Staff
The Rainy River District School Board held its monthly meeting Tuesday night at Robert Moore School.
On the agenda, trustees looked at the meaning of “optimism” via a video presentation from Sturgeon Creek School, as well as one by students from the Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program on their trip to Guatemala, where they helped build houses and visited an orphanage.
There also was a presentation by Kathy Smeeth, the board’s math co-ordinator, and teachers who have kick-started the “Job Embedded Professional Learning in Numeracy” program, which aims to help teachers teach mathematics better.
Funded by grants from the Ministry of Education and teachers’ federation, the program is giving teachers from schools across the district a chance to collaborate and build professional learning networks while improving teaching styles.
The program also has allowed for consultations with mathematics education expert Antonia Cameron and University of Windsor Prof. Sheila Windle.
The board also heard a presentation from Dianne Thompson and teachers at Crossroads School in Devlin on how the school has been implementing Critical Learning Paths as a way to engage students and improve their achievement.
During the Special Education Advisory Committee report, board chair Dan Belluz noted the board has received $5,531 for the 2008-09 school year to assist in Autism Spectrum Disorder training.
In his chairman’s report, Belluz noted he and another trustee (to be chosen at a later date) will be attending a meeting in early February in Thunder Bay concerning the province’s Governance Review Committee, which the Ministry of Education in considering establishing to address school board governance across the province.
In the Director of Education’s report, Jack McMaster noted the NOEL Oral Language project has received $1.26 million in funding from the Ontario government, and that it even will be presented at a research conference in February.
As well, $12.5 million has been approved by the province for the new Robert Moore School building project, which remains on schedule and is expected to go to tender soon.
Also Tuesday night, the board also passed a motion that saw several existing policies approved for stakeholder consultation.
Feedback for these policies must be received prior to Jan. 23.
