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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