[0:06] Are we good?

[0:07] >> I got to wait 10 seconds

[0:27] there. It's six o'clock. Thanks

[0:28] everyone. Silly D. It's the best class

[0:31] ever. I'd like to call the meeting to

[0:33] order at 6 p.m. Board of Education is

[0:36] committed to providing a safe and

[0:37] respectful environment. The board

[0:39] expects all participants to model

[0:40] respectful communication in order to

[0:42] foster positive relationships and build

[0:44] understanding between all school

[0:46] district partners. Trustees as members

[0:48] of the corporate board shall act

[0:50] prudently, ethically, and legally in

[0:52] keeping with requirements of provincial

[0:54] legislation. This includes proper use of

[0:57] authority and appropriate decorum in

[0:58] terms of group and individual behavior.

[1:01] Trustees will ensure their comments are

[1:02] issue based and not personal, demeaning,

[1:05] derogatory or disparaging with regard to

[1:07] board staff or fellow trustees,

[1:09] including comments made to media or news

[1:11] outlets. At this time, I'd like to

[1:13] acknowledge the traditional territory.

[1:15] We respectfully acknowledge that school

[1:17] district 57 resides in the unseated

[1:19] ancestral lands of the clay lake first

[1:21] nations of Prince George.

[1:24] Mloud Lake Indian Band Mloud Lake

[1:25] McKenzie and the Seers Nation of the

[1:27] Rosson Valley. It is our honor to walk

[1:30] alongside our indigenous communities and

[1:31] educating our students. As we gather

[1:34] tonight, it certainly feels like the

[1:36] changing of seasons and it we'll be

[1:38] doing our elections later and uh it does

[1:41] feel like a time of change. I started my

[1:43] day off today being retired sipping tea

[1:46] and watching some deer graze along our

[1:48] back fence. And it is kind of neat

[1:50] seeing two dos and two fawns that's

[1:52] thinking about what they're teaching

[1:53] their young ones and then the work that

[1:55] we do here uh collectively as a board

[1:58] but also for all of those few that help

[2:00] with the the dayto-day. So thank you to

[2:02] everybody. Um and again we're lucky to

[2:04] be here and share in this good work. So

[2:06] thank you.

[2:08] Uh I would like to trustees get the

[2:11] approval of the agenda recommended

[2:13] motion the agenda be approved as

[2:14] presented. Can I get that moved? Trusty

[2:16] McCory, second to Trusty Holland. And

[2:18] all in favor, [clears throat] that is

[2:20] unanimous. Thank you, trustees. And for

[2:22] everybody, just to note, you notice

[2:24] Superintendent Aiz is not here today.

[2:26] I've got him home resting. He has a cold

[2:29] and we want him to get better. We wish

[2:31] him all a speedy recovery. And thanks to

[2:33] other staff for stepping up tonight and

[2:35] helping with presentations and the

[2:37] running of the meeting. So, thank you.

[2:39] Uh, school district news. I believe

[2:40] Trusty Holland, you had something you'd

[2:42] like to share.

[2:45] Yes, I thank I did. Thank you, chair.

[2:47] Um, as the trusty rep for the PTSs

[2:50] family of schools, I got to go read a

[2:52] book to a kindergarten class at Pine

[2:54] View Elementary and answer some

[2:56] questions. Um, I do need to work on

[2:59] describing what a trustee does in

[3:00] language that's appropriate for

[3:02] 5-year-olds as I attend a lot a lot of

[3:04] meetings did not seem to resonate with

[3:06] them. I had a great time and would love

[3:09] to thank the school, the teacher, and

[3:11] the students. and I'm looking forward to

[3:13] several other events that I've been

[3:15] invited to as well in December.

[3:18] >> Thank you, Trust. Was that book 191?

[3:24] » I did not count it on my books that I've

[3:26] read this year.

[3:27] >> Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair

[3:29] » Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair

[3:29] McLean.

[3:31] >> Thank you very much. And on a similar

[3:33] » Thank you very much. And on a similar

[3:33] thread, um I know that there's tons. I

[3:35] just want to a little celebration for

[3:37] this. Um recognizing all of the work

[3:40] from the district student advisory

[3:41] council that continues to go into this

[3:43] and we may talk about that later, so I

[3:45] won't touch too much, but just a huge

[3:47] celebration. U recognizing that there's

[3:48] lots of exciting news in there as well.

[3:50] Um, and similar to Trusty Holland, I was

[3:53] very fortunate to be invited to

[3:55] participate in the Thursday morning

[3:57] drumming sessions that take place at

[3:59] Quinson Elementary as a member of the DP

[4:01] Todd family of schools leaison work. And

[4:04] it was incredible to get to be a part of

[4:06] recognizing that this has become a norm,

[4:09] a routine in this school. students come

[4:11] flooding in after they do attendance um

[4:14] Tuesdays and Thursday mornings and they

[4:16] grab a drum and we walk around the

[4:19] school and collect students and just

[4:21] start our day by singing and drumming.

[4:23] So, thank you very much, Quincson. I did

[4:25] make um a comment that I really wanted

[4:27] to share with the administrator at that

[4:29] school how how lovely and welcoming it

[4:32] was to come in there in the morning and

[4:34] just have um such a nice a nice place to

[4:36] be for students to come. So, thank you

[4:38] for that.

[4:40] Wonderful. And I think that concludes

[4:42] item number four. So we'll go on to item

[4:44] number five. And 51 is the College

[4:46] Heights family of schools. So I see we

[4:49] have a few people here. So we look

[4:50] forward to your presentation. So take it

[4:52] away, College Heights.

[4:55] And we have a mic uh in the middle here.

[4:58] There you go.

[5:00] [clears throat]

[5:08] Notice that I'm here by myself.

[5:12] >> They will be joining you.

[5:17] » So, thank you to the board button.

[5:21] >> Oh, join this one.

[5:22] » Oh, join this one.

[5:22] >> Yep.

[5:22] » Yep.

[5:22] >> Okay, there you go.

[5:23] » Okay, there you go.

[5:23] >> There you go. You're good.

[5:25] » There you go. You're good.

[5:25] >> Thank you. Technical. Okay.

[5:28] » Thank you. Technical. Okay.

[5:28] Thank you to the board for inviting the

[5:30] College Heights Family Schools uh to

[5:33] join you this evening. We are missing

[5:35] one of our colleagues who again is I

[5:38] guess plagued with this cold and flu.

[5:40] You'll probably hear it in a few of our

[5:42] voices this evening. It is going around

[5:44] the schools. So um for Mr. Delana's uh

[5:49] presentation, I will provide his notes

[5:51] at that time. And I'd like to again

[5:54] thank everybody for being here. uh we uh

[5:59] probably some quick introductions and

[6:01] maybe my colleagues could just stand as

[6:03] I call upon them. So I'll start with our

[6:06] college height secondary team and I've

[6:09] got Shannon Danes Clifford and Kim

[6:13] Forest.

[6:14] Thank you. Uh Vanway Joyce Willows

[6:20] >> uh a call college Heights D Holmes

[6:24] » uh a call college Heights D Holmes

[6:24] and Malisfina is Bren Anderson. Thanks

[6:27] for joining.

[6:29] >> And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal

[6:30] » And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal

[6:30] of Beverly.

[6:33] [clears throat]

[6:40] Okay, these are big shoes to fill Mr.

[6:43] Del, but I will do my best.

[6:46] Uh so he writes the calls to action from

[6:48] the truth and reconcil reconciliation

[6:50] commission of Canada call for the

[6:53] educators to be in the forefront of

[6:54] learning about the Indian residential

[6:56] school system. Southridge staff continue

[6:59] on their TRC learning and growth

[7:02] journey.

[7:04] One way we are moving forward is by

[7:06] participating in the four seasons of

[7:09] indigenous learning and connecting our

[7:11] understanding with student learning. The

[7:14] Four Seasons is an online course

[7:16] provided by the Outdoor Learning School.

[7:20] Oops, I go too fast.

[7:27] I just say two slides. My apologies. Um,

[7:30] we have a large number of staff, he

[7:31] says, at various stages of these

[7:33] year-long indigenous learning series.

[7:36] Some staff are on season one or two and

[7:39] some have completed those and are now

[7:42] working on integrating the these into

[7:45] our everyday practice. Season 2.5 is our

[7:48] switch to take our learning and embed uh

[7:51] deck up ways of knowing with students.

[7:54] Season 2.5 has four classes focused on

[7:57] learning on the land. One example are

[7:59] these classes combining language arts,

[8:01] social studies, and ways of knowing. Uh

[8:06] they have taken bus to the sawmill trail

[8:10] it indicates and connected to the land

[8:12] through their journaling.

[8:15] Thank you sage

[8:18] my colleague.

[8:19] >> Okay. So as you know sorry

[8:22] » Okay. So as you know sorry

[8:22] >> you need that

[8:24] » you need that

[8:24] >> I actually have a big choice but

[8:25] » I actually have a big choice but

[8:25] >> I know but it's

[8:27] » I know but it's

[8:27] >> okay. So we know learning ultimately

[8:29] » okay. So we know learning ultimately

[8:29] supports the well-being of the self,

[8:31] family, the community, the land, the

[8:33] spirits and the ancestors. So one of the

[8:35] things that Malispina was fortunate

[8:37] enough to do is we welcomed uh the Earth

[8:40] Rangers presentation last year. And it

[8:43] was an inspiring presentation focusing

[8:45] on animal conservation, biodiversity,

[8:48] and sustainable living. Uh the

[8:50] presentation they brought live animals.

[8:52] uh they walked in and out of the

[8:54] students so that students could see them

[8:56] and then they would have quizzes uh with

[8:58] the whole school about what kinds of

[9:00] things would recognize conservation and

[9:02] biodiversity. So it was great learning

[9:04] for the students. Um, so last year when

[9:06] we first had them here, they then had a

[9:09] battery blitz and so they invited

[9:11] schools to participate in collecting uh

[9:14] recyclable batteries and they had a

[9:16] contest and the top three schools in all

[9:18] of BC would win a prize and the

[9:21] community students and the staff did a

[9:23] great job. We had 26 boxes of recycled

[9:25] batteries and we came in third. So we

[9:27] won $1,000. So it was pretty exciting at

[9:29] our school. So this year they came back.

[9:32] uh we again were learning about the

[9:34] biodiversity and the conservation and it

[9:37] was a very exciting time to have them

[9:39] come back because the kids then

[9:40] participated in the similar um quizzes

[9:43] that they gave us and uh it was amazing

[9:46] how much they had retained from last

[9:47] year. So we hope we get them again next

[9:49] year. Canor is the one that sort of

[9:52] allows this opportunity. So we thank

[9:54] Canor for that and we were lucky to host

[9:56] them two years in a row. So thank you

[10:15] Good evening. Um over the past uh three

[10:19] years at Eagle College Heights uh it we

[10:22] were uh we were asked to talk about

[10:25] learning and wellness. And as I thought

[10:26] about that, I thought, hm, which comes

[10:29] first, wellness or learning? And so for

[10:31] me, I needed to flip it in my mind

[10:34] because when our kids have a sense of

[10:36] self and a self-worth uh and uh

[10:40] perseverance,

[10:42] they're well and they can handle the

[10:44] learning and the challenge being out of

[10:46] their comfort zone. So a big part of

[10:50] that process at Eco College Heights for

[10:52] the last three years and this being the

[10:54] fourth I believe is our school program

[10:57] and uh skoo stands for it's an

[10:59] indigenous word standing for our our

[11:02] house sorry

[11:06] and uh and we treat it that way just

[11:09] like we use the word ko which means our

[11:12] community uh this is how we present that

[11:15] at a co polishes. It's become our house

[11:18] teams if you like uh with a very

[11:21] indigenous flavor. So we'll move on to

[11:24] the next slide.

[11:26] So what we've done is over the last few

[11:28] years we've created eight school teams

[11:31] or houses and it allows us to integrate

[11:33] as a French immersion school our French

[11:36] students with our English school uh

[11:38] students which is really critical

[11:39] because there's a natural separation in

[11:42] immersion schools. So this brings us all

[11:44] together. Uh from that point uh we then

[11:48] make sure that we have our primary and

[11:50] our intermediates all in different

[11:52] houses so that our senior students or

[11:55] intermediates take on a mentorship role

[11:58] again creating community within our

[12:00] houses. From there, uh, we integrate the

[12:06] the pathways of, uh, knowing, being, and

[12:09] building community into all of our

[12:12] school activities. So, we'll have about

[12:15] six school activities throughout the

[12:17] year. And in those structures, uh, we

[12:21] will do a wide range of indigenous

[12:24] learning. And as you can see, uh we do a

[12:26] lot of nature art, language,

[12:28] storytelling with the legends, uh

[12:31] singing, drumming, uh tree

[12:33] identification, the cat language, lot of

[12:36] drumming and singing

[12:38] games and orienteering. Every year we

[12:41] sort of add, delete and try

[12:46] new learning if you like. Um next slide.

[12:52] Oh, that was I have one more, but that's

[12:55] okay.

[12:57] We're speeding this along. [laughter]

[13:01] Um, so at at the end of the day, um, we

[13:04] continue to, uh, take our school model,

[13:08] uh, turn it into what we needed to be.

[13:10] Uh this year we uh are partnering with a

[13:13] BC outdoor grant uh where we're going to

[13:16] take our what we call Husky Nook, which

[13:19] is about the size of our space right

[13:21] here, um to basically add a space for

[13:25] reflection,

[13:27] uh circle work with our kids,

[13:29] restorative uh restitution,

[13:31] uh classroom work, and then native

[13:34] plants along with uh garden beds. Uh

[13:38] right now all our primaries basically

[13:40] take the city bus and spend quite a bit

[13:43] of time up at UNMBC uh learning about

[13:47] the outdoors uh and that whole world at

[13:50] the Rotary Gardens. So we're able to

[13:52] create that in our own space.

[14:01] » Rowdy did it again and

[14:04] jumped in on the presentation. Um, so

[14:07] I'm at Joyce Schools, principal at

[14:09] Vanway Elementary. And so to build on

[14:12] our

[14:14] theme of wellness and learning, I want

[14:16] to share with you uh just a little bit

[14:18] about Vanway Elementary, who we are and

[14:20] what we do. Uh, so Van Vikings are

[14:23] strong, have brave hearts, and are

[14:24] always kind. And indeath, bear with me.

[14:32] Uh we're probably the biggest Cougar

[14:34] fans in town as well. Um so learning and

[14:38] wellness are enhanced when we encourage

[14:40] student agency and voice.

