Yellowknife (Aug 27/03) - Doors opened today for Yellowknife's Catholic school students and staff are ready for an expected 8 per cent increase in enrolment.

"Early indications show we are up over 100 new students," said Kern Von Hagen.

Public schools open next Tuesday, after the Labour Day long weekend.

"I think we will still have the same March break," said Von Hagen, adding public schools may run slightly longer at the end to compensate.

The superintendent of Yellowknife Catholic Schools attributes much of the enrolment increase to Yellowknife's economic boom.

"It's exciting," said Von Hagen. "We are obviously growing and a lot of good things are happening. But the strength of the staff is the highlight. They are second to none."

Jodie Worden, a physical education teacher at Ecole St. Joseph School, is excited about her first year as a full-time teacher.

"I had to take time to learn the curriculum, as well as the policies and procedures the Board has," said Worden, who worked as a supply teacher in Yellowknife for the past year.

Worden explained that in the past, classroom teachers were responsible for incorporating and instructing gym class themselves, but they now have the advantage of having a full-time phys-ed instructor.

"As a specialist, our job is slightly different than a classroom teacher," said Worden. "I get to focus mostly on gym."

The outline for instructing physical education is based on the Alberta learning curriculum. Religion and health are the only subjects that do not follow the Northwest Territories curriculum.

"It is set out with four specific outcomes," said Worden. "We set these ground rules for the students, including how they can achieve an active lifestyle and benefit their well-being"

Along with gym, Von Hagen explained the importance of focusing on literacy and numeracy in the school.

"We are also working on thematic integration at the primary level," said Von Hagen.

That involves integrating more languages, art and math, while not compromising the social service units.