Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, September 19, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Young women in high schools could receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine next fall, according to a group of public health nurses who presented to the Yk 1 board Sept. 11.

"We were looking to start this fall, but we still need the funding," said Amy Lea, a public health nurse who works with the schools.

Lea told the board that the vaccine is available to students, but they need to receive it at a clinic. The vaccine, approved for use in Canada in July 2006, can protect women from the four most common types of HPV, a sexually transmitted infection associated with warts and a greater risk of cervical cancer. The vaccine costs $140 a dose, and three shots are needed.

Lea said that although other provinces have already started funding the vaccine, the money won't be available in the NWT until next year.

Yk1 increases staff

The district increased its staff this year by 3.25 teachers to deal with an increase in kindergarten enrollment and to help students going into high school.

Mildred Hall school and Range Lake North school each got one extra kindergarten teacher, as the school board had a higher number of kindergarten students enrolled in those schools than expected. Metro Huculak, superintendent of the district, said they added those positions to keep class sizes down.

Yk 1 added 1.25 teaching positions to Sir John Franklin. The quarter-time position is designated to help students with high school math while the full-time position is to help students make the transition into high school.

New report cards tested at Mildred Hall

The district will test a new reporting system at Mildred Hall school this year with the intention to implement the report cards district wide.

Mel Pardy, assistant superintendent of education, said the system would outline the semester's goals, and the grading system would describe how those students met the goals rather than just giving a grade.

"Grades will not be eliminated, but parents should have a better idea of how their children are doing in each class," said Pardy.

The report cards will be issued at Mildred Hall this year as part of a pilot project. If all goes well, Pardy intends to implement the report cards district wide so that data on student success can be collected and compared across the district.