During an opening round table discussion at Wednesday’s South East Cornerstone Public School Division meeting, several trustees noted their attendance at various graduation events.
The events were staged in the form of community walking parades, cruise nights and family opportunities, since formal graduation ceremonies had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic or held virtually.
Communities that had Grade 12 graduates to salute chose various ways to carry out the celebrations.
The board members themselves were meeting in the head office conference room in Weyburn for the first time in four months following the shut down of traditional sessions in favour of online meetings that became a requirement due to the Health Ministry’s restrictions.
Meetings and social gatherings are now allowed with some restrictions still being applied that limit the number of participants at each venue.
Also, a portion of the school property in Gladmar is being sold. The $1 purchase price is being paid by the RM of Surprise Valley.
SECPSD board members said they were not certain what the RM had in mind for the property that once housed a community centre, but agreed to the sale since the property was no longer required for educational purposes.
Shelley Toth, chief financial officer for the division, said provincial regulations allow for this type of transaction without requiring a formal bidding or tender process.
The evaluation of director of education Lynn Little has been completed with the director having shown she was in compliance with all requirements for the position. With that knowledge in mind, and having been involved in the evaluation process, the board issued a motion of acceptance and conclusion of the evaluation project.
The 2020-21 school calendar for SECPSD has been tweaked just a bit to accommodate the upcoming election in October.
The board approved a motion to make Oct. 26 a non-instructional day so school facilities can be used for election day polling station requirements
Oct. 5 had been designated as a non-instructional day in the original calendar. It had been set to be a professional development day for educators. It will now be assigned as a full instructional day for students so that no classroom time is lost in the process.
Since there are local and regional elections pending this fall, the local public school division has determined that once again Toth will serve as the official returning officer for the upcoming public school board election process, if required.
Little and Keith Keating, deputy director of education, informed the board that most of the teachers required to fill upcoming vacancies, have been hired.
“The list is mostly complete,” said Little.
There are 23 educators in the division who have given notice of retirement or departures.
Keating added that temporary openings have been filled for the most part and both noted there will again be a teacher internship program in the southeast public school system again this fall.
“Some interns show interest in certain areas such as ours, so we welcome the opportunity,” said Keating.