[14:43] Naturally, our choir loves to sing at

[14:45] Cougars hockey games. They sang twice

[14:47] last year and are planning to sing again

[14:49] twice this year. And at least a few of

[14:52] the players visited us last year at a

[14:55] schoolwide assembly

[14:57] um that where we encouraged

[14:59] participation in the spirit of healthy

[15:01] kids challenge which is sponsored by

[15:04] Northern Health PG Cougars and the

[15:06] Spirit of the North Health Foundation.

[15:09] Uh it encourages students to set goals

[15:11] and track their minutes of reading and

[15:12] physical exercise.

[15:14] So last year a group of avid grade five

[15:17] and six hockey players uh did some

[15:20] planning and organizing uh around the

[15:22] spirit of healthy kids challenge with me

[15:25] and it's part of a leadership project

[15:27] and the leadership group shared some

[15:29] testimonial videos at the assembly and

[15:32] one student uh did the PowerPoint slides

[15:34] or some of the PowerPoint slides for me.

[15:37] He's a special needs student. He's

[15:38] sitting on this side of Rowdycat and

[15:40] he's a bit humble so he didn't want me

[15:41] to share his picture at the

[15:43] presentation. So that's why you just see

[15:44] Rowdy Cat there.

[15:46] Uh after the kickoff assembly last

[15:49] spring, students were encouraged to

[15:50] participate and it spanned for two weeks

[15:54] to track their reading and their

[15:55] physical activity and it span over

[15:57] spring break. um which was a win for us

[16:01] because we collected about half of the

[16:04] forms back and kids had tracked lots of

[16:06] reading and lots of physical activity

[16:08] minutes which is pretty exciting for um

[16:11] staff and parents over the break.

[16:14] Current research in education points

[16:15] towards the importance in the sense of

[16:17] belonging for student learning

[16:18] engagement and a motivation. So for this

[16:21] year staff, parents and students uh we

[16:24] focused on this at the very beginning of

[16:26] the year and uh it'll be one of our

[16:28] themes throughout the year and building

[16:30] on the excitement of the spirit of

[16:32] healthy kids again uh with student

[16:34] leaders. We're talking about increasing

[16:36] learning and awareness around

[16:37] anti-racism.

[16:39] And so uh students will set goals,

[16:41] minutes of reading, physical activity,

[16:44] and also acts of kindness. And we'll

[16:46] track those again probably over spring

[16:48] break and hope to have another kickoff

[16:50] assembly and invite a few of the PG

[16:52] cougars to come see us and maybe rowdy

[16:54] cat will come too. We keep hoping.

[16:57] Thanks everybody.

[17:11] Elementary. Uh we've got 213 students K

[17:15] to 7th. And if you haven't been there,

[17:17] we're just right at the end of Western

[17:19] Road as you're heading out Highway 16.

[17:22] The [snorts] school plan for student

[17:24] success that uh staff have been actively

[17:27] involved in features a lot of strategies

[17:30] and success measures but the one I

[17:32] really want to focus in is the learning

[17:34] that's happening with staff in a very

[17:36] short period of time uh being principal

[17:38] there recognize the commitment that's

[17:41] been made by staff uh to work diligently

[17:44] with our literacy and our new pools. uh

[17:47] literacy being uh resources that we're

[17:49] using our UFly and dibbles uh and our

[17:53] our numerousy being uh the Carol Fryin

[17:56] workshops and certainly we've got path

[17:59] on the go all of which is a commitment

[18:02] like I've indicated the staff have been

[18:04] solidly behind this plan and the

[18:08] benefits are that the data is really

[18:10] showing it and I'm really so pleased

[18:12] with what's happening in this building.

[18:15] Uh the one thing I do want to focus on

[18:18] are these pictures and the pictures

[18:20] indicate what's happening. Something

[18:22] really good that's happening coming to

[18:25] Beaverly. This is my first year as

[18:26] principal. I recognize that some of our

[18:28] students are on the bus for upwards to

[18:31] an hour uh in one direction. They're

[18:34] coming off the bus 8 a.m. and now we're

[18:37] in the dark and now it's cold and

[18:40] chances are a lot of hungry. So we've

[18:43] been able to come together and

[18:46] collaboratively work with the national

[18:48] school food program grants and feeding

[18:51] preachers to open a breakfast program or

[18:53] breakfast club. Uh and you can see we've

[18:57] got a number of students coming in on a

[18:58] daily basis to attend and be supported

[19:01] by that nourishment so they can focus,

[19:04] they can learn and they can start their

[19:05] day.

[19:06] uh the population that's going through

[19:09] right now, we're data suggesting

[19:11] anywhere between 30 and 40 students. So,

[19:14] we're getting a good chunk of traffic

[19:15] coming through. That in turn has led to

[19:18] a very quick decision uh on behalf

[19:21] myself and my team at Beaverly to

[19:24] introduce a lunch program as well. So

[19:27] with that in itself that adds all

[19:30] different types of layers of great

[19:32] leadership with our grade seven students

[19:35] and I am just so impressed in such a

[19:38] very quick turnaround like we've only

[19:40] been in school for a few months that we

[19:42] have a breakfast program a lunch program

[19:45] and we've got a real commitment to

[19:46] literacy and literacy happening in the

[19:48] building.

[19:50] Thank you.

[20:00] These are the

[20:01] >> Was that the other slide that got tucked

[20:03] » Was that the other slide that got tucked

[20:03] in somehow?

[20:06] >> I'll pause for

[20:07] » I'll pause for

[20:07] >> I think it's okay.

[20:10] » I think it's okay.

[20:10] >> Hello

[20:12] » Hello

[20:12] everyone. I'm Shannon Dane. I'm the

[20:14] principal of college secondary school.

[20:17] Um this is him forest and

[20:20] we are not going to speak to you at all

[20:23] today. But what College Heights would

[20:24] like to present about is our new outdoor

[20:26] ed program. We are fortunate to enough

[20:29] to live in a place where we have an

[20:31] incredible resource at our disposal and

[20:34] we recognize that it a lot of our kids

[20:37] learn best in different ways other than

[20:40] inside classrooms and walls and things.

[20:41] And so we brought a wonderful talented

[20:43] teacher Suzanne Mloud with us and she's

[20:45] going to tell you a little bit about our

[20:47] outdoor program.

[20:51] » All right. on.

[20:53] >> Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the

[20:56] » Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the

[20:56] outdoor teacher at College Heights. We

[20:58] just resurrected redeveloped this

[21:00] program that has been offered there for

[21:01] a long time. I'm very passionate about

[21:03] it. It's I've taken it more of an

[21:05] outdoor adventure education route.

[21:07] That's my bit of my background there.

[21:09] So, we've it's not outdoor wreck, it's

[21:11] not outdoor learning. It's kind of a

[21:12] combination of the two. We've made it

[21:15] inclusive learning. There's lots of

[21:16] different ways that students can show

[21:18] their learning. Um written, writing,

[21:21] hands-on. So it kind of catches a web of

[21:24] uh students in a web. Um we have

[21:26] something called challenge by choice. So

[21:28] students can choose how far to

[21:30] participate each activity encouraging

[21:31] them to step out of their comfort zone

[21:33] because that's where the growth zone

[21:34] happens and it takes them a little while

[21:36] to get there. As right the academically

[21:40] sometimes it's hard to explain what

[21:41] we're doing but I want to see progress

[21:43] through each student. They're only

[21:45] judged by against each other themselves

[21:47] not against each other. Um it's all

[21:49] strength-based approach. So, can you

[21:52] master your skills? Have you gotten

[21:54] better at yourself? Are you encouraging?

[21:55] Can you share your skills? Uh, they

[21:57] support each other with their peers. Uh,

[21:59] there's lots of different backgrounds,

[22:01] lots of different learning styles. We,

[22:04] um, incorporate a lot of indigenous

[22:06] perspectives. We work tightly with the

[22:09] indigenous ed department as well. Uh, I

[22:12] like to incorporate a two-eyed scene. So

[22:14] we take the western perspective and we

[22:16] take the traditional perspective and we

[22:18] mesh them together for a holistic

[22:20] experience there. Um we have a wonderful

[22:23] indigenous ed department and we do lots

[22:26] of field trips well as many field trips

[22:27] as we can. Uh Josh Mueller, our

[22:29] indigenous ed worker, he comes out with

[22:30] us and provides an excellent support. We

[22:32] were just out at Camp Hughes for a

[22:34] two-day twoight uh trip with my older

[22:37] class which was a big ask for those

[22:39] students who have not necessarily spent

[22:40] that much time alone. uh new

[22:42] environment, no cell service, they don't

[22:45] necessarily hang out together in the

[22:46] hallways, but we have quite a good unit

[22:48] in the classroom. It's been great to see

[22:50] all the different backgrounds come

[22:52] together and support each other. Uh so

[22:53] he took us through a tracking exercise,

[22:56] which was very interesting because we

[22:58] had a snowy day and we had a not snowy

[23:00] day. So they could use observations in

[23:02] different ways. They had to problem

[23:03] solve. Um they had to strategize,

[23:06] support each other. So that was

[23:08] something we had on the weekend. Off

[23:10] topic of that, but um it really helped

[23:13] them make well-round decisions out in

[23:17] nature and in the outdoors and inside.

[23:19] It doesn't just everything we teach in

[23:21] outdoor ed can be applied inside as

[23:23] well. The resilience, the perseverance,

[23:25] the confidence they're building, they

[23:27] can take that into indoor classrooms,

[23:29] indoor learning outside of the school,

[23:31] and it just gives them a deeper sense of

[23:34] confidence in themselves and their

[23:36] skills. Um, we hit on lots of the

[23:39] curriculum. So, I also am a science and

[23:42] math and foods teacher. I kind of cover

[23:44] it all. I'm jack of all trades, but

[23:46] outdated and science are my main ones.

[23:49] But, we're always drawing from the

[23:50] science, the applied uh skills we throw

[23:52] in social studies, math. The students

[23:54] don't necessarily realize that those are

[23:56] being incorporated, but they just

[23:57] naturally happen. And because it's an

[23:59] authentic learning, it kind of sticks a

[24:01] little bit better in their minds. Um, if

[24:04] I told my students that we're going to

[24:05] go do a leadership activity, they'd

[24:07] they'd bulk at it. But just by

[24:09] participating in the classroom and

[24:11] supporting each other, they're showing

[24:12] and building leadership skills. Um, they

[24:15] take risk assessments. We never go out

[24:17] and do anything without talking about

[24:18] the risks. So, it helps them like think,

[24:21] prethinking, uh, food planning,

[24:23] navigation. We talk about the

[24:24] environment and the ecosystem, how we're

[24:27] impacting the environment, how the land

[24:28] is affecting us, what the land is

[24:30] teaching us as we have to what we are

[24:34] going into. We don't always know the

[24:36] landscape, the environment. So, we have

[24:37] to take the learning from there. It is

[24:39] snowy. Well, now how are we going to

[24:40] change our plans? If we want to build a

[24:42] shelter, what resources are available?

[24:43] But in a respectful, non-damaging way.

[24:46] And [clears throat] we've been able to

[24:48] incorporate numeracy. I also teach an

[24:50] algebra 8 class where we have numeracy

[24:52] built into the curriculum. Um so we're

[24:55] doing unit conversions uh we're doing

[24:57] estimations, we're doing navigation and

[25:01] compass directional work there. Uh it's

[25:05] really interesting to see how they take

[25:07] those problem solving skills without

[25:08] calling it math but using math and they

[25:10] are actually quite capable and able to

[25:13] use it and they're confident and they go

[25:15] off excitedly telling their friends

[25:16] about what they learned in red. It's

[25:18] like did you know we measured our

[25:19] footsteps down the hallway and they that

[25:22] wasn't interesting how they all thought

[25:23] their steps were the same length and

[25:24] they definitely weren't and converting

[25:26] those to meters and feet. So yeah that

[25:29] just even in the hallways doing that is

[25:30] a like skill that they're learning.

[25:33] Uh so everything for outdoor ed we try

[25:36] to do real world not hypothetical like

[25:38] maybe do some theory uh but land-based

[25:41] experiences going out there doing

[25:43] something different that not everyone is

[25:44] able to do catching the students that

[25:46] maybe are not academically as strong on

[25:48] paper and written things but are

[25:50] exceptional in the outdoors and it's

[25:52] really giving them a chance to show

[25:54] their skills. It's just been marvelous

[25:56] to see these some of these students that

[25:58] aren't rising necessarily to the

[26:00] occasion really shining and being

[26:02] absolute leaders out on our camping

[26:04] trips. I think challenge by choice is

[26:06] something that is underutilized and may

[26:08] be misunderstood or you haven't heard

[26:10] about it in the setting but outdoor

[26:12] adventure education is a very strong

[26:14] mandate there and um idea and it really

[26:17] lets students grow and grow an inner

[26:20] confidence themselves. They become

[26:21] motivated themselves by doing the task

[26:24] there. It's all about teamwork,

[26:26] cooperation. They know that they need to

[26:28] support each other. What happens to one

[26:30] happens to all of us. We all need to

[26:31] work together to be safe out there. And

[26:35] we are also with the mental well-being

[26:37] as I said like the resilience, the

[26:39] perseverance, the confidence, all that

[26:40] that is slowly being built. You can see

[26:42] that quiet confidence build in these

[26:44] students and then it becomes loud

[26:45] confidence. They're just so impressed

[26:47] with themselves and they can do

[26:48] something or they've had a hard day and

[26:50] they're coming to outdoor edit to say

[26:52] that they're not going to other classes,

[26:54] but outdoor edited it's consistently

[26:56] they're coming they're behaving they are

[26:59] participating in ways I haven't seen

[27:00] some of these students do in other

[27:02] classes. So, it's been a really special

[27:04] thing and I think it's very important to

[27:06] have that available to other students.

[27:09] Like I'm one person, but I'd like to

[27:10] catch as many students as they are

[27:12] because it's a very valuable opportunity

[27:13] that doesn't always isn't something they

[27:16] can maybe do in their everyday lives.

[27:18] Outdoor adventure.

[27:23] » Thank you both. That's wonderful.

[27:26] Trusties usually like I don't know if

[27:28] they will or not but

[27:31] yes

[27:33] interesting.

[27:36] Actually, this isn't a question, but

[27:38] just uh thank you so much for taking

[27:39] time out of your evening to present to

[27:42] us. It's very valuable to find out for

[27:44] me what's happening in your school. So,

[27:45] thank you.

[27:47] >> Trust McCory, please.

[27:50] » Trust McCory, please.

