The Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division received the Viable School Report for 2016 during their October meeting. Lynn Little, director of education for Cornerstone, presented the report, which included student enrolment numbers of schools across the system where enrollment numbers are lower than those outlined in board policy 14 which aligns with provincial legislation.
Trustee Harold Laich explained that viable schools was a topic of discussion at the annual strategic planning meeting held during the summer, with respect to looking at the criteria the board has for determining whether or not a school is viable. At that meeting there was consensus among the board to address the topic again once the fall board election had taken place and a new board is in place. In light of this, the board did not have any schools to put forward for review at this time.
Also during the Cornerstone meeting, Little presented a monitoring report on system goal two, which states “Our Students Achieve at High Levels.” It was reported that at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 school year, Cornerstone students were above the provincial average in 75 per cent of subjects and that for students self-declaring as First Nations or Métis 71.4 per cent were above the provincial average. In addition, reading data results for Grade 1, 2 and 3 reading levels and data on Aimsweb reading targets for Grade 4 to 8 were also provided.
Two schools presented stories of how their students where achieving at high levels. Yellow Grass School administrator Michael Graham and students Kennedy Strickland and Kenna Tessier shared successes realized through their involvement in an integrated project between Science, PAA and Career Ed that they completed. Blueprints and a business plan for a new toy were prepared and submitted to the Spin Master Games contest.
Kennedy and Kenna were elated when informed that their design was one of the five finalist toys selected nationwide, and subsequently the only one in Saskatchewan. Both students, wore their Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) hoodies, and shared their experience of attending the Fair in Montreal in May where they presented their toy idea.
As well, attending from Estevan were administrators Doug Stallard and Loni Hollingshead, along with teacher Robyn Ruzicka and speech-language pathologist Susan Swirski who shared the progress of students in the Kindergarten program at Spruce Ridge School. Ruzicka led the presentation and focused on the variety of activities and initiatives that were done with the students throughout the year to achieve the significant increase in the Early Years Evaluation (EYE) results of their students. She gave a thorough overview of the program including the new format for the orientation to Kindergarten, the significance of planning ahead, and being prepared and flexible.
In addition, she emphasized the importance of the support team which included school division staff and parents. Ruzicka highlighted the success of the use of digital portfolios through the Seesaw app, which enables students to take ownership of their learning, provides immediate feedback for students and parents as well as co-teachers and helps students and teachers in their reflections on their learning experiences.
The report also included data on phonological awareness and the EYE which provides a framework for assessing the developmental strengths and areas for growth of children at the start of school, assesses five domains of early learning and informs teaching in the classroom.
