 |
|
|
|
|
|
YK1 School Board briefs Provincial testing workshops Laura Busch Northern News Services Published Friday, January 18, 2013
"We have strong areas and we have weaker areas so we want to make sure we have a plan on how to improve on our weaker areas," said Yk1 superintendent Metro Huculak. Normally, students who are two or more years behind their grade level do not write the achievement tests, however Yk1 will not follow that practice this year, said Huculak. "We're going to have as many students write this June as possible," he said during Monday's board meeting. Two facilitators - Kelly Rota for math and Ray Shapka for language arts - will be brought in from Alberta to work with teachers. A workshop for Grade 9 math and language arts teachers will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, while workshops for grade 6 and 9 teachers are scheduled from 3:30 to 6 p.m. and from 6:30 to 9 p.m. "This one we're not forcing. It's by invitation because it's on the teachers' own time," Huculak told Yellowknifer. School board retreat Yellowknife Education District No. 1 will hold its annual school board retreat from Feb. 8 to 10. To save funds, the meetings will be held at the Yk1 office in Yellowknife, said superintendent Metro Huculak. "We sometimes go to the Explorer (Hotel) but the board decided to have it here so the costs will be minimal," he said. Along with board members, the deputy minister of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will be present along with other department staff. Discussions during the retreat will include an update from the deputy minister on how the upcoming territorial budget might impact the school board, said Huculak. "What is the budget going to look like, whether there is going to be another claw-back of inclusive (education), money for early childhood," he said of funding topics. The main purpose of the retreat is to plan for the year ahead and set priorities, said Huculak.
Maintenance issues Frigid winter temperatures are pushing some school infrastructure to its limits, supervisor of facilities Elvis Beaudoin told the Yk1 board at Monday's meeting. On Christmas Day, heavy black smoke was observed coming from J.H. Sissons School. The city fire department attended the scene but no fire was found in the school's chimney. The smoke was found to be caused by a loose screw and a wrong valve type on one of the school's two boilers, stated Beaudoin in his report. These problems have since been fixed. This is just one of several examples of maintenance issues that have cropped up over the winter, said Beaudoin. "We can't put Band-Aids on these things anymore, especially when it comes to heating systems this time of year," he said. Trustee Terry Brookes agreed, saying it's imperative schools are kept in proper operating order. He suggested the board ask MLAs for more financial assistance for maintenance because the schools are GNWT facilities. "I think it's something we should bring up with MLAs and be more forceful on," he said. Student artwork on display N.J. Macpherson arts teacher Sean Daly made a presentation to the board of trustees Monday thanking them for the funding that makes art, music and drama classes possible at his school. Daly brought three students along with him to present some of their artwork to the board. Grade 1 student Jesse McKeddie explained his creation: a toothy monster swimming in his natural habitat. Grade 3 student Brianna Brenton also explained her piece, which depicts a scenic waterfall at sunset. Finally, Jenaya Hanninen, in Grade 5, displayed her drawing of a duck swimming through a pond, which was then hung on the wall in the Yk1 boardroom.
|