[27:50] >> You my family of schools people. So, if

[27:53] » You my family of schools people. So, if

[27:53] you're having anything going on in your

[27:55] schools, uh if you share that with us,

[27:58] we as trustees try to come and and visit

[28:01] your schools if we're available. So, I

[28:04] appreciate all the good work you're

[28:05] doing. We really heard about the passion

[28:07] that you have for the work that you do

[28:09] with the students and I'm sure that that

[28:11] shows through to the students and great

[28:14] programs happening all over. Thank you

[28:16] very much. Thank you for break

[28:20] >> echoing what others have said like we

[28:23] » echoing what others have said like we

[28:23] just love hearing about learning like

[28:25] hearing about the specific resour like

[28:27] you know hearing about you fly hearing

[28:29] about the big ideas like in action those

[28:32] are the pieces that like really

[28:34] illustrate what education is and you

[28:36] really like bring that to life in the in

[28:38] these public like in this space. Um so

[28:41] thank you thank you very much for taking

[28:42] the time.

[28:44] Okay. And uh that concludes the college

[28:46] Heights presentation. So thank you.

[28:50] And as as usual uh it is a great agenda.

[28:53] You are all welcome to stay or you can

[28:56] take this opportunity to sache and

[28:59] that's fine too. While they are

[29:01] sacheting with my guests, we're going to

[29:02] go on to 52. Oh, DAC's already

[29:06] organized. But let's I'll just pause for

[29:07] a second.

[29:08] >> Thank you.

[29:18] Okay. So, we're 52 District Student

[29:20] Advisory Council. Welcome.

[29:22] >> Okay. It's good to be back for another

[29:24] » Okay. It's good to be back for another

[29:24] year and um we're happy to present. I

[29:27] feel like this is maybe the latest we've

[29:28] got to present to you in the year. So,

[29:30] we're we got lots to share. Uh Emily's

[29:32] got a full uh address to read here in a

[29:34] second. Um I just wanted to let you know

[29:37] this is Emily Clark. She'll introduce

[29:38] herself, but she's going to be the chair

[29:40] for DESAC this year. Um she'll be joined

[29:42] with Aribba Khaled who's a grade 12

[29:44] student at College Heights as vice

[29:45] chair. She's away because she has grad

[29:47] photos this evening. Um but DACA has a

[29:50] great leadership team this year. Um we

[29:52] have Max and Martina. They're both uh

[29:54] participating in the DPAC meetings

[29:56] throughout the year as the student

[29:57] voice. Um Lily and Tea, they are part of

[30:00] the district so committee as well. Um we

[30:03] have two member of larges, Nico and

[30:04] Lucille, who kind of jump in when others

[30:06] can't make meetings. And then Emily, she

[30:09] hasn't had this meeting yet, but she's

[30:10] also part of the policy advisory

[30:12] committee that will be starting later

[30:13] this year for the district. So, I will

[30:15] turn it over to Emily now. Oh, before I

[30:17] do, I just want to share that DESAC has

[30:20] over 35 uh members this year. So, it is

[30:22] the largest group that I've had in the

[30:24] last five years. Um

[30:27] I've I'm in this early talks with CAP. I

[30:30] would actually like um later this year

[30:32] to present to the board potentially on

[30:34] creating a locally developed district

[30:36] advisory leadership course. Um that way

[30:38] these kids are giving so much of their

[30:40] time. They're volunteering in elementary

[30:41] schools, secondary schools. I would love

[30:43] to write some curriculum that hopefully

[30:45] you would support to reward them with

[30:48] marks um for the work they do. Okay,

[30:50] I'll turn it over to Emily.

[30:54] » Good evening. My name is Emily Clark and

[30:57] I am a grade 12 student at Duchess Park

[30:59] second. I'm honored to speak on behalf

[31:01] of the district student advisory council

[31:03] to share what we've accomplished so far

[31:05] this year and how these experiences have

[31:07] strengthened student voice and

[31:09] leadership across our district.

[31:11] Since September, Tesly involved in a

[31:14] variety of initiatives that connect

[31:16] students, schools, and our broader

[31:18] community. We began the year by

[31:20] participating in the international

[31:22] student welcome event hosted in

[31:24] partnership with CNC, UNMBC, and the

[31:27] city of Prince George. This event was an

[31:30] incredible opportunity to meet students

[31:31] from around the world, help them feel at

[31:34] home, and showcase the welcoming spirit

[31:36] of our district. It reminded us how

[31:38] diversity enriches our schools, and why

[31:41] inclusion matters.

[31:43] Next, we worked with the RCMP on their

[31:45] blockatch program, learning about

[31:48] community safety and how students can

[31:50] contribute to creating a safe

[31:51] neighborhood. This partnership gave us

[31:54] insight into the importance of

[31:55] collaboration between youth and law

[31:57] enforcement. And it sparked

[31:59] conversations about how we can take

[32:01] proactive steps to keep our schools and

[32:03] communities secure. In September, I had

[32:06] the privilege of representing DESAC at

[32:09] the logo unveiling event event held here

[32:11] at the board office. This was a proud

[32:14] moment for our council because it

[32:15] symbolized our identity and commitment

[32:17] to leadership. Seeing how our district's

[32:20] logo was shaped by students reinforced

[32:22] the message about how our voice is

[32:24] valued and missible.

[32:27] We also supported the Terry Fox

[32:29] initiative at Ron Brandt Elementary,

[32:31] helping to promote awareness and

[32:33] participation in this important cause.

[32:35] We held discussions of leadership with

[32:37] each class and brainstormed ways that

[32:40] they could improve an aspect of their

[32:41] lives in their school or community. By

[32:44] the end of the morning, we had created a

[32:46] vision board titled our hopes and

[32:48] dreams. It was inspiring to see students

[32:51] of all ages come together to learn about

[32:53] making positive change.

[32:56] Another highlight was assisting during

[32:58] the indigenous education professional

[33:00] development day at PGSS.

[33:02] This experience uses allowed us to learn

[33:04] alongside educators and contribute to

[33:07] creating meaningful opportunities for

[33:09] understanding and reconciliation.

[33:11] It was a powerful reminder to the role

[33:14] students can play in fostering respect

[33:16] and cultural awareness.

[33:19] One of the most exciting moments for

[33:21] DESAC this fall was being recognized at

[33:23] the PG Cougars community event. Our

[33:26] members were invited onto the ice at the

[33:28] start of the game, which was an

[33:30] incredible way to celebrate student

[33:32] leadership and strengthen our connection

[33:34] with the wider PG community. Beyond

[33:37] these larger events, we've also focused

[33:39] on building relationships at the

[33:41] elementary school level. At Harin

[33:43] Elementary, we carved pumpkins with a

[33:45] kindergarten class. A simple but

[33:47] memorable experience that brought joy to

[33:49] both the younger students and our

[33:51] council members. At Ron Brent, we hosted

[33:54] an outdoor Halloween celebration

[33:56] featuring a haunted house, apple

[33:58] bobbing, and face painting. This event

[34:00] was a fantastic way to create a safe,

[34:02] inclusive space for students to have fun

[34:05] and connect.

[34:07] These activities reflect DESAC's

[34:09] commitment to leadership, community

[34:11] engagement, and creating positive

[34:13] experiences for students across the

[34:15] district. We're proud of what we've

[34:18] accomplished so far, and we're excited

[34:19] about what's ahead. Moving forward,

[34:22] DESAC plans to continue strengthening

[34:24] student voice by organizing and

[34:26] participating in events that promote

[34:29] inclusion and leadership development. We

[34:32] also hope to expand our partnerships

[34:34] with community organizations to ensure

[34:36] students have opportunity to learn

[34:37] beyond the classroom.

[34:40] On behalf of DESAC, I want to thank the

[34:42] board for your ongoing support of

[34:44] student leadership. Your encouragement

[34:46] makes these initiatives possible and it

[34:48] helps us create a school district where

[34:50] every student feels heard and valued.

[34:52] Thank you for your time.

[34:59] » Thank you, Emily. Thank you. You just

[35:01] have a moment. I think any trustees

[35:02] would like to add anything like please.

[35:06] >> Anybody else could take it?

[35:10] » Anybody else could take it?

[35:10] >> Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]

[35:13] » Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]

[35:13] and you have done as a as a group a lot

[35:17] of things and accomplished a lot

[35:19] already. It's incredible. So, keep it

[35:22] going. And I think what I would like to

[35:24] recognize is the leadership qualities.

[35:26] Like you're a flawless speaker. You're

[35:28] doing an amazing job. and like we love

[35:32] hearing about the good work that you and

[35:34] your and the whole team does. So keep it

[35:37] up and keep growing. It's great. Thank

[35:40] you.

[35:42] >> Thank you. Great. And I would say as

[35:44] » Thank you. Great. And I would say as

[35:44] well did tremendous job speaking like

[35:47] way better than me. So that that's a

[35:49] high bar, but it's excellent. So thank

[35:51] you both very much for your time, your

[35:53] commitment and on behalf of the whole

[35:54] team. Thank you and know that you have

[35:56] our support.

[35:59] Okay. and rest. Good evening again. You

[36:01] are also up. You saw it up before. So

[36:04] that's we're going to go on to 5.3 and I

[36:08] believe is director B.

[36:19] » Thanks.

[36:23] That's kind of how I was feeling as I

[36:24] was walking up here after the last three

[36:27] presentations from the family schools

[36:28] and they always have such great things

[36:31] going on and now I'm going to present on

[36:33] the FSAs which might not be quite as

[36:35] exciting but nonetheless here we are. Uh

[36:37] so the intention of my presentation

[36:39] tonight is just to give an overview of

[36:41] the foundation skills assessment the

[36:43] components how it's marked and uh what

[36:46] is done with the data after students

[36:48] complet it and we get the results.

[36:56] I don't think

[37:00] anything.

[37:06] » So

[37:09] the FSA is our provincial assessment for

[37:11] all grades four and seven students. Uh

[37:13] focus on literacy and numeracy and

[37:16] assesses how students analyze,

[37:17] communicate and reflect on their

[37:19] thinking. So it's not just facts they

[37:21] know about memorization. Um the FSA is

[37:24] just a snapshot of student learning in

[37:26] the moment in time and the results are

[37:28] just one way of measuring how the

[37:30] education system is doing in those key

[37:32] areas. Um for parents and caregivers the

[37:35] FSA is an indicator of where their child

[37:36] is at in literacy and numeracy

[37:38] development.

[37:41] So the timeline for administration it's

[37:43] always in the fall. This year it was

[37:44] from October 1st to November 10th.

[37:47] Typically, we have all the FSAs marked

[37:49] by now. Uh we usually do at the end of

[37:51] October, but there's just a delay in

[37:53] getting the ministry uh marking packages

[37:55] this year. So, we're actually going into

[37:57] our marking sessions next week. Uh once

[38:00] the packages are marked, we have some

[38:02] local data entry that takes place for

[38:04] the that we then send to the ministry

[38:07] and students and families get their

[38:08] results back uh the booklets and the

[38:11] online portion in January. And then as a

[38:13] district, we get kind of the mass data

[38:15] of all the students in our district in

[38:18] um in usually around March. Sometimes

[38:20] it's a little bit delayed, but that's I

[38:22] think that's always their goal.

[38:25] Okay. Um there's five components of the

[38:28] FSA. So the student booklets kind of as

[38:31] mentioned in the previous slide is made

[38:33] up of a literacy and a numeracy portion.

[38:36] The literacy portion is comprised of

[38:38] three written responses to pieces of

[38:41] reading. Uh students always get a choice

[38:43] of themes in this section. So there's

[38:45] always two themes and then there's two

[38:46] articles that go with each theme. Uh

[38:48] before they choose a theme, there's a

[38:50] collaboration activity that they take

[38:52] part in. And that activity is just meant

[38:54] to help students activate prior

[38:56] knowledge, uh build some connections

[38:58] with the materials, discuss ideas just

[39:00] so that they can engage a little bit

[39:02] more with the material. Uh just as an

[39:04] example, this year the um on the great

[39:06] border FSA, one of the themes was

[39:08] together on the land. And then a story

[39:11] about fish ladders and other passes that

[39:14] wildlife used to meander through our

[39:16] highways and things like that. And

[39:18] another story about um a family that

[39:20] visited a fish camp each year and kind

[39:22] of the emotion and excitement that went

[39:24] along with that. And then the second

[39:26] theme was challenges that people face or

[39:29] animals face. And one of the stories was

[39:31] about a, this is a true story and I

[39:33] actually looked it up so I didn't

[39:34] believe it, but it was about a cat that

[39:35] made it from Ontario to Alberta and a

[39:38] family found in Alberta and somehow got

[39:39] that cat back to the family in Ontario,

[39:42] which is quite impressive. And then

[39:43] another story just about a a girl that

[39:46] broke her leg and kind of the ups and

[39:47] downs that went with that injury.

[39:50] Uh, the nubcy portion of the booklets is

[39:53] just comprised of three questions. So

[39:55] there's three questions in grade four,

[39:57] three questions in grade seven.

[39:58] uh students are just tasked to analyze

[40:00] and think critically about the math

[40:02] concepts and those questions. Um and

[40:04] this portion always involves multiple

[40:06] steps to solve a question. So it's not

[40:07] just a quick question and answer. And

[40:10] then there's an online uh literacy pass

[40:12] which is 30 questions long and again

[40:14] it's reading uh different articles and

[40:17] different stories and there's multiple

[40:18] choice questions students answer and

[40:20] then an online numeracy uh section as

[40:22] well that's 30 questions long and um

[40:25] again it's just based on different

[40:26] concepts in the curriculum that that

[40:28] students work through. Uh it's just

[40:30] important to note that students aren't

[40:32] sitting down and doing this whole thing

[40:34] at once. They're kind of that's why

[40:36] spaced out from October 1st to November

[40:38] 10th. And then once all those sections

[40:41] are complete, they just do a quick 5 10

[40:43] minute reflection on how they felt um

[40:46] the FSA was for them.

[40:50] Uh so as mentioned the booklets are

[40:54] marked locally by principles and vice

[40:55] principles and the online portion is

[40:58] marked provinially. Um, basically for

[41:01] the online or for the booklet portion,

[41:02] we get a package from the ministry uh

[41:05] with different rubrics for all the

[41:07] different sections and as a as a group

[41:09] of principles and vice principles. We

[41:11] sit down and look at the rubrics and

[41:12] they also give us samples to go through.

