Friday, Feb. 14, 2025

The following are the highlights of the Near North District School Board (NNDSB) meeting of Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.

Director’s report highlights achievements

Director of Education Craig Myles’ report to the Board noted that 100 per cent of NNDSB students in Grades K-2 have been screened for reading difficulties. Secondary exams are complete, marking the beginning of Semester 2. Myles wished everyone a happy Family Day and encouraged people to spend the day outdoors enjoying a winter day in the north.

Myles reported that schools across NNDSB marked Bell Let’s Talk Day on Jan. 22. The day highlights the importance of mental health and removing stigma. The board’s HR department and mental health team were acknowledged for supporting student and staff mental wellness.

Several schools have been showcasing talent by staging artistic productions. F.J. McElligott held a Magical Mystical Night showcasing the talents of magicians and musicians, Parry Sound High School’s senior drama class staged Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Land of Lakes Public School held a Winter Music Showcase.

Arwyn Hicks, a Grade 12 International Baccalaureate and French Immersion student at Chippewa Secondary School, will be in Toronto on Feb. 20-22 to compete as a finalist for the Loran Scholarship, a $100,000 award given to 36 deserving students from across Canada. Offered in partnership with 25 Canadian universities, the Loran is a prestigious award. Arwyn is one of more than 6,000 applicants and one of 90 who have made it to the final interview.

Math Achievement Plan progress report

Assistant Superintendent and Math Lead Kim Pauli submitted a math achievement action plan progress update for review by the Board. The report highlighted that the action plan aligns with three key priority actions that have been identified by the Ministry of Education.

The math team will be holding a virtual math information session for parents and caregivers of students in Grades 7 to 12 on Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. A registration link can be found here.

Indigenous Student Trustee’s report

Indigenous Student Trustee Riley Trudeau reported that the Indigenous Youth Circle (IYC) plans to meet virtually on Feb. 12. IYC has chosen to do school updates in a more organized form via OneNote to ensure students and grad coaches have a place to share updates and ideas. This also enables the team to look back at its goals and what has been done and talked about. This will be helpful to future Indigenous Student Trustees.

Northern IYC had a medicine bag workshop and ribbon skirt and shirt workshops at the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre (NBIFC). Upcoming plans include a rattle-making workshop, beginning and ladies’ drum group, IYC recruitment and activities, pow wow planning, and planning an education piece to present to White Woods students about the upcoming pow wow.

West Ferris IYC have been meeting Wednesdays for their school-based meetings. They continue to have other weekly events, including women’s hand drumming and men’s grandfather drumming. West Ferris IYC has also completed a rattle-making workshop, and plans are being made to host medicine bag and moccasin workshops with NBIFC. They are also making plans for ribbon skirt making.

F.J. McElligott IYC plans to have a winter festival where they plan on teaching Indigenous games and culture, including how to make bannock. They will have an outdoor education class this semester which would include medicine walks.

Members of Chippewa IYC (also known as Okimakan) hosted a potluck in their centre before the winter break and will focus on recruitment in the coming months. Okimakan meets every Thursday at lunch. They plan on having a moccasin and ribbon skirt-making workshop with NBIFC. They also plan on starting a grandfather drumming group. Chippewa students are hopeful about getting their teepee up so they can take learning outdoors.

Parry Sound students attended language camp at Spirit Point with the Georgian Bay Anishinaabek Youth (an Indigenous youth-led initiative). Rattle making, facilitated by Connor Lafortune from School Mental Health Ontario, with Grades 8 and 9 students, was a major success. They plan to have a workshop for butchering wild game at the school in the spring.

During this upcoming month, Almaguin Highlands IYC plans to have a beading workshop and a potluck for their members. They are including an Indigenous station at their winter carnival, where they want to offer a snowshoeing excursion. They plan on teaching one Ojibwe word every day for the month of March as a symbol for Indigenous language day. They also plan on taking part in sap collection on the school property, doing a Red Dress Day event for MMIW and Moose Hide Campaign.

IYC hopes to open new pathways for communication for students, parents and staff. IYC is hoping to create a page that uses newer platforms. We also hope to get our page on the

NNDSB website updated as well as our Edsby page up and running within the next month.

Student Trustee’s report

Student Trustee Nanak Sidhu reported that the past month has been busy, with the semester wrapping up, final projects being completed and students preparing for exams.

Sports teams have been in full swing, with girls’ volleyball wrapping up the regular season and boys’ basketball continuing. Badminton season has kicked off, and Nordic skiing wrapped up with strong participation from students across the board at Nipissing District Athletics (NDA).

