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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yk1 board of trustees chair Duff Spence said last week they have yet to hear anything about a consultation schedule on board mergers Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger said would be out in the middle of January.

"To date we have not seen anything about this so-called schedule," Spence said. "He said it would be available at the middle of the month. Well, it's the middle of the month."

Spence spoke of the challenges Yk1 will face in 2009, the biggest being the amalgamation of almost 70 regional boards into six super boards. Spence also said they have requested electronic copies of all documents the refocusing committee, led by Miltenberger, used to conclude that amalgamating education, health and housing into one regional board was a good plan.

Focusing on mathematics

The Yk1 school district has put an emphasis on mathematics and improving student performance this school year.

Peter Maguire, instructional co-ordinator for Yk1, said they are focusing specifically on the teacher's role in the classroom to improve the overall results of students.

"By improving teacher instruction and assessment then we hope to get better results from our students," he said.

"We're trying to get kids to think in different ways to come to a conclusion when dealing with math. We're looking more at how they got to the answer, not so much the answer itself."

Maguire said they are testing students in math at the beginning of the year to help teachers have a better grasp of their students understanding and capabilities so they can then focus on where a student may need more guidance.

"The assessment helps to identify gaps in a students' understanding," he said. "By being able to understand where more attention needs to be paid, teachers are able to plan with a more informed mind."

School tax support deadline set

The deadline for declaring where your municipal school support tax will go is scheduled for Thursday Feb. 19.

Those who wish to specify how the City of Yellowknife distributes their municipal taxes for the 2009-2010 school year must complete the School Support Declaration form available at the Yk1 school board website before or on the due date.

Three options are available to taxpayers as to how they wish to distribute their school taxes: 100 per cent to either Yk1 or the Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS), the standard split between the two districts - 58.67 per cent for Yk1 and 41.33 per cent for YCS, or a customized split.

Residents who wish to have their school support taxes left unchanged are not required to submit any forms.