Trustees award contract for Beaver Brae Secondary School Capital Project
Media Release - March 27, 2019
At a Special Board Meeting held on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Trustees awarded Marrbeck Construction Ltd. the Beaver Brae Secondary School Capital Renovation Project.
At a total cost of $7,372,064 for Phase 1, the scope of work includes:
- A new dramatic arts room that includes telescopic seating for up to 150 people, as well as a new performance stage and theatre sound and lighting to accommodate the currently fastest growing program at the school
- A large visual arts studio with lots of open space and natural light
- A new welding/manufacturing shop
- Relocation of Beaver Brae’s popular Bike Shop to improve external access to the program and storage
- Upgraded Food and Nutrition/Hospitality space with new equipment to accommodate high demand for those programs
- Fully upgraded state of the art Communications Technology lab including a video broadcasting studio and green room, photo studio for digital photography and a new computer lab layout
- A new fitness and weight room more than double the size of the current space to support personal fitness among students and staff
- Upgraded cafeteria with new layout including booths and charging stations
Phase 1 of the capital project work at Beaver Brae will begin in late April. Phase 2 of capital project work at the school will upgrade the parking lot and athletic field and improve accessibly at the school.
Tracey Benoit, Principal of Beaver Brae Secondary School, stated “We are incredibly excited for our renovation to begin. Although it may cause some disruptions over the next while, we know that it will be worth it. Not only will our students benefit from upgraded learning spaces, but our community and local partnerships will reap the benefits as well. We see Beaver Brae as an extension of our community and look forward to sharing the space with our partners. Our staff and students were fortunate to have been able to provide their input and be a part of the design process as it was important for all to have a voice …it’s really exciting! Our teachers have created highly engaging programs and it will be rewarding to see these programs continue to grow and thrive in their new spaces. We look forward to the end result as we will have a new school to proudly highlight our students’ work.”
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Letter to Families - Potential Student Walk-Out on April 4, 2019
Dear Families, Parents and Guardians, and Students,
We are aware of the potential of a provincial act of civil disobedience in the form of a “walk-out” tomorrow (April 4, 2019, at 1:15 pm) by students across Ontario to protest proposed changes to education following recent announcements by the Ontario government. To be clear, our intention is not to condone nor deny our students their individual expression of a right to protest, but rather to provide you with information.
We wanted to clarify with families that the walk-out is not a Keewatin-Patricia District School Board sanctioned event. It is our expectation as a school board that our students will attend their regularly scheduled classes the afternoon of April 4; however, it is not our intention to prevent students from participating in this planned action. Any students not in attendance in their classes will be marked as absent as per our school board policies, and families will be notified accordingly as per usual.
Our top priority is always the safety of our students and the planned walk-out raises concerns around student safety, especially if students plan to go off-site. Please be aware that we cannot, and will not provide supervision of students off-site as classes will be in session, and any student action will be deemed to be outside of the scope of the KPDSB. Should an elementary student leave the school property without parental consent, we will contact the family as per our policies.
As a Board, we would encourage parents and guardians to use this potential action as a learning opportunity. You might consider initiating a conversation with your child(ren) to discuss why a student may choose to participate in such actions; in other words, what it means to participate in an event like this. There are many ways students can voice their concerns and we believe it’s an important conversation for families to have.
Should you have any questions, we ask that you please contact your school’s principal.
With Regards,
Sean Monteith
Director of Education and Chief Executive Officer
Keewatin-Patricia District School Board
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April Board Meeting - Trustees learn about entrepreneurship programming in schools, receive learning technologies update
Media Release - April 11, 2019
Trustees met at the Kenora Education Centre on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, for a regular Board Meeting.
The April Kids Come First presentation titled ‘Valleyview Entrepreneurship Program’ was received by Trustees. Lisa Achilles, Principal of Valleyview Public School, Valleyview students, and Cierra Parkhill, Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation (LOWBIC), shared their recent learning with Trustees. Valleyview Public School has introduced a focus on business and entrepreneurship in partnership with LOWBIC through the Head Start in Business program. The goal of the program is to create learning environments that expose students to entrepreneurship experiences. The creativity and experiences shared by the students through programs like Be a Business Bee (Kindergarten-Grade 2), Create a Business Logo (Grades 3-6), and Kids Invent Program (Grade 6), impressed the Board of Trustees. With programs also available for intermediate and secondary students, there is no shortage of opportunities for program expansion in KPDSB schools. Components of the program are also available in French to support French Immersion students. Trustees thanked the presenters and expressed their hope to see more of this programming in schools in the future.
Jason McDonald, Learning Technologies Administrator, and Alexander McEachern, Technology-Enabled Learning and Teaching Contact, presented an update on the 2017-2020 KPDSB Learning Technologies Strategic Plan. Currently, in the second year of the three-year plan, technology-enabled learning has continued to expand and be available to students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Key components of the plan include:
- The introduction of more than 400 Chromebooks in all primary grades with purposeful planning as to which applications will best meet student learning needs.
- The implementation of the G Suite set of educational tools from Google to support online classroom environments that allow for access to learning anytime and anywhere.