[41:14] So, as a group, we talk about the

[41:16] samples, we mark the samples to make

[41:18] sure that there's consensus among the

[41:19] group in terms of um we just want

[41:21] everyone on the same page when they're

[41:23] marking and then we spend four or five

[41:25] pages going through and and marking

[41:27] everything. Once we finish marking, we

[41:30] also send um we send a certain number of

[41:34] uh booklets off to the ministry because

[41:36] they kind of they mark our marking to

[41:38] make sure that we're we're on par with

[41:40] where they want us to be. So, they have

[41:41] a provincial team that looks through

[41:43] booklets and we always do quite well

[41:45] there.

[41:49] Uh when the results um are given back to

[41:52] the district and to families, they're

[41:55] given back to us in a three-point scale.

[41:57] So students are for literacy and

[41:59] numeracy you're emerging on track you're

[42:01] extending and there there is a more

[42:02] comprehensive kind of definition of of

[42:05] these three indicators but just for the

[42:07] purpose of tonight I thought I'd just

[42:08] leave it with a snapshot

[42:14] and then that kind of brings us to what

[42:16] we do with the data. So from a

[42:18] provincial level, the FSAs give a

[42:20] snapshot of how our education system is

[42:22] doing and adjustments that may need to

[42:24] be made at a provincial level to boost

[42:26] the education system. Uh locally, we use

[42:29] the FSA along with other data points to

[42:32] track student progress, make adjustments

[42:34] to the course that we offer. Um, just

[42:37] one note I'd like to give is we're

[42:38] usually about our participation rates in

[42:40] in SG57 are usually about 10 to 15%

[42:43] higher um than the province which gives

[42:46] us a little bit more of a good

[42:48] representation of the cohorts that are

[42:49] ready and we get that data and then we

[42:53] also make adjustments to our strategic

[42:55] plan. So, I know the enhancing student

[42:57] learning report was um presented at the

[42:59] last board meeting and that document

[43:01] actually outlines a lot of the changes

[43:03] that that we bring into place in the

[43:04] academic areas. Uh one notable change

[43:07] kind of that we've made over the last

[43:09] couple years is just around the the five

[43:11] pillars of literacy and just really

[43:12] trying to enhance those in our

[43:14] classrooms and and support teachers

[43:15] around those ideas. um offering more

[43:18] prob in those areas especially in

[43:20] aquatics and biological awareness and um

[43:23] also the introduction of um literacy

[43:25] screeners. So all kindergarten teachers

[43:27] being using it right now um dibbles but

[43:29] we also have uh 22 other schools that

[43:32] are involved in various pilots around um

[43:34] the dibbles screener. So getting a lot

[43:37] more information about early literacy

[43:38] skills and how we can support those

[43:40] skills. uh in numeracy the FSA is very

[43:43] heavily problem solving based and uh we

[43:46] just know that we need to continue to

[43:47] support students and teachers in that

[43:49] area. So just one thing that we've been

[43:51] doing we've been working with Carol

[43:52] Forman for the last three years and her

[43:54] a big focus with her is just around

[43:56] incorporating problem solving into um

[43:59] various aspects of the curriculum. So

[44:02] Carol is kind of a provincial math u I

[44:04] just I call her a guru just because I've

[44:06] seen her a lot. She's quite smart. Uh

[44:09] but Carol was here two weeks ago. She

[44:11] did some co-planning and co-eing with

[44:12] teachers at uh around Brmpton Buckorn

[44:15] and we had groups of teachers that went

[44:16] into also watch those lessons and then

[44:18] retail afterwards and she also presented

[44:21] to our principal vice principal during

[44:23] that same week. Uh so that's kind of a

[44:26] FSA snapshot and I'm more than happy to

[44:29] answer any questions.

[44:32] >> Thank you director.

[44:32] » Thank you director.

[44:32] >> Oh can I say one more thing? I just

[44:35] » Oh can I say one more thing? I just

[44:35] really wanted to thank also the the

[44:37] teachers and the administrators um for

[44:39] all the help in administering the

[44:40] assessments because it takes a lot of

[44:41] time and a lot of work to make sure kids

[44:44] get caught up and complete the various

[44:45] aspects of it and it's just so really

[44:47] appreciated.

[44:49] >> Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or

[44:51] » Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or

[44:52] questions for director B on behalf

[44:55] trust

[45:00] » thank you for thank you for your

[45:02] presentation always valuable to see how

[45:04] FSA results can be used in a way that

[45:07] works to support the school system. Uh

[45:10] unfortunately some people use the FSA

[45:13] results for I don't want to say for evil

[45:16] but shall we say with a flawed

[45:17] methodology in in um doing a ranking of

[45:21] schools. Uh would you agree? Would you

[45:23] say that that choosing school say for

[45:25] parents would far more than just finding

[45:28] the one with the highest FSA scores?

[45:32] >> Oh I would

[45:34] » Oh I would

[45:34] press

[45:37] >> yes I'll completely agree. I think all

[45:38] » yes I'll completely agree. I think all

[45:38] of our schools offer great supports,

[45:40] great instruction, assessment practices.

[45:42] Um they're very caring for kids. Uh we

[45:46] have different programs that run

[45:47] throughout our schools. And I think

[45:49] that's also from my perspective. Um one

[45:52] of the goals in my department is to

[45:54] create kind of more cohesion and

[45:56] direction in the areas of literary

[45:58] university. So we're kind of all on the

[46:00] same page as the district. Um the

[46:02] discussion was around UFly kind of in

[46:04] one of the last presentations and the

[46:06] majority of our schools are actually

[46:07] using things like UFly right now. So I

[46:09] think just creating that consistency

[46:11] among schools just gives opportunity for

[46:13] all kids.

[46:15] >> Thank you Trust McCory.

[46:18] » Thank you Trust McCory.

[46:18] >> I would just like to echo a little bit

[46:20] » I would just like to echo a little bit

[46:20] um Trustee Holland. I find that FSAs I

[46:25] had kids. They wrote FSAs. Sometimes

[46:27] they didn't. And um I think that it's a

[46:30] contentious issue because of what's done

[46:32] with the data outside of what the use

[46:35] is. And so to rank schools off a a

[46:39] report is ridiculous from my personal

[46:41] opinion. Um but I think that um you know

[46:46] we need some baseline information but

[46:49] the way that it's utilized by certain

[46:51] organizations is not conducive to the

[46:54] good work that's being done in schools

[46:56] and the students that are successful

[47:00] even like personally I had a child that

[47:03] did not do well with FSAs who has done

[47:06] very well as an adult and so I that's

[47:09] just my personal opinion on it and um I

[47:12] think that it's unfortunate that one one

[47:15] little indicator has so much impact on

[47:19] how people are making decisions that in

[47:21] my opinion really aren't valid. Thanks.

[47:25] >> Thank you. Any other trustees?

[47:28] » Thank you. Any other trustees?

[47:28] >> Thanks, director. We appreciate your

[47:29] » Thanks, director. We appreciate your

[47:29] time and have a pleasant evening.

[47:32] Trustes, we're going to go on to number

[47:34] six, please. Regular public meeting of

[47:36] October the 14th. the recommended motion

[47:38] that the minutes of the October 14th,

[47:40] 2025 regular public meeting be approved

[47:42] as presented. Could I get a moer,

[47:44] please? Vice Chair McLean, seconded.

[47:46] Trusty answer. All in favor? And that is

[47:49] unanimous. Thank you. 6.2 Record of

[47:51] Incame meetings. Recommended motion that

[47:54] the record of the inc camera meetings be

[47:56] approved as presented. Could I get a

[47:58] mover, please? Trusty Holland seconded.

[48:01] Trusty Weber. All in favor? And that is

[48:04] unanimous. Thank you. On to number

[48:07] seven. Trustees, business arising for

[48:08] minutes. I do not see any. So, we'll go

[48:11] on to number eight. Trusty Holland, have

[48:13] you had a sip of water?

[48:14] >> Yes, you better.

[48:15] » Yes, you better.

[48:15] >> Okay,

[48:16] » Okay,

[48:16] >> I turn it over to you.

[48:19] » I turn it over to you.

[48:19] >> Thank you very much.

[48:21] » Thank you very much.

[48:21] Okay, so the first item here from the ad

[48:24] hoc policy committee is the public

[48:25] committee report. The recommended motion

[48:27] is that the report of the ad hoc policy

[48:29] committee be received.

[48:31] >> Can I get a second or second? Trustee

[48:33] » Can I get a second or second? Trustee

[48:33] McCory. Go ahead.

[48:35] Okay, I won't read everything here. I

[48:39] will note that we met October the well,

[48:41] we've been meeting pretty much weekly,

[48:43] including yesterday to to continue the

[48:45] board of policy review. Um, we've got

[48:48] some items that appear on this evening's

[48:50] agenda, and we're uh we've been

[48:53] reviewing the section 4 appeals bylaw in

[48:55] our last meeting. Uh, we're looking at

[48:57] potential policies for our section two.

[49:00] We did section one already and we're

[49:02] looking forward next week to section

[49:05] three coming towards us. Uh so I will

[49:10] speak to the other items on here once we

[49:12] get to that particular point in the

[49:13] agenda.

[49:14] >> Okay. So the recommend motion that the

[49:16] » Okay. So the recommend motion that the

[49:16] report of the ad hoc policy committee be

[49:17] received. All in favor?

[49:20] And that is unanimous. Thank you. Trusty

[49:22] Holland if you'd like to continue on

[49:23] with 8.2 please.

[49:26] >> Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a

[49:29] » Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a

[49:30] recommended motion that bylaw two

[49:32] traffic and access to property be given

[49:34] third and final reading. So, can I have

[49:37] a seconder?

[49:40] The mid. There's a couple of you all at

[49:42] once. Sorry, bit of a rush there.

[49:45] Continue on.

[49:46] >> Okay. So, in accordance with section 68

[49:49] » Okay. So, in accordance with section 68

[49:49] of the school act, bylaws must be given

[49:51] three distinct readings. And we had at

[49:54] the October 14th meeting, uh, we passed

[49:56] the first and second reading of bylaw 2,

[49:58] which is traffic and access to property.

[50:01] And then the third final reading is for

[50:03] this evening here. Um,

[50:06] Given that everybody has it in their

[50:08] agenda package, I'm not going to read

[50:10] out the the whole thing, although it is

[50:13] one of our shorter bylaws, only three

[50:15] pages.

[50:17] Um, I will ask if there's any questions

[50:19] for trustes regarding you.

[50:22] >> Thank you.

[50:24] » Thank you.

[50:24] And seeing none, I'll call the question.

[50:26] All in favor?

[50:28] And that is unanimous. Thank you very

[50:30] much. Uh, we'll go on to 8.3, please.

[50:33] Trusty Holland. We go and the

[50:35] recommended motion here is that bylaw

[50:37] five board procedures be given first

[50:39] reading. [clears throat]

[50:40] >> So move the second

[50:43] » So move the second

[50:43] trusty Andrew. Go ahead Trusty Almond.

[50:46] >> Okay. And then again bylaws of the board

[50:48] » Okay. And then again bylaws of the board

[50:48] must be given three distinct readings.

[50:51] Um we have revised our current policy

[50:55] seven board operations

[50:58] including changing the contents from a

[50:59] policy to a bylaw. So, we're

[51:02] recommending that the first reading of

[51:03] bylaw 5 be given at this evening's

[51:06] meeting and then the second reading at

[51:08] which discussion would be take would be

[51:10] um

[51:12] place take place would be given at the

[51:14] January the 13th 2026 regular public

[51:17] meeting.

[51:20] Uh something I will add to that uh as as

[51:24] well. Did you have a question first? Oh,

[51:27] there we go. Um sorry. um is that this

[51:32] the being a bylaw would not go to policy

[51:35] advisory committee. However, we will

[51:37] take public input on this as as per

[51:40] normal. There's public input at

[51:42] sdb57.bc.ca

[51:44] and trustees at sb57.bc.ca.

[51:48] That would be a normal process for

[51:49] receiving public input for matters.

[51:53] >> Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the

[51:54] » Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the

[51:54] recommended motion is that bylaw five

[51:56] board procedure be given first reading.

[51:58] All in favor?

[51:59] That is unanimous. Thank you. Trustee

[52:02] Holland 8.4 policies for reveal for

[52:05] appeal.

[52:06] >> I'm just scrolling.

[52:08] » I'm just scrolling.

[52:08] [clears throat]

[52:11] » Goodness. This is even the bylaw is

[52:14] being shortened. I think we go. Here we

[52:16] go. Okay.

[52:19] Reveal policies. Recommended motion that

[52:21] the following policy be repealed

[52:24] immediately. So that is policy two role

[52:27] of the board. Policy three role of the

[52:28] trustee. Policy four trustee code of

[52:31] conduct. Policy five role of the board's

[52:33] chair. Policy six role of the vice

[52:35] chair. Policy 9 board of

[52:37] representatives. Policy 11 for

[52:40] delegation of authority. Policy 12 role

[52:43] of the superintendent. Policy 11 1,100

[52:48] uh freedom of information and protection

[52:50] of pro uh privacy. Policy 1110,

[52:53] communications, policy 1240, Virginia

[52:56] Volunteer Services, and policy 1340,

[53:00] Educational Heritage.

[53:01] >> So, second,

[53:05] » So, second,

[53:05] >> Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty

[53:06] » Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty

[53:06] Holland.

[53:08] >> So, uh the the first

[53:11] » So, uh the the first

[53:11] uh from policy 2 to policy 12, we

[53:14] adopted uh revised governance policies

[53:18] that would replace all those particular

[53:20] policies.

[53:21] policy um 11000 freedom of information

[53:25] and protection of privacy is no longer

[53:28] required as the content in that policy

[53:31] has been replaced by our privacy

[53:33] management program and admin procedures.

[53:36] Policy 1110 is no longer required as the

[53:40] content in that is included in 1.22 22

[53:43] the role of the board chair and vice

[53:46] chair and there's uh has this notes uh

[53:50] the policies 1240 provision of volunteer

[53:53] services and 1340 educational heritage

[53:56] are operational in nature and will be

[53:59] established as administrative procedures

[54:04] um

[54:07] >> I will

[54:09] » I will

[54:09] I mean I I'm so much torn here because

[54:12] uh Policy 1240, provision of volunteer

[54:15] services, I think might be slightly

[54:18] premature for in there to be repealed.

[54:21] It's one of the ones that would be

[54:22] reflected on the next in the next area,

[54:25] the 2.41 parent engagement, and there

[54:29] are some other policies that would uh go

[54:32] into those as well. So while the the

[54:34] bulk of that policy um is 1240 provision

[54:40] volunteers is indeed administrative,

[54:42] there are some some government um

[54:44] governance related areas that I probably

[54:48] should not be repealed before we have

[54:49] the new policy in place.

[54:52] >> Am I hearing suggested amend? But

[54:54] » Am I hearing suggested amend? But

[54:54] >> yes, you are.

