analyzing data from the Board’s sizeable geographic area to ensure the strategic plan provides the leadership and transparency the communities have come to count on from NNDSB. During this process, the Board took the opportunity to recast the mission, vision, and values to align with the future directions of NNDSB. The Board is committed to ensuring the plan is a living document that emerges as goals are reached and new goals emerge.

“I would like to commend the Multi-Year Strategic Planning Committee for the dedication they have shown. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are proud of this work,” remarked Chair Jay Aspin, “and we appreciate the patience of the public as we take the time to get this right”.

The plan can be distilled into four strategic priorities, which will help ensure NNDSB makes steady progress toward established outcomes and enable the Board to maintain and improve student experience and performance.

“We thank everyone who participated in the strategic planning process, whether in-person, online, completing our survey, or by submitting comments. We have listened to the feedback and considered it carefully” stated Director of Education Craig Myles.

The focus will shift to further refine these strategic priorities and objectives in order to develop a more detailed five-year timeline. The plan spans a five-year term from 2021- 2026, and is expected to be approved at the June Board meeting with an anticipated implementation date for the September 2021 school year.

The Board looks forward to further engagement across our communities in the near future to further obtain input and acquaint the public with the plan.

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Near North District School Board is an English-language public school board serving the North Bay – Parry Sound – Nipissing area. The Board consists of approximately 10,000 students in 27 elementary schools, seven secondary/senior schools and various alternative learning centres. For more information, please visit nearnorthschools.ca and follow Near North District School Board on social media.

November 16, 2020

Near North District School Board is working to make schools safer by implementing a safe schools framework that focuses on three key concepts: citizenship and community; conflict resolution; and bullying awareness.

All school boards across the province are participating in an annual Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week November 16 – 20 and this year, NNDSB has some extra special activities lined-up. On Monday, November 16, 2020, students heard from local leaders including Mayor McDonald of North Bay, Mayor McGarvey of Parry Sound, Chief McLeod of Nipissing First Nation, and Mayor Savage of Nipissing-West. These leaders taught students about community and citizenship; challenging them to engage in civic activities that will promote safe and inclusive environments. Lessons and activities for all elementary and secondary students will continue throughout the week, each day focusing on an aspect from our safe schools framework.

To further our commitment to providing safe, inclusive spaces for all students, NNDSB has created a reporting tool that will allow any student, parent or community member to report a concern for student safety, particularly as it relates to bullying. The SAFER SCHOOLS! reporting tool is an online form that can be completed anonymously, should the sender choose. It is then sent to the school’s principal for further investigation. While it is still our recommendation that students, parents or community members speak directly to a teacher, principal, vice-principal, or other school staff member regarding issues of conflict or bullying, the SAFER SCHOOLS! reporting tool is another method in which we can ensure the lines of communication are open between our schools and the communities we serve. The SAFER SCHOOLS! reporting tool can be accessed directly from the NNDSB website.

For more information, please contact:
Josh Casey
Information/Communication Coordinator
Near North District School Board
P. (705) 472-8170, 5083
E. josh.casey@nearnorthschools.ca