Spirit-building activities have been organized, including Anything But a Backpack Day and Pajama Day.

Student Senate has been hard at work. The group has updated its constitution, ensuring it reflects the goals and values. Senate is also preparing for elections. The big focus is finding new ways to inspire students to take leadership roles. Senate is also making progress on planning a board-wide spirit event to bring students together and build a stronger sense of community.

Sidhu reported that he hosted the OSTA-AECO Leadership meeting on Feb. 1, and from Feb. 13-16, he’ll be attending and hosting the Education Action Conference. He says the conferences are a highlight for him because they provide the opportunity to connect with other student trustees, share ideas and develop new strategies for advocacy.

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Note: the full agenda package is posted on the website prior to meetings, and official minutes are posted after they are approved at the next Board meeting.

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025

Board passes motion for education/consolidation study re: betterment – student success and well-being

The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) passed a motion to ask the Ministry of Education to initiate a study of the existing four-school board system.

At its latest monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, NNDSB trustees passed the motion entitled Ontario School Board Efficiencies. NNDSB’s Board of Trustees agreed that they want the government to look at how to bring more resources to students, staff and schools.

“We are committed to the priorities of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) which promotes and advances high-quality, equitable, and inclusive learning environments to support student success and wellbeing,” said Board Chair Ashley St. Pierre.

The motion was brought forward by Trustee Bill Steer. Trustee Steer has served as an NNDSB trustee for seven years and is the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) Board of Directors representative for NNDSB. He is also the Chair of the Northern Region of OPSBA school boards and sits on the OPSBA executive.

The motion states: That in the interests of applying more resources to student success and well-being, the NNDSB Board of Trustees send a letter to the Minister of Education asking the Ministry to initiate, study and begin consultations regarding efficiencies within the four-school board system model. And that the NNDSB also sends a letter to OPSBA asking it to advocate the same with the Ministry of Education on its member boards’ behalf and that the letters be shared with all OPSBA member boards.

Steer said, “We are not saying how many boards there should be, we are asking the government for a comprehensive consultative study to look for opportunities that will not only identify cost savings but also create efficiencies. Regardless of background, all students can benefit from a new educational delivery system recognizing and including all existing Charter/Constitutional rights.”

“In this day of such societal diversity, awareness and acceptance of a new way of delivering public education will allow for more resources for student success and well-being for all students – incorporating culture, religion and language.

“Our health care system underwent an overhaul as mandated by the province,” he said. “So could the delivery of education. Everything in the public sector has become more expensive to deliver as an essential service.”

In 2021-22, there were approximately 2.0 million children enrolled in Ontario’s public schools across the four commonly recognized school systems. The English public school system is the largest, with 31 school boards and 1.3 million students enrolled in 2021-22, followed by the English

Catholic system, with 29 school boards and 554,739 students, the French Catholic system, with eight school boards and 76,501 students, and the French public system, with four school boards and 34,588 students. (Ontario School Boards: Enrolment, Finances and Student Outcomes, Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, 2024. https://fao-on.org/en/report/fa2207schoolboards/ )

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For more information:

Email: Chair@nearnorthschools.ca

Phone: 705-472-5398

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025

NNDSB library team named Library Professional of the Year

Every year, the Ontario Library Association (OLA) honours one exceptional individual with the Ontario School Library Professional of the Year award in recognition of leadership in the facilitation and management of a school library collection.

Nomination criteria for the award include making a positive impact on students’ and teachers’ use and attitude towards the school library learning commons, a nominee is innovative and actively works on improving student engagement and works to create a rich learning environment which promotes student engagement.

This year, OLA council members were so impressed by the work of the Near North District School Board (NNDSB) library services team the rules were modified to allow for the entire team to be nominated and by unanimous decision, the NNDSB library team was awarded Ontario School Library Professional of the Year.

NNDSB library services is comprised of four full-time secondary librarians, two librarians who divide their time between a secondary and elementary school, and seven itinerant elementary librarians who are responsible for a family of schools. In addition to the school libraries, NNDSB is also home to two classroom support centres that are responsible for creating and loaning curriculum-based resources and technology to educators.

Jessica Feick, library services and classroom support centres supervisor, said library services have evolved over the years from simply circulating books to being an integral part of the school community with many responsibilities. School librarians have worked hard to build partnerships with community libraries and work as liaisons to bring exciting new opportunities for NNDSB students. These include but are not limited to author and illustrator visits, working with community libraries on reading celebrations, and bringing in community helpers for read-alouds.

