Friday, March 3, 2023
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The monthly Letter to Families, distributed on the first Friday of the month, is intended to keep you apprised of news that affects all students and families of Near North District School Board (NNDSB).
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The board’s Parent Involvement Committee is hosting a webinar on equity and inclusion on Wednesday, March 8 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The session will discuss what work has been done to support equity and inclusion in the schools and board. There will also be a discussion about identity and anti-oppressive education, and the importance of ensuring all students feel accepted and have the supports in place to succeed.
For more information, please email Krista.Holmes@nearnorthschools.ca.
This is the Zoom link to the equity presentation.
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Looking for an employable trade? It’s not too late to apply to NNDSB’s custodial services certificate program. This opportunity is available to people aged 18 and older.
Participants who do not have a Grade 12 diploma can earn up to six Ontario Secondary School Diploma credits while training to become a custodian. If you are interested, you can request an educational assessment by contacting Laurentian Learning Centre, 705-472-5419 Ext. 5995. Registration closes Monday, March 6, 2023.
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We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and guardians that NNDSB uses the learning platform Edsby. Edsby is a tool that lets parents see what’s happening with their children at school, and helps families play a more active part in their children’s education.
Edsby can be accessed anytime through this page of NNDSBs website or by downloading the Edsby app.
Managing children’s absences, or safe arrivals, is one of the top priorities for schools. When a student’s absence is noted by the school, call-outs to families are automatically triggered. Families are reminded to answer these call-outs. Attendance call-outs for elementary students begin around 9:30 a.m. and secondary school call-outs begin around 10:15 a.m. All call-outs will contact each parent or guardian with access to records up to four times until a reason is provided. The automated messaging system will ask you to select a response based on whether you were aware of the absence or not. The response options are listed below; we ask that parents select the one that applies.
- Absence due to illness.
- Absence parent approved.
- Unaware of absence.
- My child is late and will be arriving soon.
- My child arrived late and should now be at school.
This process helps ensure that every child arrives to school safely. Same-day or future planned absences can be recorded by families through Edsby in lieu of calling the school directly. Simply login to your Edsby account and select either Absent Today or Schedule Absence from the right-hand panel as appropriate. Your child’s absence will be recorded and sent directly to the school. Additional guidance on submitting absences can be found here.
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NNDSB has a skilled trades bursary program that will see 11 students each receive a $1,000 bursary to pursue a post-secondary skilled trades pathway.
Students must be in Grade 11 or 12 at an NNDSB school, be facing financial or other barriers to completing their Ontario Secondary School Diploma, be enrolled in a cooperative education program and has or will earn two credits in a skilled trade placement, has plans to pursue a career in the trades and has demonstrated leadership in the skilled trade.
For more information and the application, visit this page of the board’s website.
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Nipissing Parry Sound Student Transportation Services (the Consortium), which provides school transportation for the board, now has a notification service for delays and cancellations, which started on Feb. 24, 2023.
For families to be notified, they need to:
- Create a parent account using this procedure.
- Make sure you are registered for the notifications by using this procedure.
- Verify and update your contact information.
- Wait for the notifications to come in.
If you have any questions, call 705-472-8840, ext. 213 to speak with Kyler Gaudet.
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Do you know an amazing teacher, education worker, school administrator, trustee, student or community member who deserves to be recognized for making a difference in their local school or community?
Nominations for the 2023 Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) Awards are now open. Complete the online form to submit a nomination. The nomination deadline is April 3, 2023 for all awards, except for the Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award (for Northern Ontario) which is June 7, 2023.
For complete information about the OPSBA Awards Program, click here. Please take a few moments to review the criteria for the OPSBA Awards at the link before submitting a nomination. Self-nominations are now permitted.
The OPSBA Awards include: recognition for 25 years of service in public education; students who have a sound academic record and have shown leadership in their community; to a member of the teaching profession who has contributed to education throughout Ontario; to an active or retired public school trustee for outstanding service; and to volunteers for outstanding, exemplary and/or unique contributions to the overall well-being of the school or community through in-school, board-wide, extra-curricular and/or volunteer activity. There is also an award for dedication, commitment and an outstanding contribution to education with special recognition for Northern Ontario service.
Here is the link to the nomination form.
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There has been a minor update to the School and Child Care Screening Tool, to align with current mask recommendations.
Reflecting current CMOH advice, individuals are advised to wear masks in crowded indoor public spaces, especially those at higher risk. The use of the screening tool is recommended but not a requirement and mask-wearing is a personal choice, not a mandate.
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Media partner BayToday is hosting its first annual Community Builders Award to recognize and celebrate people and organizations who make meaningful contributions to North Bay’s culture and economy.
The awards of excellence will honour individuals and organizations in the following categories: arts, economic development, education, environment, Hall of Fame, health care, legacy, sports and recreation, young leaders and unsung heroes.
Anyone can nominate a parent, teacher or staff member in the education category, and NNDSB has many young leaders worthy of being recognized.
Nominations are open now until March 10, and people can nominate here.
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In addition to staying informed via the board’s website, families can find NNDSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Sincerely,
Near North District School Board