[54:55] » yes, you are.

[54:55] >> Would you like to on the floor, please?

[54:57] » Would you like to on the floor, please?

[54:57] We'll see just a second. I would like to

[55:00] amend uh the motion on the floor by

[55:03] removing the words policy 1240 provision

[55:06] of volunteer services.

[55:07] >> Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any

[55:10] » Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any

[55:10] discussion trustees?

[55:12] All in favor of the amendment

[55:15] that is unanimous. So the motion has

[55:17] amended now. Any further comment to

[55:19] that?

[55:21] >> Does anyone have any questions about

[55:23] » Does anyone have any questions about

[55:23] this?

[55:26] >> Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,

[55:29] » Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,

[55:29] more so just a comment on recognizing

[55:31] and I know that we had this conversation

[55:33] last month, but just also revisiting

[55:35] because that that work continues to be

[55:38] significant and ongoing and as you

[55:40] mentioned almost weekly. So just a note

[55:42] of gratitude.

[55:43] >> Thank you.

[55:47] » Okay. And seeing no further discussion,

[55:49] we are going on the amended motion. All

[55:51] in favor?

[55:53] That is unanimous. Thank you very much,

[55:55] Trusty Holland. And if you want to set

[55:57] water again 8.5

[56:02] » there we go. Okay. So the recommended

[56:05] motion is that the board of education

[56:07] refer policies 2.4 student voice 2.41

[56:11] parent engagement and 250 partnerships

[56:15] corporate sponsorships and donations to

[56:18] the policy advisory committee for

[56:20] review.

[56:21] >> So move seconded

[56:23] » So move seconded

[56:23] vice chair clean. in discussion.

[56:27] >> I can give a bit of background here

[56:29] » I can give a bit of background here

[56:29] basically. Uh so we're looking at the

[56:32] policies for the policy management

[56:34] section two which is expectations,

[56:36] relationships and communications and

[56:38] engagement and there will be several

[56:42] quite a number of other policies that

[56:43] will go to the the policy advisory

[56:45] committee for review. These are the

[56:47] first three that we'll be going to there

[56:49] because um we we thought we thought

[56:53] these were good policies to start off

[56:54] with.

[56:56] Um so I don't believe we currently have

[56:59] policy advisory committee uh meeting

[57:01] scheduled. Uh we probably be looking in

[57:04] January for that. But again uh I believe

[57:08] our DPAC um president is is going to be

[57:10] serving as the DPAC represent DSAC by

[57:13] apologies of the district student

[57:15] advisory committee. uh chair serving as

[57:17] the representative. So we are looking

[57:19] forward to that taking place.

[57:21] >> Go ahead. Trust Corey.

[57:23] » Go ahead. Trust Corey.

[57:23] >> So because we have not yet formed that

[57:26] » So because we have not yet formed that

[57:26] and that would be an appointment of

[57:28] physicians, would that be on the January

[57:30] agenda

[57:32] uh for for action?

[57:35] >> Yes.

[57:36] » Yes.

[57:36] Any other discussion?

[57:39] Seeing none, all in favor?

[57:42] That is unanimous. Thank you, Trusty

[57:44] Holland. And again, just trusty Holland.

[57:46] Uh, everyone helps on this, but you do a

[57:48] lot of the heavy lifting and we

[57:50] appreciate that. So, thank you very

[57:52] much. Uh, we're going to move on to

[57:54] number nine. Uh, trust. So, this is a

[57:57] board authorized course, equin assisted

[58:00] learning and animal care at 12. And so,

[58:03] we have Christie here and Christa, you

[58:06] come on up to the mic for me.

[58:08] >> The first thing trustees said, the first

[58:11] » The first thing trustees said, the first

[58:11] thing when they saw this item is where's

[58:12] the horse?

[58:15] Please let them know there is no horse

[58:17] today

[58:18] and direct your vote. Sorry.

[58:21] Go ahead. Thanks for looking forward to

[58:23] You're actually not going to hear from

[58:25] me very much. I just wanted to introduce

[58:27] the two. So this is Christopher Olivier

[58:28] and Chris Allen or sorry

[58:33] » it's

[58:36] like Olivia%

[58:37] on last name for the record. Uh but I I

[58:42] just wanted to make one comment before

[58:43] they started. We we just heard in the

[58:44] college trace family of school

[58:46] presentations how important it is to

[58:48] engage students in different ways and

[58:49] try to find an opportunity so they they

[58:51] can engage with our school communities.

[58:53] And so I just very thankful that um

[58:55] these two educators decided to um put in

[58:59] the time to to try to make a board off

[59:01] the right course and and be willing to

[59:03] come here tonight to present. So thank

[59:04] you both. I'll pass it over to you.

[59:09] Thank you.

[59:13] Try and share this here.

[59:21] » All right. Um, so I said my name is

[59:25] Chris Oliver. Uh, I'm a teacher at ACP.

[59:29] >> I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and

[59:31] » I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and

[59:31] also a ecoin assisted learning

[59:34] facilitator.

[59:37] And we do have one other person on our

[59:39] team who wishes she was here. Her name

[59:41] is Terresa Hick. She's another youth

[59:42] care worker at our school. Many many of

[59:44] you, I'm sure, know her and may know her

[59:46] better as T. Um, very she's very sadly

[59:49] not here, let's say. She's getting jaw

[59:50] major jaw surgery. Uh, actually earlier

[59:53] this morning she had major jaw surgery

[59:54] and she's in recovery now. Um, and she

[59:58] she's in here. She's here in spirit and

[59:59] she left me some very detailed things

[1:00:01] she wants me to say and to remind

[1:00:03] everyone remind me a few times yesterday

[1:00:05] of what I should be saying for her.

[1:00:09] So you will you'll be hearing from her

[1:00:11] but not directly.

[1:00:14] Um so this is my seventh year in the

[1:00:17] district as a teacher. Uh almost the

[1:00:20] entire time I've been working in

[1:00:21] alternate education at ACP and

[1:00:22] Intersect. Um I have been working with

[1:00:25] animals my entire life. I I have family

[1:00:28] a lot of family members have farms and I

[1:00:30] spent most of my summers helping out on

[1:00:32] those farms. Uh as well as pets and

[1:00:35] other animals in my own house. And I

[1:00:38] really strongly believe that courses

[1:00:41] like this and some other ones especially

[1:00:43] we heard earlier today from uh from Miss

[1:00:46] Mloud and the outdoor ed program about

[1:00:49] how experiential hands-on learning is of

[1:00:52] utmost importance in the schools

[1:00:54] especially today.

[1:00:57] And uh T gave me a list of what she

[1:01:00] wants to say to introduce her. I'll I'll

[1:01:02] read her words exactly as I had them.

[1:01:06] Um she's been in the district for over

[1:01:08] 30 years working with some of the most

[1:01:10] atrisisk youth in the city. She believes

[1:01:14] incredibly strongly that compassion and

[1:01:17] empathy are critical skills that

[1:01:19] everyone must learn and the best way to

[1:01:22] learn them is to work with animals of

[1:01:25] all kinds. Cats, dogs, horses, they all

[1:01:28] work to really build that compassion,

[1:01:30] empathy these kids really desperately

[1:01:32] need. and also that students need to

[1:01:35] learn to connect to their community and

[1:01:38] to give back to their community through

[1:01:39] volunteerism which this course will

[1:01:42] hopefully provide in spades.

[1:01:48] » Good evening everyone. Um so I'm from a

[1:01:51] really small I'm not even going to say

[1:01:53] town community. Um does anyone know

[1:01:55] where Grassy Plains is?

[1:01:57] >> Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,

[1:02:00] » Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,

[1:02:00] there wasn't hardly any girls my age or

[1:02:03] boys and

[1:02:06] I grew up on a cattle ranch and horses

[1:02:09] were our means of everything. And so

[1:02:12] horses gave me wellness. They gave me

[1:02:14] friendship and I knew somehow someway I

[1:02:17] was going to work with people and

[1:02:18] horses. And so about eight years ago, I

[1:02:21] heard about this program out of Calgary

[1:02:23] called Equin assisted Learning. And it

[1:02:25] was everything I ever dreamed about. And

[1:02:28] not even two months later, I was in

[1:02:29] Calgary becoming certified. And so, um,

[1:02:34] I've put thousands of people through our

[1:02:36] program. It is I'm very passionate about

[1:02:38] it. I've seen some major transformation

[1:02:41] with some of our kids and youth. Um,

[1:02:44] hopefully I'll be able to tell tell you

[1:02:45] a couple stories if I talk too much. Um

[1:02:48] but yeah, working for the school

[1:02:51] district for the last 15 years, also

[1:02:53] with high-risisk youth mental health has

[1:02:55] been kind of an area that I've been

[1:02:57] working in mostly through intersect

[1:02:59] school program. And then I also did

[1:03:03] indigenous education when I first came

[1:03:05] to the school district. So have had

[1:03:07] quite a bit of experience working with

[1:03:08] all kinds of diverse uh students and

[1:03:12] yeah I've definitely worked with some

[1:03:14] complex horses. Their horses are amazing

[1:03:17] teachers. Um they are the teacher in our

[1:03:20] program. So you'll learn a little bit

[1:03:22] more about that. But yeah that's

[1:03:24] something that I uh definitely have a

[1:03:28] big heart for and I went to Conrad our

[1:03:30] principal last year and said is there

[1:03:32] any way we can do this through school?

[1:03:34] Um I have a partnership with uh my work

[1:03:37] equestrian center and so we all decided

[1:03:39] to kind of make it work and so it didn't

[1:03:41] start off really as a elective but um

[1:03:45] we've been working this last year giving

[1:03:47] like PE credits and stuff like that. So

[1:03:49] we really like to make it work. It's

[1:03:51] actually good credit.

[1:03:54] >> Yeah.

[1:03:58] All right. So

[1:04:01] So why are we teaching this course?

[1:04:03] Well, we believe it or not, these these

[1:04:05] are the paired down notes on the slides

[1:04:07] as well. We we originally had even more

[1:04:09] words on there. Um we all three of us

[1:04:12] believe really strongly in as I said

[1:04:14] before building connection to the

[1:04:16] community through volunteerism and in

[1:04:18] building skills through working with

[1:04:21] animals. So compassion, empathy, I

[1:04:23] already mentioned were really important

[1:04:24] things that come from working with

[1:04:26] animals. but also learning social cues,

[1:04:29] learning body language, learning

[1:04:31] confidence, learning how to step outside

[1:04:33] of your comfort zone. All these things

[1:04:35] come very naturally when you work with

[1:04:38] animals. Uh whether it be something very

[1:04:40] small like a cat or something very large

[1:04:42] like a horse, it does come through in

[1:04:45] all of these things. Um and one thing I

[1:04:49] found last year was we have some really

[1:04:52] amazing resources in this town. We have

[1:04:54] the ecoin program that Christa runs on

[1:04:57] her own. Uh if you want to flaunt your

[1:04:59] business, you can show the logo on here.

[1:05:01] Ultra ecoin.

[1:05:03] Um the ultraequin program which I which

[1:05:06] Christa runs her own business which I

[1:05:08] have seen kids I've had students who've

[1:05:10] gone through that program and they came

[1:05:11] out changed. first took one of my prote.

[1:05:17] [laughter]

[1:05:20] » Well, yeah, I prefer cows. Um

[1:05:24] but

[1:05:26] um we also have a really important

[1:05:28] resource in the local humane societies

[1:05:30] and the volunteer programs that they

[1:05:32] offer. So combining these two things

[1:05:34] into a course is such an important way

[1:05:38] of of using the resources we have in the

[1:05:41] community to help the kids who need it.

[1:05:44] Um you know students at ACP obviously

[1:05:46] they come from in many case many places

[1:05:49] very troubled lives. We deal with

[1:05:53] cross-sections of the community that

[1:05:54] includes high mental health, addiction,

[1:05:57] gang involvement, street entrenchment,

[1:05:59] lots of things like that. And giving

[1:06:01] them these opportunities they would

[1:06:02] never have in any other situation is is

[1:06:05] powerful. Like it it's something that

[1:06:07] they would never be able to do

[1:06:08] otherwise. And it allows them to learn

[1:06:10] skills that are so that are going to

[1:06:12] carry them through for the rest of their

[1:06:14] life because there's skills involved

[1:06:17] with working with the animals. But we

[1:06:19] also make sure as a major point to

[1:06:21] relate everything back to how this can

[1:06:22] work in your daily life. Working with

[1:06:24] people, working with yourself, how these

[1:06:27] skills transfer to all those aspects of

[1:06:30] your life.

[1:06:36] with me. So, I kind of already went into

[1:06:40] this a little bit on the previous slide,

[1:06:42] but why this course matters, as I

[1:06:43] already mentioned, has to do with how

[1:06:45] important these skills are when it comes

[1:06:47] to building up our students in our

[1:06:50] community. And one thing that we have

[1:06:53] found, and I'm sure everyone who's

[1:06:55] worked in schools has has made similar

[1:06:57] observations, is we do notice a decline

[1:07:00] in a lot of social skills in our

[1:07:02] students coming in. some our older

[1:07:04] students often have more than our newer

[1:07:07] ones coming in and a few years ago it

[1:07:08] was even higher than it was now. We we

[1:07:10] tend to see this and I've definitely

[1:07:12] heard a lot of people talking about it

[1:07:13] and it was something we thought this is

[1:07:15] a way to help combat that because one of

[1:07:18] the reasons so many students are

[1:07:20] struggling with these social skills is

[1:07:21] they've never learned body language,

[1:07:24] social cues, how to be confident enough

[1:07:26] to ask a question or to stick their neck

[1:07:28] out in a conversation or anything like

[1:07:30] that. and they they're afraid to step

[1:07:32] out of their comfort zone. And so giving

[1:07:33] them an opportunity where they can learn

[1:07:35] all those skills in a very safe way, in

[1:07:38] a very non-judgmental way in the sense

[1:07:40] that a a horse will never judge you in

[1:07:42] the same way a person will. Uh gives

[1:07:45] them so so much practice. They're able

[1:07:47] to take that and then apply it in their

[1:07:49] life and become much more productive

[1:07:52] members of the community afterwards.

