News and Announcements

The Near North District School Board is deeply committed to providing French as a Second Language (FSL) learning opportunities to students across all regions of our district.

This Winter, we invite parents and guardians of current and future elementary students to attend a French as a Second Language information session.

Sessions will be hosted in the following schools:

• Sunset Park Public School – February 26th @ 6:00 p.m.
• Parry Sound Public School – March 11th @ 6:00 p.m.
• Mattawa Public School –  CANCELLED due to COVID-19

Families in attendance will have opportunities to:

• Learn more about French as a Second Language Programming and Pathways;
• View a presentation about the French Immersion and Extended French programs – including a vignette of classroom experience (short video);
• Develop an awareness of the benefits of French as a Second Language learning;
• Visit an Early Learning Kindergarten classroom;
• Register for the program.

Families may complete the French Immersion program registration package during the information session.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Kindergarten is an investment in our future. The Near North District School Board is pleased to offer a two year Kindergarten program.

Establishing a strong foundation in the early years will give Ontario’s four- and five-year-olds a stronger start with their learning. It will help improve their reading, writing and math skills, provide a smoother transition to Grade 1 and help increase their success in school and beyond.

We are very excited to welcome your child to our schools in September. Our team of educators provide an excellent kindergarten program that will motivate your child to be his or her best!

In the Spring, Near North families will receive an invitation for a “Welcome to Kindergarten” session where you and your child will participate in playful experiences together with educators and early learning community partners as you become familiar your school community and the Kindergarten Program. These hands-on experiences are supported with a package full of books, crayons, magnetic letters and numbers and other learning materials for you and your child to enjoy together beyond the orientation session.

In Near North District School Board’s Early Learning Kindergarten an average of 26 JK/SK students attend all day, everyday with one teacher. and one Early Childhood Educator (ECE).  Classrooms with under 16 children will only be staffed with one teacher.

AGE REQUIREMENT FOR SEPTEMBER 2020 REGISTRATION

Junior Kindergarten – children must be 4 years of age on or before December 31, 2020.
Senior Kindergarten – children must be 5 years of age on or before December 31, 2020.

REGISTRATION

A list of schools offering the English Kindergarten Program can be found by clicking here.  A list of schools offering the French Immersion Program can be found by clicking here.

Please visit our Registration page for more information.

I am pleased to share this update as part of our commitment to ongoing communication with stakeholders, including our parent community.

For those that were able to attend, we wish to once again thank you for taking the time to meet with the Joint School Council at their meeting recently held at West Ferris Secondary School. A reminder that the next Joint School Council meeting is scheduled at Chippewa Monday, March 2, 2020 at 6:30 pm (in the school library).  This meeting is open to all community members should you wish to attend.

The course selection process at each of the three high schools involved in the 3-2 Consolidation is almost completed.  In addition, school leaders have met with students at our intermediate feeder schools of Fricker, Phelps, and M.T. Davidson to ensure that they are aware of the educational opportunities available in our system. While the process began in early December and is almost complete, it is important to note that it is a fluid process that will continue until the beginning of the new school year in September 2020.

Further to the above programming progress, the NNDSB Board of Trustees have allocated funds to begin renovations to classrooms and facilities necessary to accommodate the programming and enrollment changes for September 2020.

Moving forward staff will be focusing on the following:

• Preparing transition activities for students as they move from their current schools into either Chippewa or West Ferris.
• Ensuring that students with special education needs remain a priority.
• Timetabling schools based on student course selection.
• Staffing based on student needs and school program selection.

The success of our students through the delivery of equitable and inclusive high-quality education remains a priority. The innovative programs being offered at Chippewa and West Ferris are a key component of this mandate and we welcome any questions or concerns that you may have in terms of meeting the needs of our students.   Please continue to contact your school with anything that may assist you as we work through this process.   It is imperative that this initiative maintains a student-based focus. Ongoing feedback and communication is a key component of this.

We will provide further information as we move through this transition period.  Thank you for your continued support.

Craig Myles
Director of Education

December 20, 2019 – Today the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will refresh the Data Catalogue to include 2018-2019 drinking water data for facilities regulated under Ontario Regulation 243/07: Schools, Private Schools and Child Care Centres.

Data included in this release of information identifies the following schools within the Near North District School Board as having a flushed lead test result that had exceeded Ontario’s drinking water quality standard for lead (10 micrograms per litre) “at one point in time” during the period of April 2018-March 2019:
· Alliance
· Chippewa; and
· Parry Sound High School

When any exceedances are identified, facilities must take immediate action to correct. Given immediate corrective action is always taken by staff, we are pleased to report that the Near North District School Board is 100% in compliance with legislation and does not have any schools and facilities exceeding any limits at this point in time.

With the new legislation that was introduced July 1, 2017- Boards are required to test every drinking water fixture that provides water to children in school and childcares over a three-year period for elementary schools and a four-year period to secondary schools. All such drinking water fixtures for elementary have been 100% tested. Given secondary schools have a four-year time frame for such testing there only remains three faucets to be tested at the secondary panel.

Please see the attached as additional information:
Drinking Water and Lead Fact Sheet – English
Drinking Water and Lead Fact Sheet – French
FAQ – English
FAQ – French

NORTH BAY MEETING RESCHEDULED

The Ministry Advisor North Bay Public Meeting has been rescheduled as follows:

North Bay:

Date:                     Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Time:                     7 pm- 9 pm

Location:              Chippewa Secondary School Auditorium,  539 Chippewa St., North Bay, ON.

The Near North District School Board is committed to enhancing its service to students, parents and stakeholders within its jurisdiction.  That commitment led the Board to request special support from the Minister of Education.  The Ministry of Education has agreed to the request and assigned two Special Advisors to work with the Near North District School Board.

The Special Advisors’ mandate is to provide the Minister of Education with advice and recommendations about how the Near North District School Board can improve its governance, human resources practices and financial accountability role to support and improve public confidence in the board and in Ontario’s publicly funded education system.

A Parent/Community Survey was completed during Mid-October and the results have been collated.  The Special Advisors would like to share the results of the survey with the broader public.  They would also like to solicit your best thinking with respect to potential solutions/recommendations for consideration.

With that in mind there will be public meetings as follows:

Parry Sound:

Date:                     Thursday Nov 28, 2019

Time:                     7 pm- 9 pm

Location:              Parry Sound High School Cafeteria, 111 Isabella Street, Parry Sound, ON.

For additional information please contact the Information/Communication Officer Mairghread Knought at: (705) 472-8170 ext. 5010 or  Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

 

Over the past several months, NPSSTS staff have been planning student transportation for the 2019-2020 school year on behalf of over 11,000 eligible students in the Nipissing and Parry Sound Districts.  The NPSSTS is planning to release route information tentatively on August 12th 2019 through our website.  Parents and students will then be able to access the transportation details including pick up and drop off times and locations.

To best ensure the safety and security of students, it is mandatory that they appear on the Route Manifest.  Those who do not appear on the manifest will not be permitted onto the bus.

It is imperative that parents verify their child’s bussing details to ensure that they are included on the route manifest on that very special day; the first day of school.

Parents are reminded to go to www.npssts.ca beginning August 12th 2019 to ensure that their child’s transportation details are accurate and contact their respective School Board Office or the NPSSTS should there be any issues.