Board News: Tuesday, September 26, 2017
September 27, 2017
Presentation: Every Child Matters – Orange Shirt Day
District Principal of Aboriginal Education Michael Morgan and the District’s Red Hawk Drummers providing some context and information on Orange Shirt Day and how the students of Langley were participating in various events on Friday, September 29th. Programs around the district include assemblies, ‘reconciliation walks’ and art and literacy projects. The Board of Education and District staff present at the meeting chose to wear Orange Shirts and voice their support of the event.
Superintendent’s Reports
The Year Ahead 2017-2018
Superintendent Gord Stewart provided the Board an overview of the educational initiatives that are underway for the coming year. Mr. Stewart also shared some information regarding school start-up. To start, Mr. Stewart shared an exercise the District Support Team participated in that had memebers writing messages outlining their hopes for the coming year in sidewalk chalk outside the School Board Office. Messages included “I hope ALL students know how much we care about them” and “That everyone is welcome” and similarly themed comments.
Mr. Stewart also updated the Board on various issues regarding the re-implementation of local contract language regarding class size and composition this September. There have been numerous challenges in finding qualified teachers and hiring efforts have been ongoing for quite some time now. New positions and postings have been changing and filling quickly. The HR department continues to actively search for, and hire, quality teachers.
Summer Session 2017
Superintendent Gord Stewart introduced Principal of Summer Programs Ron Start and Vice Principal Cathy Gracie to provide a re-cap on the recent summer sessions offered in Langley. Overall registration for the summer sessions was in line with previous years and a slight increase in enrolment for elementary/middle sessions and a slight decrease in secondary programs, likely due to having to host programs at BSS and WGSS instead of the more central LSS (LSS is undergoing renovations). Summer sessions allow students to participate in ELL programs, enrichment programs and exploration programs. There are also some remedial programs but the focus for ‘summer school’ has certainly changed in recent years and many families in Langley are interested in having their children take part in these programs.
Naming of New Willoughby Area Secondary School
Construction is now underway for the new Willoughby area secondary school and therefore it is time for the Board to begin the process for naming of the new school. The school will be located at 7633 – 202A Street with a capacity for 1,500 students. Naming new schools falls under Policy No. 4004 – Naming of Schools and submissions will be accepted in the Secretary Treasurer’s office until October 30th, in time for the Board to consider options before the December meeting of the Board. To find more information and download a submissions form, visit this link.
Secretary Treasurer’s Reports
Action Items: Five Year Capital Plan 2017-2018
The Ministry of Education requires school districts to submit annually a Five-Year Capital Plan which is
intended to prioritize the district’s investment decisions related to capital projects. The Capital Plan
submitted in the districts’ 2017/2018 school year will have approvals for the Ministry’s fiscal year
2018/2019. See the presentation for a detailed list of the projects that are included and updated within the Five Year Capital Plan.
Information Items: Enrolment Report Update
During the school year start up, the District receives updated enrolment projections from all schools which provides an update on the FTEs in each school. These numbers are preliminary and will be confirmed September 30, 2017, when the 1701 count is finalized and the numbers that determine funding from the Ministry are known. Based on the counts provided by schools to date, the numbers show an increase in enrolment of 231 FTE compared to budget projections.
See the presentation for a table of enrolment information.