The South East Cornerstone Public School Division’s trustees discussed several topics during their final meeting of the year on Wednesday.
The meeting saw most of the board members joining via remote technology with only a few being present in the boardroom at the division’s head office in Weyburn. An upturn in COVID-19 restrictions was partially responsible for the change in format.
Chairwoman Audrey Trombley led the session from the boardroom joined by director of education and CEO Lynn Little and administration support staff, when required.
Several board members such as Tami Scott (Subdivision 4), Jim Henderson (Subdivision 3) and Kevin Keating and Eric McCrimmon (City of Estevan) provided updates on school community council meetings they attended. They brought back information on school fundraising efforts, online Christmas concerts, the Hillcrest School breakfast program and other activities.
Little reported that some school systems have moved to remote learning practices within the past few weeks as operation challenges grew due to a lack of home room teachers, education assistants and/or bus drivers. South East Cornerstone has not chosen this path.
She said she trusted the current holiday break will provide a respite for those in the education trenches and there should be a return to classroom instructional sessions on Jan. 4, 2021, as planned.
“If that changes, we’ll rely on our (contingency) plans. Right now, we are just grateful to staff and families for their efforts and support and we look forward to face-to-face delivery of education in the new year,” she said.
The Cornerstone board will conduct their next public board meeting on Jan. 20, 2021.