[1:07:58] » Okay. Um so equin assisted learning uh

[1:08:02] the program that I took is has a

[1:08:05] trademark called building block

[1:08:06] curriculum and every session has

[1:08:09] objective. So we start off with um

[1:08:12] safety number one. My biggest priority

[1:08:14] when it comes to horses is kids learning

[1:08:16] safety, learning how to be safe around

[1:08:19] them, how to walk around them. Um and

[1:08:21] then they have to learn the skills. So

[1:08:23] they go into relationship building um

[1:08:27] skill development and then we get in

[1:08:28] different forms of communication and

[1:08:31] also includes like problem solving and

[1:08:34] um negotiation focus those are all

[1:08:37] objectives that we have in our program

[1:08:39] and there's 12 of them and then at the

[1:08:41] very end which Chris will talk about a

[1:08:43] little bit more is they actually become

[1:08:45] the facilitator to the other group and

[1:08:47] facilitate their own course. So, a

[1:08:50] little bit about the program. They come

[1:08:53] um we debrief on whatever the objective

[1:08:55] is going to be for the day and usually

[1:08:57] takes about 10 15 minutes and then they

[1:09:00] go and work with the horse for about 45

[1:09:02] to 50 minutes. And it's all kind of like

[1:09:05] exercises or obstacles that they have to

[1:09:07] work together and work as a team, step

[1:09:10] up and be a leader to. And they have to

[1:09:13] work of course is part of their team as

[1:09:15] well. And so then I step in if I see

[1:09:18] anything that's like unsafe or any kind

[1:09:20] of learning moments. That's my job. And

[1:09:23] then we come back at the end, we debrief

[1:09:26] about it, reflect it to everyday um

[1:09:29] learning like how they can use those

[1:09:30] skills and and um then they do a a

[1:09:33] journal at the end talking about what

[1:09:35] the horse taught them. And then we they

[1:09:37] pick a word. So we have a word board.

[1:09:40] They pick a word. We talk about why that

[1:09:41] word mattered to them for the day.

[1:09:43] [clears throat] So that's every day

[1:09:44] looks the same. It's very structured so

[1:09:46] the kids get to learn and feel

[1:09:48] comfortable and safe. Uh we make it very

[1:09:51] safe place and I also have a a

[1:09:54] partnership with my work equestrian

[1:09:56] center that one of the girls there is

[1:09:58] always there horses getting them ready

[1:10:01] um and and helps me with making sure the

[1:10:03] horses are safe because we can't do this

[1:10:06] program unless the horses are looked

[1:10:07] after properly, their mental health,

[1:10:09] physical health and that somebody is

[1:10:11] always looking out for their safety. So

[1:10:13] that's kind of how it works. And with

[1:10:16] the humane society, um, basically the

[1:10:21] kind of it's similar. We go there, we

[1:10:23] find out what we're going to do for the

[1:10:24] day, and we make sure that everybody

[1:10:26] kind of knows their job and has a job

[1:10:28] and we go over safety and kind of what

[1:10:31] that job looks like. So even when

[1:10:33] they're working with the animals,

[1:10:34] usually happens at towards the end of

[1:10:35] the day. if there's new kids that

[1:10:37] haven't been there before, we kind of go

[1:10:38] in with them, make sure that they're

[1:10:40] comfortable and and uh kind of

[1:10:42] understand like how dogs and cats work.

[1:10:45] So, yeah, I'll let you go over the rest

[1:10:47] of that.

[1:10:49] >> Oh, thank you.

[1:10:51] » Oh, thank you.

[1:10:51] >> Um,

[1:10:54] » Um,

[1:10:54] as you can see, if I I I can very easily

[1:10:56] go into every one of these aspects in

[1:10:58] detail. uh out of respect for everyone's

[1:11:00] time and evening, I I will leave. If you

[1:11:03] have any of these aspects you'd like to

[1:11:05] ask me more about, please do during the

[1:11:06] question session, um I I hope everyone

[1:11:10] will be able to actually leave this

[1:11:11] place this evening and not listen to me

[1:11:13] talk for an an hour. But suffice to say

[1:11:16] just to touch kind of expend on what

[1:11:17] Christa was saying as well. um when it

[1:11:20] comes to the when it comes to the humane

[1:11:21] society side of things because how how

[1:11:23] our course is currently structured is on

[1:11:26] Tuesday afternoons students go down to

[1:11:28] the myth equestrian center and work with

[1:11:29] the horses on Thursdays they go to to

[1:11:32] the humane society and then there's

[1:11:34] another group of students who don't want

[1:11:36] to work with the horses and only do the

[1:11:37] humane society and they will often go on

[1:11:39] Thursdays and Fridays

[1:11:40] >> it's not a

[1:11:41] » it's not a

[1:11:41] >> it's not part of the same program like

[1:11:42] » it's not part of the same program like

[1:11:42] there it's a sort of a separate a

[1:11:44] separate existing program that T had

[1:11:46] started in previous years that we kind

[1:11:47] of grafted this together to make a whole

[1:11:49] thing out of. Um, but one thing that,

[1:11:52] and you'll see this when we come to the

[1:11:53] pictures as well, is kind of said, is

[1:11:56] it's not just playing with cats and

[1:11:58] dogs. They work. They come in, they do

[1:12:00] laundry, they do dishes, they have

[1:12:03] scraped frozen dog poop off of concrete

[1:12:06] for an hour. And some days they don't

[1:12:08] even get a chance to actually spend time

[1:12:09] with the animals. And they're still

[1:12:10] happy to be there because they know

[1:12:12] they're helping those animals lives by

[1:12:14] doing all the cleaning and sorting and

[1:12:16] organizing. And and I got I've never

[1:12:18] seen teenagers clean so well as when

[1:12:21] they are washing and drying all the

[1:12:23] stuff that belongs to all the dogs cuz

[1:12:25] they suddenly care about it a lot more.

[1:12:28] But all these different skills, all

[1:12:31] different content, these are things that

[1:12:32] we go through every day, whether it's

[1:12:34] working with the horses or working with

[1:12:35] the cats and dogs. Um,

[1:12:39] and they're all, as I said before, all

[1:12:40] things that we try to relate back to

[1:12:42] their everyday life. Like if you once

[1:12:44] you learn how to how to fold a dog's

[1:12:46] sheet, you know how to fold your own

[1:12:47] sheets, too. So you don't have to rely

[1:12:49] on your mom to fold your sheets for you

[1:12:50] at home anymore, for example.

[1:12:58] [clears throat]

[1:13:01] So as I said, uh we off this currently

[1:13:03] at ACP twice a week. We are currently

[1:13:06] offering students credits towards their

[1:13:07] PE or active living courses. Um, we've

[1:13:11] also sometimes counted the the time at

[1:13:13] the at the Humane Society towards

[1:13:14] volunteer hours for things like CLC12

[1:13:17] and work experience and other volunteer

[1:13:19] hours that they need for courses.

[1:13:22] The hope would be once if we can get

[1:13:24] this approved to make a more formalized

[1:13:27] course.

[1:13:29] And while this is currently only

[1:13:31] available at ACP, there are options to

[1:13:33] expand this to other schools. The

[1:13:35] considerations I have for you is you

[1:13:36] have to have someone like Christa who is

[1:13:39] an ecoin like a trained ecoin assisted

[1:13:42] learning facilitator. You have to have

[1:13:45] access to horses obviously. Um

[1:13:48] transportation safety have a teacher

[1:13:50] involved for assessment any other

[1:13:53] supports that are required for things

[1:13:55] like emergency transportation or

[1:13:57] classroom management. If one student has

[1:13:59] some kind of problem, whether it be a

[1:14:02] medical problem or they have some kind

[1:14:04] of breakdown, we'll make sure that we

[1:14:06] have supports set to keep that student

[1:14:07] safe without also compromising the

[1:14:09] learning of everyone else in the in the

[1:14:11] arena. For instance, um when it comes to

[1:14:14] Humane Society, they accept volunteers

[1:14:16] from all over. I'm sure any school would

[1:14:18] be happy to have a group that could go.

[1:14:20] The only thing, if I could make a

[1:14:22] suggestion, would be if there was some

[1:14:24] kind of like district-wide signup board

[1:14:26] for some simple reason that they get

[1:14:28] overwhelmed if there's more than say 10

[1:14:31] or more volunteers at once. And also,

[1:14:33] yes, there would have to be adults there

[1:14:34] to help supervise, transport, and once

[1:14:36] again manage because it's not fair to

[1:14:39] the Humane Society staff if they are now

[1:14:41] having to, you know, tell the kids what

[1:14:44] to do and stop them from messing around

[1:14:45] or anything like that. We want to make

[1:14:47] sure they're being productive and we're

[1:14:48] not interrupting their actual jobs there

[1:14:51] because they have their own work that

[1:14:52] they have to do as well. So all the

[1:14:54] these all these things could be

[1:14:56] absolutely applied to other schools. It

[1:14:57] would require some resources like I said

[1:15:00] uh most importantly perhaps a ecoin

[1:15:02] assistant facilitator but they are all

[1:15:05] very possible within other schools.

[1:15:10] » All right. So here's a couple of well

[1:15:12] few pictures of some of our kids. Um, I

[1:15:15] have seen or we have seen some major

[1:15:18] transformation.

[1:15:20] I can't even tell you how shocked I am.

[1:15:23] We've had kids that have had like

[1:15:25] selective mutism that wouldn't even talk

[1:15:27] to us at school and we've convinced them

[1:15:30] to come there and they end up having a

[1:15:32] voice for the horse. I've seen kids with

[1:15:35] pretty complex mental health that'll be

[1:15:38] able to gain some skills and start using

[1:15:41] them within the school setting and just

[1:15:44] smiles on face. Like sometimes we have

[1:15:46] kids that are pretty depressed or you

[1:15:48] don't see them with smiles on their face

[1:15:49] very often. Have another kid that's I

[1:15:53] don't I wouldn't say he has a like a

[1:15:55] tough guy. He's pretty uh I don't know

[1:15:58] how how to explain him. He's I wouldn't

[1:16:00] say that he's like a gang member, but

[1:16:02] he's kind of like has that hard shell

[1:16:04] around him and pretty hard to approach

[1:16:08] and seeing him with animals is he has he

[1:16:11] has a huge heart. It just blew my mind

[1:16:13] actually. I wasn't sure about bringing

[1:16:15] him there to begin with and what was

[1:16:16] that was going to look like and yeah

[1:16:19] it's so lots of good qualities um come

[1:16:23] out of some of these kids that just blow

[1:16:24] you away and just uh how they start

[1:16:28] being leaders in the school and with

[1:16:31] some of these kids. So yeah, I I have

[1:16:33] tons of stories. I could talk about it

[1:16:35] for a long long time, but it's uh

[1:16:37] definitely really rewarding. And being

[1:16:40] able to

[1:16:42] offer this is just something that has

[1:16:46] really I guess made my career at the um

[1:16:50] school district like something that I

[1:16:53] love. Yeah.

[1:17:04] The last just said questions, the rest

[1:17:05] was blank. So questions for anyone. Yes,

[1:17:09] please. Um, just before we do that, I'm

[1:17:11] going to put the motion on the floor and

[1:17:12] then we'll talk about it behind. So that

[1:17:14] recommend a motion that Aquin assisted

[1:17:16] learning and animal care 12 be approved

[1:17:18] as a board authorized course. Moved by

[1:17:21] Trusty Holland, seconded by Trusty

[1:17:23] Weber. And now questions or discussions?

[1:17:25] Trustees?

[1:17:27] Uh, Trusty Weber, please.

[1:17:32] » Hi. I just want to thank you so much for

[1:17:34] having the courage to create a course

[1:17:35] like this. Um, it can be challenging at

[1:17:38] times. Um, but the passion that I'm

[1:17:40] hearing from you and and the desire to

[1:17:42] help kids in a way that isn't inside the

[1:17:45] school walls um is really super

[1:17:48] encouraging. Um, I have read your uh

[1:17:52] framework for your course very thorough,

[1:17:55] very well laid out. Um, I am so excited

[1:17:58] about this. You 100% have my backing on

[1:18:01] this. Um, I would like to see the

[1:18:04] schools in McKenzie come out and work

[1:18:05] with you if that's an opportunity. Um,

[1:18:09] yeah, I just wish there would be more

[1:18:11] opportunities for things like this, more

[1:18:12] hands-on, and I think the local SPCAS

[1:18:15] will really appreciate you. The extra

[1:18:17] hands is always encouraging. Um, so

[1:18:19] thank you. Well done. This is very good.

[1:18:21] >> Thank you very much,

[1:18:23] » Thank you very much,

[1:18:23] >> Trusty.

[1:18:25] » Trusty.

[1:18:25] >> Yeah, thanks very much. That was

[1:18:28] » Yeah, thanks very much. That was

[1:18:28] perfectly said. I I knew nothing about

[1:18:31] horses and and just this summer I was I

[1:18:33] was fortunate enough to go on some rides

[1:18:35] at a place El Shadai and and an owner

[1:18:39] Sean and and just his description of how

[1:18:42] much he loved horses matches this and

[1:18:45] just the different personalities of each

[1:18:47] horse and how as we know every student

[1:18:50] has a different personality and just

[1:18:51] seeing those combinations and coming

[1:18:53] together was was is magic. So for myself

[1:18:56] who knew nothing about horses and going

[1:18:59] out there and being on it, it did change

[1:19:01] my life and my family's life going on an

[1:19:03] hourong horse ride. So I can't imagine

[1:19:06] how much you can impact children's

[1:19:09] lives, students lives at a at a younger

[1:19:11] age by by building those uh

[1:19:14] relationships between the horses and

[1:19:15] them. And and so I it's amazing. So,

[1:19:19] thank you very much and I hope the

[1:19:20] program in the future expands further to

[1:19:23] support not just students around Prince

[1:19:26] George but but further and so well done

[1:19:28] and thank you and I really appreciate

[1:19:31] all your passion.

[1:19:32] >> Thank you. Thank you very much. I just

[1:19:34] » Thank you. Thank you very much. I just

[1:19:34] want to say that I encourage any one of

[1:19:36] you guys to come out and check it out.

[1:19:39] And usually by like day three or session

[1:19:42] three or four like I it's really where

[1:19:45] you see the value and the benefits of

[1:19:47] the program. But we also do pro days.

[1:19:50] I've done spring bling for six years now

[1:19:52] and sometimes we do the mental health

[1:19:54] symposium. But yeah, if you guys want to

[1:19:56] come out and do a program, we do team

[1:19:58] building program. So I'd be up for it.

[1:20:02] So thank you uh Chris and Christa and

[1:20:04] again this is ACP alternate community

[1:20:07] programs.

[1:20:07] >> Yes,

[1:20:08] » Yes,

[1:20:08] >> I mean this is very well brought those

[1:20:11] » I mean this is very well brought those

[1:20:11] words to life. So trustees before they

[1:20:13] go I think it might be important for us

[1:20:15] to do a vote. So all

[1:20:19] >> congratulations.