- Leveraging technology to collaborate across the region and beyond using video conferencing software that enables teachers to bring experts from various fields into classrooms, and helps students to develop global connections with students all over the world.
- Fostering creativity and critical problem-solving skills in students across the Board including providing more STEAM-focused learning opportunities through hands-on Makerspaces, computer coding and robotics.
- Integrating design technology into schools like 3-D printers and plasma cutters that allow students to learn with industry-standard tools.
- Ensuring on-going professional learning for staff through Learning Technology Champions at each elementary and secondary school who work with the Technology Enhanced Learning Teacher to mobilize and support the purposeful integration of technology for teaching and learning.
Richard Findlay, Superintendent of Business, presented an update on the KPDSB’s migration to new financial/accounting software called Sparkrock. Implementation began in October 2018 with a planned go-live date of July 1, 2019. Benefits provided by Sparkrock include cloud-based accessibility from anywhere with internet, timely and accurate financial reporting resulting in more informed decision making, and electronic approval routing for invoice payments, purchase orders and expense claims, making financial processes much more efficient and streamlined.
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KPDSB Welcomes New Trustee to Represent the Interests of Indigenous Students, Highlights Kindergarten Programming
Media Release - February 20, 2018
Trustees met at Dryden High School on Tuesday, February 13, for a regular board meeting.
The February Kids Come First presentation titled ‘Kindergarten Program Report’ was received by Trustees. Dawn-Marie Terry, Kindergarten Teacher, and Melissa Bradley, Early Childhood Educator (ECE), are one of the Kindergarten Teams at Open Roads Public School and they brought some of their former students to talk to the Trustees about their experiences in Kindergarten. Trustees were pleased to hear the students talk about their inquiry based learning, including how their teachers encouraged them to explore and take their learning outside, and the importance of relationships in the Kindergarten programs. For more information on our Kindergarten programs, please visit www.buddysystem.ca. Kindergarten Registration Week for the KPDSB is February 26 to March 2 and all of our public schools are currently accepting registrations, both online at Buddy System, and in person at any of our schools.
Eric Bortlis was sworn in as Trustee to Represent the Interests of Indigenous Students. Bortlis was sworn in by Director of Education, Sean Monteith, for a term ending on November 30, 2019. Bortlis has served as Director of Professional Development for Teach for Canada and is currently Education Director for Lac Seul First Nation which represents the biggest education services agreement partner of all community partners and tribal councils with the KPDSB. The Board of Trustees welcomed Bortlis and expressed their eagerness to working closely with him during his term.
Monteith stated “We welcome Eric to the Board and are excited to have a person with his experience and leadership working actively in multiple education settings in First Nation schools. We are very pleased to have such an active and competent leader in Indigenous Education on the Board.”
Caryl Hron, Superintendent of Education, and Sarah Stevenson, Director of Integrated Social Services for the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) presented the Early Learning Partnership Report. As the Ontario Ministry of Education works to create 100,000 more child care spaces, a focus on expanding child care and EarlyON programs into schools to provide better access to services for children and families has allowed the KPDSB and KDSB to continue to grow their partnership as both organizations work to support area families.
Following successful renovations during the first round of funding, which included new child care spaces at both King George VI and Evergreen Public Schools in Kenora, as well as playground renovations at New Prospect Public School in Dryden and Sioux Mountain Public School in Sioux Lookout, the second round of funding to retrofit schools to accommodate both child care and EarlyON will be completed in three phases:
- Phase One – Dryden Area - During the first phase, child care programs from The Dryden Children’s Resource Centre were relocated to New Prospect and Open Roads Public Schools. Open Roads Public School also had space renovated to create a new kitchen space to support the programming, while New Prospect will receive a new outdoor playground space (to be completed in the spring).
- Phase Two – Sioux Lookout Area - During the second phase, child care programs from Norah Love Children’s Centre in Sioux Lookout will be relocated to Sioux Mountain Public School. Renovations of classrooms at Sioux Mountain will be required to accommodate the additional programming, as well as renovations to the school’s existing kitchen, and the creation of a new outdoor playground space for the programs.
- Phase Three – Kenora Area - During the third phase, child care programs from Cameron Bay Children’s Centre in Kenora will be relocated to Evergreen Public School (Toddler Program) and Keewatin Public School (Preschool Program).
Richard Hodgkinson, Principal of Dryden High School (DHS), introduced a group of teachers who recently participated in the first Teacher’s Tour in the region, put on by the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) through a partnership with Domtar. The professional development opportunity was offered to teachers in late October. The tour provided teachers with an opportunity to participate in classroom sessions as well as tour active harvest operations while participating in hands on activities. Participants were then provided with teaching kits, activities and other materials that fit into the Ontario curriculum. All of the teachers spoke positively of the experience, and saw connections for their students in the Forestry industry, from careers in trades, to science and technology.
Trustees approved the 2018-2019 School Year Calendar. Following two rounds of community consultation, including a survey of families across the region, the calendar has a school start date of September 5, 2018 (historically school has started before Labour Day in the region). The calendar will now be sent to the Ministry of Education for final approval. To view the 2018-2019 School Year Calendar, and results of the survey, please click here.
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