MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Friday, Nov. 18, 2022

Battalion players join NNDSB’s anti-bullying team

North Bay Battalion players are working with Near North District School Board (NNDSB) to create a video, lesson and activity that highlight the importance of using personal positive character traits to combat bullying. The video will support teachers in launching the conversation with their students and help children identify what their individual traits are, how those traits can be used to help others and how they support achieving their goals.

This initiative, Character Cards, is part of the board’s annual Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, Nov. 20-26. Content designed specifically for this week highlights various components of the Safe Schools Framework and incorporates lessons, resources and activities that challenge students to think about how their actions could help cultivate safety and inclusivity in their classrooms, schools and neighbourhood communities.

NNDSB sees the Battalion players as natural leaders who can help our students understand how their character traits can help them achieve their goals. Players are resilient, hardworking individuals who contribute to their team and their communities and demonstrate care and concern for others. We believe that these players are the ideal role models to support our students in identifying their own character traits and determining how they can put those traits to work to better their schools and their communities.

Players shared with the NNDSB team their own experiences about participating in bullying awareness and prevention programs.

Left winger Owen Van Steensel said that he’s happy schools are talking about bullying. He said that the Battalion talks about bullying and harassment and he feels these conversations create, “a really good environment and a safe space” for all players.

Defenceman Paul Christopoulos reiterated the importance of talking about bullying, sharing that Battalion coaches “bring in mental health and bullying awareness people to make us aware of how it affects your mental health. It’s important because it makes people aware that they have someone to talk to.”

Centre Dalyn Wakely believes all students should have access to an open line of communication to talk about bullying, whether with their teachers, friends or someone that they trust. Wakely’s advice to students who are being bullied is to “lean on the people that you trust and I’m sure they will help you.”

As part of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, students will be creating their own hockey cards that outline their character traits and how they are helpful in having positive relationships. Battalion players will be visiting NNDSB schools starting with Alliance, Sunset Park and Vincent Massey. Players will be chatting with students about their character trait hockey cards.

Creating safe, welcoming and accepting learning environments in which all NNDSB students can thrive is of utmost importance to the board. NNDSB is thankful to the Battalion players for sharing their positive character traits with students and modelling positive contributions to communities. The Character Cards initiative exemplifies NNDSB’s commitment to excellence in teaching and learning and excellence in relationships.

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For more information, please contact:

Deb Bartlett

Communications Officer

Near North District School Board

1. (705) 472-8170, extension 5010
2. Deb.Bartlett@nearnorthschools.ca

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022

Board elects Erika Lougheed as Chair at inaugural meeting

The nine trustees of the new Near North District School Board (NNDSB) were sworn in at its inaugural meeting last night. After declaring their oaths of office, trustees elected newcomers Erika Lougheed (Zone 2) as their Chair and Howard Wesley(Zone 4) as their Vice-Chair for the first year of the term. This Board will remain in office until 2026.

The Board is comprised of elected trustees Julie Ann Bertram, Chantal Phillips, Louise Sargent and Bill Steer for Zone 1, Erika Lougheed for Zone 2, Jeanie Fuscaldo for Zone 3, Howard Wesley for Zone 4 and Shane Hall for Zone 5. The Indigenous Trustee, appointed by the First Nations with which NNDSB has formal education service agreements (ESA), is Ashley St. Pierre of Moose Deer Point First Nation.

Past Chair Jay Aspin, who was not at the meeting, sent remarks that were delivered by Director of Education Craig Myles. Aspin congratulated the trustees on their election wins and encouraged them to continue the work accomplished in the past term.

Membership of trustees to the Board’s various committees was also determined and approved at last night’s meeting.

The next regular meeting of the Board takes place on Dec. 13, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.

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For more information, please contact:

Deb Bartlett

Communications Officer

Near North District School Board

1. (705) 472-8170, extension 5010
2. Deb.Bartlett@nearnorthschools.ca

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022

Senior students prepped for living independently in universal skills course at F.J. McElligott SS

Many of the skills and knowledge needed in day-to-day life are self-taught or learned the hard way through trial and error. Students in Grades 11 and 12 at F.J. McElligott Secondary School in Mattawa are getting a head start on the real-life skills they need to function as independent adults through the school’s unique universal skills class.

Teachers Keith Dillabough and Katrina Dalcourt instruct students in a wide variety of skills that aren’t typically taught in school, including household and car repairs to renewing driver’s licenses and filing taxes.

“When you become an adult and are on your own, you will need to learn these skills. Most of us have learned the hard way, through experience. Experience is a harsh teacher; it gives you the exam first and then the lesson. We are trying to give the students the lesson first,” Dillabough said.

The broad range of skills taught covers nearly all aspects of daily life. In the mechanical and household maintenance section students learns to fix things that would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars were they to hire a professional repair person. These skills include fixing a toilet, changing a spare tire, repairing holes in drywall, pest control, unclogging sinks and toilets, spotting problems in your house that need attention and ultimately when to call for help.