[1:20:20] » congratulations.

[1:20:20] Thank you.

[1:20:22] >> Um if I just one final thing just to

[1:20:24] » Um if I just one final thing just to

[1:20:24] make sure it's absolutely clear to

[1:20:26] everyone. Uh there is no horse riding in

[1:20:28] this [laughter] particular horse. Okay,

[1:20:32] >> everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.

[1:20:34] » everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.

[1:20:34] >> Yeah,

[1:20:35] » Yeah,

[1:20:35] >> they don't like it, but they have to.

[1:20:37] » they don't like it, but they have to.

[1:20:37] >> Thanks very much.

[1:20:38] » Thanks very much.

[1:20:38] >> Thank you.

[1:20:40] » Thank you.

[1:20:40] >> So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard

[1:20:43] » So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard

[1:20:43] to follow that uh 9.2 statement of

[1:20:46] financial information, the SOFI report.

[1:20:49] Secretary Treasur,

[1:20:54] » thank you. Attached to your agenda is

[1:20:57] the statement of financial information

[1:20:59] which is a requirement under the

[1:21:00] financial information act. And as you

[1:21:02] can see in the agenda, there's a number

[1:21:04] of attachments including the June 30th,

[1:21:07] 2025 audit financial statements, the

[1:21:10] schedule of remuneration and expense for

[1:21:12] trustees and employees with all trustees

[1:21:15] and those employees with salaries

[1:21:17] exceeding 75,000. schedule of payments

[1:21:20] to suppliers of goods and services for

[1:21:23] suppliers that are paid in excess of

[1:21:25] $25,000 and then an explanation of the

[1:21:27] difference differences between the

[1:21:29] report and the financial statements.

[1:21:32] >> Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes

[1:21:34] » Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes

[1:21:34] recommended motion is that the statement

[1:21:35] of financial information for the fiscal

[1:21:37] year and the June 30th, 2025 be approved

[1:21:40] as the presented. Could I have a mover,

[1:21:42] please? Trustee Weber, the seconder,

[1:21:46] Vice Chair Mlean. And any questions or

[1:21:48] discussion for Secretary Treasure?

[1:21:49] Trusty Holland, please.

[1:21:52] >> You didn't see my hand go up before if

[1:21:54] » You didn't see my hand go up before if

[1:21:54] you said Trusty Holland.

[1:21:57] Um, a a question then for the secretary

[1:22:00] treasure and

[1:22:03] you know the uh the only thing that I uh

[1:22:06] have an issue with in this report is

[1:22:09] that $75,000 is the threshold and has

[1:22:12] been the threshold since what it 2002

[1:22:15] thereabouts. So if in $22 the threshold

[1:22:19] would have been $120,000 roughly for

[1:22:22] salaries and uh so originally it was

[1:22:25] above the average amount of teacher

[1:22:27] salary in BC and now it's quite a bit

[1:22:29] below that average amount. So this is an

[1:22:32] increase in paperwork for this district

[1:22:34] for all districts for all public

[1:22:36] employers and a decrease in privacy for

[1:22:38] our employees. Do you see any sign that

[1:22:41] this might change and and that it be

[1:22:43] indexed to inflation in the future?

[1:22:46] I have not I know this is a discussion

[1:22:48] that has occurred in the last several

[1:22:50] years because the $75,000 as you'd say

[1:22:53] has been unchanged and I haven't seen

[1:22:54] any indication or seen any communication

[1:22:57] of any potential change.

[1:23:00] >> Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing

[1:23:02] » Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing

[1:23:02] nothing further all in favor

[1:23:05] and that is unanimous. Thank you very

[1:23:06] much secretary treasure. 9.3 trustees is

[1:23:11] a cla a class size report and coming in

[1:23:13] and helping out today I believe is uh

[1:23:15] associate superintendent.

[1:23:17] >> Yes. So in front of you you have the

[1:23:18] » Yes. So in front of you you have the

[1:23:18] class size report. Um on the one column

[1:23:21] is the um the max numbers per

[1:23:24] kindergarten primary um intermediate and

[1:23:27] then secondary and then the other is the

[1:23:29] average for the 2025 2026 school year uh

[1:23:32] for the district. Um you can see that

[1:23:34] we've met all of our enrolling ratios or

[1:23:36] in the process of meeting them um as

[1:23:38] outlined in the collective agreement and

[1:23:40] we are below all of the the class size

[1:23:42] sort of limits um that we want to be

[1:23:44] there. So the report is very

[1:23:46] self-explanatory.

[1:23:48] >> Thank you very much. So the recommended

[1:23:49] » Thank you very much. So the recommended

[1:23:49] motion is that the class size report be

[1:23:51] received as presented. Can I get a mover

[1:23:53] please? Trusty Holland seconded. Vice

[1:23:56] Chair Mlean and any discussions or

[1:23:58] questions?

[1:24:00] Seeing none, all in favor

[1:24:03] and that is unanimous. Thank you very

[1:24:05] much. Associate Superintendent Men.

[1:24:08] Number 9.5 everyone. 2627 annual budget

[1:24:12] process and timeline. And this is back

[1:24:13] to our secretary treasurer minaria.

[1:24:16] Please number 9.4.

[1:24:19] >> Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it

[1:24:21] » Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it

[1:24:21] again. Hannah, I can't believe I

[1:24:23] [clears throat] did that.

[1:24:31] 9.4

[1:24:33] US financial December 382 director of

[1:24:37] finance Hannah Brown and

[1:24:38] >> a I'm state sorry

[1:24:43] » a I'm state sorry

[1:24:43] in your agenda package you'll find uh

[1:24:45] the operating fund results for quarter

[1:24:47] one uh which show an operating fund

[1:24:49] deficit of $2.5 million. An operating

[1:24:53] deficit in quarter one is typical for

[1:24:54] school districts mainly because of the

[1:24:56] timing of how we receive grants from the

[1:24:58] ministry. For example, the September

[1:25:00] operating grant revenue was 9.3 million

[1:25:03] compared to 17 million in October in

[1:25:06] spite of the fact that we have a full

[1:25:07] schoolbased payroll in September.

[1:25:11] The operating grant revenue is based on

[1:25:13] spring enrollment estimates until

[1:25:14] December when the ministry will

[1:25:16] recalculate the operating grant based on

[1:25:19] actual enrollments and the actual number

[1:25:21] of students designated with special

[1:25:23] needs and an amended budget for the year

[1:25:25] will be presented in February. Overall,

[1:25:28] we estimate the operating grant will

[1:25:29] decrease about $660,000

[1:25:32] compared to the original budget and

[1:25:34] staffing levels have been adjusted in

[1:25:36] response to uh enrollment variances and

[1:25:39] we don't expect that any significant

[1:25:41] reductions to other operating expenses

[1:25:43] will be required in response to the

[1:25:45] reduced revenue.

[1:25:47] When we look at our operating expenses

[1:25:49] for the first quarter for salaries

[1:25:51] costs, we would expect most school-based

[1:25:53] costs to be about 10% of budget at the

[1:25:56] end of September and 12 month employee

[1:25:59] salaries to be approximately 25% of

[1:26:01] budget. And for quarter 1, salary costs

[1:26:04] for all employee groups are in alignment

[1:26:05] with those expectations.

[1:26:08] Services and supplies expenses include

[1:26:10] costs for 12 month departments as well

[1:26:12] as 10-month schools and are comparable

[1:26:15] to prior year September year to date as

[1:26:18] a percent.

[1:26:20] Uh there is also a summary of governance

[1:26:22] costs included in your agenda package

[1:26:26] and uh that's all.

[1:26:29] >> Okay,

[1:26:31] » Okay,

[1:26:31] thank you very much. So the uh

[1:26:33] recommended motion is that the attached

[1:26:35] 2526 operating fund report and

[1:26:38] governance expenses for the year to date

[1:26:39] to September 30th, 2025 be received. Can

[1:26:43] I get that moved, please? Vice Chair

[1:26:45] Main seconded. Trusty Holland or sorry,

[1:26:48] Trusty Weber, any discussion or

[1:26:50] questions? Go ahead, Vice Chair.

[1:26:54] And I'm not sure if this question might

[1:26:56] be appropriate for um yourself or uh

[1:26:59] perhaps our secretary treasure, but just

[1:27:02] looking at the decrease in student

[1:27:04] enrollment, but an increase in inclusive

[1:27:06] ed um anecdotally, is this something you

[1:27:10] think can or we will see more of in the

[1:27:14] future? Just anecdotally, recognizing

[1:27:16] that that may not be um that information

[1:27:19] may not be handy.

[1:27:22] Uh gen generally our enrollment

[1:27:24] estimates are pretty flat maybe slightly

[1:27:27] decreasing. I really can't speak to

[1:27:30] future number of designated students but

[1:27:33] in recent years we have seen an increase

[1:27:38] >> anyone else. Okay seeing none other all

[1:27:41] » anyone else. Okay seeing none other all

[1:27:41] in favor

[1:27:44] it's unanimous. Thank you.

[1:27:47] Next time guaranteed.

[1:27:53] I don't I don't have any report. uh 9.5

[1:27:56] 202627 annual budget process and

[1:27:59] timeline or secretary treasurer mberry I

[1:28:01] got right

[1:28:03] >> information is attached to the agenda on

[1:28:05] » information is attached to the agenda on

[1:28:05] the proposed um budget development

[1:28:07] timeline for the 26 27th school year and

[1:28:11] we have considered what we the board's

[1:28:15] process in prior years and then tried to

[1:28:17] sort of take what we heard through

[1:28:19] feedback from um participants in the

[1:28:22] budget process. We are still

[1:28:24] recommending an earlier meeting in the

[1:28:27] budget process for presentation of

[1:28:30] projected enrollments and preliminary

[1:28:31] budget estimates in February along with

[1:28:34] an opportunity for rights holders,

[1:28:35] unions, partner groups, and the public

[1:28:37] on budget priorities.

[1:28:39] Um the preliminary budget or the draft

[1:28:42] 2627 annual budget will be provided to

[1:28:44] the board at the April public meeting.

[1:28:47] uh then an opportunity for public input

[1:28:50] will be provided so that people can

[1:28:51] provide input to you on um what they see

[1:28:54] that has been presented to them through

[1:28:56] the draft budget. There'll be um

[1:28:58] increased opportunities or an additional

[1:29:00] opportunity for the district student

[1:29:01] advisory council as long as they have

[1:29:04] time for us in their schedule. um the

[1:29:07] indigenous education council

[1:29:09] and then following the feedback period

[1:29:11] of uh committee the whole meeting will

[1:29:13] be held where we will provide um the

[1:29:16] summarized [clears throat] feedback that

[1:29:18] has been received through the process

[1:29:20] and we are also going to be mindful of

[1:29:23] the process or the feedback that is

[1:29:25] received and where we potentially see

[1:29:27] that reflected in the draft budget. um

[1:29:30] if necessary a budget discussion with

[1:29:32] the board through a workshop process in

[1:29:34] on April the 28th and then ideally the

[1:29:38] and hopefully their presentation and

[1:29:40] approval of the 26 27 annual budget by

[1:29:43] May 12th. We do have until the end of

[1:29:45] June, you know, if there's any um

[1:29:47] additional meetings that are required or

[1:29:50] anything unusual that occurs during that

[1:29:52] process. There is some additional time

[1:29:55] but um hopefully that will be concluded

[1:29:58] by May 12th.

[1:30:00] So the recommended motion is the board

[1:30:01] of education approve the 2627 annual

[1:30:04] budget development process and timeline.

[1:30:06] Can I get that moved? Trustee Weber or

[1:30:08] second it trustee Antrum. And any

[1:30:11] discussion or questions? Trusty McCory,

[1:30:14] please.

[1:30:16] Just looking at the proposed schedule.

[1:30:19] Um, is it in alignment with what we did

[1:30:21] the the year prior? Because I'm just

[1:30:24] wondering if the presentation of the

[1:30:27] budget happens in February, the amended

[1:30:30] budget, and we send it out to our

[1:30:32] partners and rights holders, is that

[1:30:34] enough time for them to provide

[1:30:36] feedback?

[1:30:39] >> Normally, like is the amended budget?

[1:30:41] » Normally, like is the amended budget?

[1:30:41] >> Yes.

[1:30:42] » Yes.

[1:30:42] >> I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on

[1:30:44] » I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on

[1:30:44] February 10th. That is when the board

[1:30:46] approves the amended annual budget for

[1:30:48] this current school year.

[1:30:49] >> Oh, thank you.

[1:30:49] » Oh, thank you.

[1:30:49] >> Sort of closing that process. Take the

[1:30:52] » Sort of closing that process. Take the

[1:30:52] estimates that we have um we have

[1:30:55] received or incurred through the year

[1:30:57] and that sort of includes sort of

[1:30:59] concludes the 2526 annual budget

[1:31:01] process.

[1:31:01] >> Okay.

[1:31:02] » Okay.

[1:31:02] >> And then we go into the 2026 27 process

[1:31:05] » And then we go into the 2026 27 process

[1:31:05] as of February 2.

[1:31:08] >> Okay. And then so that's presented

[1:31:10] » Okay. And then so that's presented

[1:31:10] February 24th. Okay. to everybody.

[1:31:14] >> Yes.

[1:31:14] » Yes.

[1:31:14] >> Got it. Thanks,

[1:31:16] » Got it. Thanks,

[1:31:16] >> Trusty Hollow, please.

[1:31:19] » Trusty Hollow, please.

[1:31:19] >> Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]

[1:31:22] » Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]

[1:31:22] >> Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a

[1:31:24] » Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a

[1:31:24] moment to uh just a comment to remind um

[1:31:27] and really invite folks from community.

[1:31:30] I know certainly in my role as a trustee

[1:31:32] this past year have um heard that

[1:31:35] question of like where can we put input

[1:31:36] or where can we have voice on these

[1:31:38] things and and rightfully so that's an

[1:31:40] important question to ask. So really

[1:31:42] drawing attention to these timelines and

[1:31:44] really hopefully you know wanting to

[1:31:46] share that with community that come on

[1:31:48] out we want to hear those voices.

[1:31:53] » Yes. Two questions. Uh one is I seem to

[1:31:55] recall some sort of discussion at the

[1:31:57] end of the budget process last year

[1:31:59] about potentially having you know the

[1:32:02] opportunity for trustees to to go a

[1:32:03] little bit some trustees to go a bit

[1:32:05] deeper into the numbers. I'm wondering

[1:32:07] if that would be part of of this

[1:32:11] response.

