The trustees of the South East Cornerstone Public School Division accepted three presentations on May 16 as part of their regular board meeting agenda.
Jeff St. Onge, a Moosomin principal, was first up with a report on his recent visit to Toronto to accept an award as one of Canada's 51 Outstanding Principals this past year.
St. Onge noted the alumni group consists of 260 former winners over a nine-year stretch.
In a sometime emotional thank you to the board, St. Onge stated he was most appreciative of the fact that the Cornerstone board provided so much encouragement and support as well as recognition of the award.
"I was one of just four principals out of the 51 to actually receive a letter of acknowledgement and congratulations from my board, and that means a lot to me," he said.
The award week included some intensive leadership training sessions delivered by captains of industry and administration through the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. The five days of professional development, he said, were the most rewarding sessions he had ever attended. Under the U of T's executive leadership structure at the Rotman School, it included lectures and workshop sessions with celebrities of the business world.
St. Onge said he had been able to bring back some of the dynamic lessons he had learned during the week to share with other leadership personnel in the division.
Joanne Jensen of Weyburn then outlined the award she received from the Canadian Student Leadership Association following Weyburn's hosting of a recent student leadership conference. She accepted her accolades in front of 275 student advisers, she said. The 20-year veteran of student representative council counselling said the award and workshops are carried out in partnership with Heritage Canada and are focused on encouraging greater participation by students in leadership roles.
She has now been appointed as a consultant for the next Canadian Student Leadership Conference which is slated for Prince Edward Island next summer as well as being a national co-ordinator for the accompanying trade fair.
"It's people like this who make our division a successful one," said Estevan trustee Janet Foord after listening to the two presentations.
The third presentation was an update report from Early Learning and Care co-ordinator Sandi Kaltt and regional counsellor Karen Thompson.
Klatt brought information to the table regarding registration increases and program additions to accommodate the changing demographics.
The central focus of the project is "readiness for kindergarten," said Klatt with a target of having 90 per cent of the early childhood program children registering above the 25 percentile of students registering for kindergarten.
"We want them to be emotionally ready, we want their cognitive skills and motor skills to be at a level where they can be transitioned into kindergarten," Klatt said.
She noted that 25 per cent of the young students who continue to struggle with reading skills by the time they reach Grade 3, will struggle throughout their school careers. That is why early intervention from age 3 and up is important.
"It's not there to label children, but rather to tell us where to target support and we do some of that with home visits before school," said Klatt.
The program started with 31 youngsters in 2011 and the caseload is now 63 with the average age of the young participants being just under three years.
Thompson's section of the presentation focused on successes that have been achieved with First Nations and Metis children through a strong play and early learning program. She provided examples of how 15 First Nations youngsters are getting a head start through early recognition of their learning challenges.
"It's challenging but obviously rewarding work," said chairman Harold Laich in thanking the two educators for their presentation.
"It's good to see a relationship developing within the First Nations in a non-threatening environment. It's good to see you are welcomed into the homes," said trustee Janet Foord.
"This gives hope to the parents and progress for the children," Laich said in conclusion.
