Nicholas Donaldson
The Northwest Catholic District School Board will receive a presentation on the 2017 Summer Learning Program during its regular monthly meeting tonight.
The meeting will take place via videoconference at the Fort Frances board office (located next to St. Francis School) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Summer Learning Program was a three-week instruction period for students from Grades 1-6 held at St. Michael’s (Fort Frances), Sacred Heart (Sioux Lookout), and St. Patrick’s (Atikokan).
The report from the three principals of these schools notes the program, which always is voluntary, focuses on literacy and numeracy to avoid learning loss over the summer months.
The program at St. Michael’s ran from Monday to Friday, from 8:30-11:45 a.m., from June 26-July 14, and was facilitated by Derek Jones and Caitlin Hyatt.
Each morning began with a breakfast for the students and family members while reading a book or using the iPad to show off their reading or technology skills.
The students then were given a picture taken of the previous day’s activities, and were able to paste the photos in their journal and write about their experiences.
This provided a writing opportunity, as well as a keepsake of the program.
Other activities included touring the Fort Frances Public Library and taking out books, baking “campfire cookies,” learning guitar, and making slime.
“It should be noted that some of the students who participated in the program were very quiet and one student, in particular, spoke very little in complete sentences,” St. Michael’s principal Kim Anderson noted in the report.
“By the end of the program, these students were actively engaged, interacting with their peers, and had strengthened their social skills,” she said.
Also at tonight’s meeting, trustees will:
•recognize the dedication and commitment of Our Lady of the Way head custodian Edith Haw for organizing the school’s “Canada 150” float in the Stratton parade last month;
•look at filling the trustee seat of Deacon Bob Grynol, who moved away from Fort Frances at the beginning of October;
•receive the final report of student achievement in 2016-2017, including EQAO results and Term II report card data;
•review EQAO student cohort tracking data on students who wrote the assessment in 2014 (while in Grade 3) compared to cohort results in 2017 (while in Grade 6); and
•receive an update on the St. Michael’s and St. Francis school consolidation build.