Students also learn about navigating the world of government and paperwork and are taught how to apply for social insurance numbers and passports, renew health cards and drivers’ licences and how employment insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), taxes and benefits work.

Managing finances is another important component of the universal skills class. Students learn how to understand lease agreements, basic contract law and consumer protection laws, credit cards and how to use them properly, and monthly budgeting.

Dillabough hopes that his students will have a leg up in life thanks to the skills they learn in the class. Like many of us he had to figure things out as he went along.

“[I learned] all of these basic life skills, mostly the hard way, through experience, but also listening to my Dad, friends, neighbours and family. I also learned to tell the knowledgeable ones from the ones who have no idea what they are talking about,” he added.

Another key component to the class is learning about mental health and wellness. Students learn about different types of coping strategies, mental health resources and agencies that can help, healthy relationships, where to be tested for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and obtain resources, and how to care for a newborn.

“The kids love it, the parents love it even more and are quick to help out with any supplies we need,” Dillabough said. “The students don’t necessarily enjoy doing everything at the time, but they will appreciate learning it later in life.”

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For more information, please contact:

Brett Hanson

Communications Coordinator

Near North District School Board

1. (705) 472-8170, extension 5083
2. Brett.Hanson@nearnorthschools.ca

Friday, Nov. 4, 2022

New EQAO assessments, reporting tools will inform efforts to close learning gaps, strengthen literacy and math skills

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) has released the results of the Grades 3 and 6 assessments of reading, writing and mathematics as well as the Grade 9 mathematics and Grade 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT).

The 2021–2022 school year marked a return to EQAO’s provincial assessment administrations, which had been paused for the prior two years. For the first time, Near North District School Board (NNDSB) students completed the new digitalized and modernized EQAO assessments. As per the Ministry of Education direction, students learning in person (and students learning remotely who wrote in person) participated in the assessments in the 2021–2022 school year.

“We wish to recognize the effort that our staff and students have put forth and the resilience they have shown throughout the COVID-19 disruptions to learning. As we work collaboratively to support learning recovery and renewal, the information generated from the EQAO assessments will help to inform our next steps at the system, school and classroom level,” said Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Melanie Gray.

The impact of the pandemic is being observed in early literacy and math achievement across grades and these results are consistent with trends that have been observed across our region and the province. The 2021-2022 EQAO results will help our board identify the areas that students need support, to ensure they catch up and are able to achieve future success.

The results will help establish a new baseline that captures the impacts of the pandemic and improvements to Ontario’s education system that have occurred since the last time the tests were administered. The 2021-2022 NNDSB results reveal an increase in the percentage of students who were successful in the OSSLT and indicate some positive outcomes in the area of Grade 6 reading and writing. Performance in math across all divisions and reading and writing in Grade 3 will continue to be a system-wide focus as we work to help our students overcome the COVID-19 disruptions to learning.

Reading and Writing

Grades 3 and 6: While results vary by school, the overall trends showed a decline in Grade 3 reading and writing achievement when compared to pre-pandemic measures. However, Grade 6 scores demonstrated positive results in both reading and writing.

• Grade 3: In 2021-2022, 62.4 per cent of Grade 3 students met the provincial standard in reading and 45 per cent of Grade 3 students met the provincial standard in writing.
• Grade 6: In 2021-2022, 79.4 per cent of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in reading and 72.6 per cent of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in writing

Grade 10: The Grade 10 literacy test is a compulsory standardized test for all secondary school students in Ontario wishing to obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. The test is based on all of the reading and writing expectations in all subjects up to the end of Grade 9. In 2021-2022, 91 per cent of first-time eligible students participated in the OSSLT and 71 per cent of them were successful.

Mathematics

Grades 3 and 6: Improving mathematics results for both primary and junior divisions will continue to be a focus for learning recovery and renewal efforts. This year, board math facilitators and school-based math facilitators have been assigned to support classroom-embedded professional learning and implement high-impact instructional practices to improve outcomes in mathematics. The district continues to work in partnership with lead educators and communities to develop responsive approaches to mathematics learning and to create engaging learning environments that will lead to improved performance for all students. In 2021-2022, 42.2 per cent of Grade 3 students and 27 per cent of Grade 6 students met the provincial standard in the EQAO mathematics assessments.

Grade 9: In 2021-2022, a new universal and de-streamed secondary mathematics curriculum was introduced. The Grade 9 EQAO assessment is now a computer-based, adaptive assessment that measures the mathematics skills students are expected to have learned by the end of the Grade 9 mathematics course. Thirty-four per cent of students who wrote the Grade 9 de-streamed math test met the provincial standard in 2021-2022.

EQAO results are just one of many assessment tools that both schools and boards use to measure and improve upon the quality of student programming and student success. The new modernized, digital assessments and reporting tools will inform efforts to close gaps in learning and strengthen literacy and math skills.

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Deb Bartlett
Communications Officer
Near North District School Board
P. (705) 472-8170, extension 5010
E. Deb.Bartlett@nearnorthschools.ca