The process of developing a school calendar for the next academic year in the South East Cornerstone Public School Division is down to the small details now.
Trustees attending the public school division's meeting on Feb. 20 in Weyburn were informed that all staff members had the opportunity to provide input with regards to three school calendar options for the 2014-15 school year. The third option has received an overwhelming 81 per cent approval, said Lynn Little, deputy director for the division.
Weyburn trustee Bryan Wilson asked Little if all employees had a good opportunity to provide their preferences and input, and she responded that they did and the participation level was quite strong. She added that the three options were designed in consultation with the neighbouring Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division to provide continuity in the region.
The trustees first voted in favour of ensuring the 39 schools in the division will adhere to a five-day per week school calendar, and there was overall approval for a nine-day school break during the Christmas season and that staff and students will be able to have a one-week break in February next school year.
According to recent provincial legislation, new school year academic programs are not allowed to start until after Labour Day, which can affect the implementation of a February break.
For instance, it was noted that the next school year can accommodate that kind of holiday break due to the fact that Labour Day is early in September while the following year, it won't be, and, in fact, the school year won't be able to begin until Sept. 8. That situation means a February break may be off the board since school divisions across the province are expected to offer 950 hours of instructional education within 197 days in each school year.
Little told the Mercury that the calendar that was approved includes a fairly traditional Easter break that will include Good Friday plus the following week.
In other division news, the new education sector plan was approved with trustee Audrey Trombley noting that the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Education had been fruitful with public feedback involved in the process.
Marc Casavant, the division's director of education, pointed out the two priorities that have been embraced in the sector plan. The first priority was to frame and teach First Nations culture and history with participation from that group and with the approval of the bands and chiefs. He noted that both senior governments are now working together to provide support for the project and he added that SECPSD had already started moving in that direction last school year. He said gaining approval at the provincial ministry level "gives the program some teeth," and he added that the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) has received the introductory materials and has expressed interest in the program.
The second priority in the sector plan relates to high impact reading strategies to ensure that students entering and then exiting Grade 3 are equipped with strong reading and comprehension skills with intervention plans in place for those who might require it.
Casavant explained that studies have shown there is a strong correlation between those who are not reading well by Grade 3 and high school graduation rates further along the education stream.
Trustee Carol Flynn (Subdivision 1) said the process involved in developing the sector plan was engaging and she said while Cornerstone will have its own divisional plans, these two provincial-wide priorities are being adopted to improve student outcomes across the board.
"It was also good to see it wasn't a top down, but rather a grassroots planning process," added Trombley as the trustees voted unanimously in support of it.
Trustees Janet Foord and Elwood White were absent from the meeting due to previous obligations.