Librarians continue to keep pace with changing times by teaching digital literacy. NNDSB librarians instruct students in essential skills such as effective internet searches, how to spot “fake news”, how to use Gale databases, plagiarism, bibliographies, copyright, and critical thinking skills.

NNDSB library services offer technical support to students and staff with printing, password management, using school-based applications and audio-visual equipment. The team works hard to maintain culturally relevant collections in support of equity, diversity and student well-being.

“NNDSB library services also maintains a current and relevant virtual library with access to reputable resources to support students in their learning journey,” Feick said. “Secondary librarians also circulate technology for student use during the school day, and collaborate with other school departments to circulate textbooks and novel studies for students.”

The team’s accomplishments will be featured in the spring issue of Teaching Librarian and the team will be honoured at an award ceremony in Toronto on Jan. 30.

“Two of our team members, as well as myself, will be in Toronto during this time for a conference and will be able to attend the award ceremony. Karen Upper, who is an exceptional librarian and advocate for library, will accept the award on behalf of the team,” Feick said. “NNDSB is honoured and grateful for being selected as the Ontario School Library Professional of the Year and would like to thank the Ontario School Library Association for this wonderful award.”

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Friday, Jan. 10, 2025               

Chippewa Secondary School celebrates 10 years of excellence with International Baccalaureate program

Chippewa Secondary School is thrilled to announce the successful completion of its recent five-year evaluation, conducted by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), reaffirming its commitment to providing a world-class education. Chippewa Secondary became an IB World School in 2014.

The IB evaluation process is a five-year cycle, culminating in a review of all documents, processes and procedures, and academic and school priorities during a five-year period. This was Chippewa’s second such evaluation. The successful evaluation, conducted over 12 months, underscores the program’s adherence to the high standards set by the International Baccalaureate organization. The IB community – administrators, teaching staff, current students, alumni, and families – are all allowed to participate in the process. This comprehensive review is designed to provide the opportunity to celebrate the successes and to look for ways to continually improve.

Chippewa’s World School Manager, Remy Lemon, stated, “I would like to thank your school community for the thorough and thoughtful presentation of your self-study results. Your commitment has been evident in the review of your school’s documents and engagement throughout the process.”

The evaluation team at the IB World Schools department commended the school for its dedicated faculty, robust support systems, and overall growth and success of its IB students. The conclusions of the evaluation team noted, “Chippewa Secondary School has consistently aligned its mission and vision with the IB educational principles. This commitment is evident. [They showed] a strong focus on equity and inclusion across both curricular and extracurricular activities. The school team fosters relationships between students, teachers and the community, encouraging global perspectives and equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an evolving world.”

Next year marks the 10^th anniversary of the program at Chippewa Secondary School, with its first students entering the diploma program in 2015.

For more information about the IB program at Chippewa Secondary School, please contact Kim Larivee, IB coordinator, and check out Chippewa’s open house event, Welcome to High School, for Grade 8 students on Jan. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m.

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Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

Another successful Indigenous Youth Council Gives Back

After last year’s incredible success with the Necessities Drive, the Indigenous Youth Circle, in partnership with the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre and the Anishinabek Police Service (APS), held a Stuff the Cruiser fundraiser.

The Indigenous Youth Circle is a student organization comprised of Indigenous students from all Near North District School Board (NNDSB) secondary schools. Over the last two months, the Indigenous youth at six secondary schools across the board held various fundraisers to collect money and toys to donate to the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre for their holiday gift-giving.

Indigenous Student Trustee Riley Trudeau and NNDSB’s Indigenous Lead Kelly Nootchtai Huston joined Sgt. Chantal Larocque, Const. Justin McLeod and Const. JP Spence at the Sturgeon Falls Canadian Tire, where they collected toys and monetary donations from customers.  Over the two days, while also handing out popcorn and raffling an APS hoodie, stuffed police dog and maple syrup that was donated by a local business owner, they stuffed an entire APS truck with toys, as well as raising more than $1,282.

Stuff the Cruiser event culminated on Dec. 12, when Student Trustee Riley Trudeau and Dokis First Nation student Jacob Restoule hopped in APS cruisers driven by Sgt. Larocque and Const. McLeod. Joining them in the back seats were Indigenous Education Coordinator Amanda Mathias and Indigenous Lead Kelly Nootchtai Huston. They visited five of the six secondary schools to collect their donations and completed their travels at the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre.

Along with a $1,000 donation from Dokis First Nation and the monies procured at Canadian Tire, more than $4000 was raised.

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