Public school board lauds teachers

The Rainy River District School Board saluted teachers Tuesday night by paying recognition to the passing of World Teacher Day on Sunday.
Local educators Vicki Ogilvie and Allan Barr were on hand to share thoughts with the board on the important role teachers play.
“I’m what you’d call a local product,” said Barr, a teacher at Fort Frances High School. “I was inspired at some point by one of the teachers in my past to become a teacher.
“As young teachers, we hope we have some positive influence on our students,” he added, noting it’s possible a student may become a colleague down the road.
“There’s not greater satisfaction than seeing the look on a student’s face when they say, ‘Oh, I get it!’” Barr explained.
“Nothing is more important to the quality of education than the quality of our teachers,” said Linda Hill.
The board presented both Barr and Ogilvie with plaques to take to their respective unions to show its support for teachers.
In other news from Tuesday night’s meeting, Adam Fraser, a Grade 12 student from Atikokan High School, took the oath of office to become the student trustee on the board.
He won’t be able to vote on matters, but will be encouraged to bring student issues to the board for consideration.
The board also heard the personnel report from Human Resources administrator Diane Ross. A notable personnel change will see Murray Quinn, the superintendent of plant and maintenance, retire as of mid-December.
“It’s not a decision I took lightly or made easily,” Quinn told the board.
He plans on taking time to relax, but admits that he probably will never truly retire, keeping busy on various projects.
“Some time or another, we all have to retire,” added Quinn, who’s been a board employee for 35 years.
And Education Director Warren Hoshizaki gave his monthly report, suggesting that he and the board are very interested in some of the education platform issues the new Liberal government campaigned on—from full-day kindergarten and a mentoring program to hard caps on primary class sizes.
“We’re very interested in meeting with the new minister, whoever that is, as soon as possible,” he reported.
Hoshizaki also announced progress is being made connecting to the ORION broadband initiative.
“We expect to see an increase in bandwidth in our schools in the next week,” he announced, adding engineers will be installing hardware in that time.
Hoshizaki also submitted the director’s annual report to the board last night. Anyone wishing to see a copy can pick it up at any district school or at the board office next to Robert Moore School in Fort Frances.
(Fort Frances Times)