[1:32:14] We did recall that conversation and saw

[1:32:16] that as part of the board workshop on

[1:32:18] April the 28th. An opportunity for

[1:32:20] really to go in with a little more

[1:32:22] questions and this is okay. Next

[1:32:25] question. I'm very sad because I'm

[1:32:27] likely not going to be here April the

[1:32:29] 28th given that I have plane tickets um

[1:32:32] for that at 10. I might be occasionally

[1:32:36] then in between flights. But um so my

[1:32:39] question then was for the April 28th um

[1:32:42] committee the whole meeting if that

[1:32:43] would be recorded and um publicly

[1:32:47] available but now I'm very sad about

[1:32:49] board workshop.

[1:32:53] » Okay. Anything else? Go ahead.

[1:32:58] I just wanted to say a huge thank you

[1:33:01] because uh coming into this is something

[1:33:03] that when people when I talk to people

[1:33:05] about in my my job as a trustee and

[1:33:07] speaking to people is something I'm very

[1:33:08] proud of that that I feel our district

[1:33:11] has done really well and turned into a

[1:33:13] positive news story of of being fiscally

[1:33:17] responsible and handling the finances.

[1:33:19] and from somebody that came, I was very

[1:33:21] nervous about learning about this, but

[1:33:24] you all have been very patient with me

[1:33:26] and and uh helping me to to learn as we

[1:33:28] go. And it's something that I'm very

[1:33:30] proud to talk to people about. And so,

[1:33:32] it's really turned into a really

[1:33:34] positive thing uh for us, whether I'm

[1:33:36] speaking to other trustees from other

[1:33:37] districts or people from our community.

[1:33:40] And so, I I'm I'm very confident and

[1:33:42] very happy with everything that's going

[1:33:44] on. So, a big thank you to Hannah and

[1:33:47] yourself and superintendent and

[1:33:49] everybody. So, I I I feel everybody does

[1:33:51] a really good job of handling

[1:33:54] the public's finances in a a very

[1:33:57] professional and and very efficient way.

[1:34:00] So, thank you,

[1:34:02] >> Craig.

[1:34:04] » Craig.

[1:34:04] >> Um, how long did we have last year for

[1:34:08] » Um, how long did we have last year for

[1:34:08] public input? Because I see like if we

[1:34:11] get the presentation on the 14th, it's

[1:34:14] like a week for public input after that

[1:34:16] presentation is public. Is that long

[1:34:19] enough? And did like did that work for

[1:34:22] us before or did we have a longer period

[1:34:24] last year just comparative?

[1:34:28] It's a similar time frame.

[1:34:31] Follow

[1:34:33] >> what do other districts do?

[1:34:36] » what do other districts do?

[1:34:36] Is no

[1:34:39] I think every district has a process

[1:34:41] that works for them. It really is driven

[1:34:43] by the context of each district. So I

[1:34:46] think you could probably depending on

[1:34:49] every district website, you could look

[1:34:50] and see and there would be a slightly

[1:34:52] different process.

[1:34:55] >> Follow

[1:34:56] » Follow

[1:34:56] followup. Yeah.

[1:34:57] >> Do you think that's enough time? Like

[1:34:59] » Do you think that's enough time? Like

[1:34:59] did we get ample like did we get

[1:35:01] feedback a lot and was like do you think

[1:35:05] that's sufficient for people in the

[1:35:07] public to respond?

[1:35:10] >> You know in the first year we had 700

[1:35:12] » You know in the first year we had 700

[1:35:12] responses in a similar time frame. I

[1:35:14] think last year we had about

[1:35:17] 40ish but I know in year one the first

[1:35:20] year here it was very

[1:35:23] there was lots of a catchin. Um last

[1:35:25] year not so much. So there was about

[1:35:28] smaller percentage and I don't even know

[1:35:29] if I remember the 45.

[1:35:32] >> Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do

[1:35:34] » Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do

[1:35:34] know that. So I put this we put this

[1:35:38] together as a recommendation. So yes, I

[1:35:40] do support that that time frame is

[1:35:41] sufficient. you know, we're talking

[1:35:43] about budget

[1:35:45] continually and so it's a a pretty

[1:35:48] focused time for people to provide their

[1:35:50] input, but we really only have a very

[1:35:53] structured time to put the budget

[1:35:55] together because the revenue isn't

[1:35:57] announced until in the middle of March.

[1:35:59] So, we don't have a really much flex

[1:36:02] timing between there.

[1:36:04] >> Thank you.

[1:36:05] » Thank you.

[1:36:05] >> Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in

[1:36:07] » Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in

[1:36:07] favor?

[1:36:10] Thank you, trustees.

[1:36:12] Uh we're going to go on now to 9.6 draft

[1:36:16] policy 3.81 81 unexpected health

[1:36:18] emergencies and I believe secretary

[1:36:21] minary you're on this for

[1:36:25] » trustees may recall that in the October

[1:36:27] meeting this agenda or this item was on

[1:36:29] your agenda and there was discussion

[1:36:31] about language in the policy at the time

[1:36:33] which trustees wondered if it was more

[1:36:35] appropriate for their procedure because

[1:36:37] it it talked about when the um AED

[1:36:41] equipment should be used and so we did

[1:36:44] review that at the request of the board.

[1:36:46] We have removed it from the draft policy

[1:36:48] and the revised draft is now attached to

[1:36:49] your agend.

[1:36:51] >> Thank you.

[1:36:55] » So trustees, the recommended motion is

[1:36:57] that the board of education approved

[1:36:59] policy 3.81 unexpected health

[1:37:01] emergencies as presented.

[1:37:04] Moved. Seconded. Seconded. And any

[1:37:08] further discussion? All in favor?

[1:37:11] That is unanimous. Thank you.

[1:37:15] And we are on to 9.7 pay transparency

[1:37:19] reporting. And this I believe is for

[1:37:20] secretary treasure.

[1:37:24] Attached to the agenda is the

[1:37:26] information on the pay transparency

[1:37:27] report which is a fairly new requirement

[1:37:30] for school districts. The pay

[1:37:32] transparency act became law in May 2023.

[1:37:36] And so this is the second report. As you

[1:37:38] can see, we don't have a high particip

[1:37:40] participation rate. uh employees may um

[1:37:43] choose to identify and respond to the

[1:37:46] survey about their gender and currently

[1:37:49] we only have about 30% of employees who

[1:37:51] have responded. So the based on the

[1:37:54] employees that have responded you can

[1:37:55] see the report that is attached that

[1:37:57] addresses the uh the uh [snorts] gap in

[1:38:01] pay depending on the gender. So we will

[1:38:04] in continue to encourage employees to

[1:38:07] respond to the request for uh their

[1:38:10] gender identification so that we can um

[1:38:14] really get a more wholesome report but

[1:38:16] currently that is the information that

[1:38:18] is there

[1:38:20] >> and this is the information is

[1:38:22] » and this is the information is

[1:38:22] available. I don't know if there's

[1:38:23] follow-up questions or not. I did not

[1:38:25] think so. Okay. Thank you very much

[1:38:26] secretary treasure. Uh we're going to go

[1:38:28] on to number 10 and uh this is the

[1:38:31] office of the superintendent report and

[1:38:32] I believe it's our associate

[1:38:33] superintendent doing two each. So thank

[1:38:36] you.

[1:38:40] » And we hit the clicker too from big

[1:38:43] night.

[1:38:46] » Good evening everyone. um superintendent

[1:38:49] disease uh is unable to attend so we'll

[1:38:52] uh be able to give some of his reports

[1:38:55] um on some of the highlights that he's

[1:38:58] been part of while um he's away. Uh

[1:39:01] tonight I will be talking about learning

[1:39:04] on behalf of the superintendent and then

[1:39:06] reconciliation and then cap will be

[1:39:08] talking about equity access.

[1:39:11] I do want to before I begin, I just want

[1:39:14] to talk a little bit about the memos

[1:39:17] that are in the agenda package and it is

[1:39:19] so nice to see the professionalism that

[1:39:22] that new logo has on it. And uh it it

[1:39:26] it's nice to see something that that

[1:39:27] you're actually proud of and and I was

[1:39:29] just at a conference in um Vancouver and

[1:39:32] I I have the logo on a badge on my bag

[1:39:34] and I I probably have about three or

[1:39:36] four compliments on. So good work to to

[1:39:40] the district that was able to do that.

[1:39:44] Um I'm doing this my strength. So I'll

[1:39:48] be talking a little bit about learning.

[1:39:50] um Superintendent Aiz and uh four

[1:39:53] principles um went to an outdoor

[1:39:56] learning um conference in BA and um you

[1:39:59] know you you heard that that there were

[1:40:01] some there were some teachers there as

[1:40:03] well and some lead educators and uh what

[1:40:06] he brought back was that um we're

[1:40:08] certainly in the forefront of um outdoor

[1:40:11] learning and uh he has made a commitment

[1:40:14] that he's going to provide some

[1:40:15] resources and some training to uh each

[1:40:18] uh school so that there'll be

[1:40:19] opportunities for kids to get out of saw

[1:40:22] that earlier tonight with the college

[1:40:24] heads family and we'll see it in

[1:40:25] different things

[1:40:28] here as well.

[1:40:30] >> Can you can you use your mic?

[1:40:32] » Can you can you use your mic?

[1:40:32] >> Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.

[1:40:34] » Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.

[1:40:34] Yeah. Um and Remembrance Day. Um this

[1:40:37] this of course uh um we had these uh

[1:40:40] opportunities. Normally we have it on

[1:40:43] November 10th that we celebrated at

[1:40:45] schools and most of our schools

[1:40:47] celebrated it on the Friday the 7th. And

[1:40:49] so that was a a a nice change. But we've

[1:40:52] also um are really proud of um how how

[1:40:56] much our schools are engaging students

[1:40:59] in it and remembering um this event or

[1:41:02] these this day. And um we've also had

[1:41:04] the opportunity to be able to share uh

[1:41:07] an an indigenous remembrance day um that

[1:41:10] was on November 8th and that's something

[1:41:11] that we are uh be be able to be proud of

[1:41:14] and and all the students and communities

[1:41:16] that are involved in that. Then I will

[1:41:19] move over to truth and reconciliation.

[1:41:22] And th this was um you heard tonight

[1:41:26] about how EOL College Heights has their

[1:41:28] school program and um we had the

[1:41:31] opportunity of of moving one of our

[1:41:33] principles from that school to Harvard

[1:41:36] and um as an inner city school she's

[1:41:38] been really um instrumental in trying to

[1:41:41] make sure that she's

[1:41:44] introducing truth and reconciliation in

[1:41:46] a structured way uh and trying to show

[1:41:48] language and culture there. And you can

[1:41:51] see that every month she's uh or every

[1:41:53] month that she's doing something a

[1:41:54] little bit different and actively

[1:41:56] engaging staff and students on student

[1:41:58] leadership in it. So something really

[1:42:00] fun and exciting um but um really

[1:42:03] important here as well.

[1:42:07] Well, I guess we didn't come across

[1:42:09] either as well, but um Southridge um and

[1:42:14] College Heights Secondary uh did a

[1:42:16] program where they're drum making and

[1:42:20] telling stories on the land. And um

[1:42:23] [clears throat] this is a a work between

[1:42:25] a grade six, seven classroom and the

[1:42:27] leadership class at College Heights

[1:42:29] Secondary. And um it's too bad the

[1:42:32] pictures didn't get to show up. Maybe

[1:42:33] they will show up later. Um but uh um

[1:42:36] what's happening is that kids are

[1:42:38] getting to have a hands-on experience um

[1:42:41] making their own drums and the stories

[1:42:43] behind the drums. And um you can see

[1:42:45] that in reporting on truth and

[1:42:48] reconciliation. There's so much going on

[1:42:50] in our district in regards to truth and

[1:42:52] reconciliation. And it's not just in the

[1:42:53] month of September or on a certain day,

[1:42:56] but but it's um all throughout the year

[1:42:59] and it's being embraced by our staff and

[1:43:01] students. And then you can see uh DB

[1:43:03] Todd um has done some work in their

[1:43:06] grade 8 elective program and they're

[1:43:08] going out on uh monthly field trips uh

[1:43:10] with that and because there's a rotation

[1:43:12] in electives at grade 8 they're being

[1:43:14] able to take all all the groups out on

[1:43:16] the land and they're learning about

[1:43:18] indigenous culture and um it's something

[1:43:20] that's very very positive and you can

[1:43:22] also see up there that

[1:43:30] I missed I missed slide. That's my

[1:43:32] fault. So this is Dutch this is Duchess

[1:43:34] Park and Duchess Park um had a grade

[1:43:37] six7 um camp and they had it uh in the

[1:43:42] month of October and what they did was

[1:43:44] they invited their foundation uh schools

[1:43:45] and we've kind of seen this at a couple

[1:43:47] of different places around and what

[1:43:49] they're doing is that they're teaching

[1:43:50] indigenous knowledge um to kids in kind

[1:43:54] of like a kind of like a almost like a

[1:43:56] sports day thing where they go around to

[1:43:57] different stations and learn about and

[1:43:59] this is of course supported by our

[1:44:01] indigenous ed um staff, but as well as

[1:44:04] the school staff as well. And here is

[1:44:06] the DB Todd one. And I I talked about

[1:44:09] the field trips out there, but I also

[1:44:11] get to uh talk about one of our uh local

[1:44:14] leaders in Leona Prince. And Leona

[1:44:17] Prince um was, you know, honored uh

[1:44:20] through a DBT experience where they um

[1:44:23] where they where they um

[1:44:26] what did they do? We did some artwork

[1:44:27] with her and then she was so impressed

[1:44:29] with it that she came out and she

[1:44:31] presented to the kids. And so these are

[1:44:33] some of the things that DP Todd has and

[1:44:35] this is just a random sample like we

[1:44:37] could ask um we could ask any of our our

[1:44:40] schools to be able to present and they

[1:44:42] would be more than willing to share this

[1:44:44] information. Um and so it is exciting to

[1:44:47] see truth and reconciliation happening

[1:44:49] on a daily and weekly basis in our

[1:44:51] schools.

[1:44:54] » There you go.

[1:44:55] >> Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to

[1:44:58] » Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to

[1:44:58] well all well this is fine and so is um

[1:45:00] equity um equity of access or equity um

[1:45:03] actually want to go back one. So I know

[1:45:05] that you've all um heard about you know

[1:45:08] you know about the feeding futures

[1:45:10] program and the importance of ensuring

[1:45:11] that we have um food available for kids

[1:45:13] and nutrition just to prepare for the

[1:45:15] day. So I thought I'd just give a quick

[1:45:16] quick summary of sort of what we're

[1:45:18] doing with that program. um our our

[1:45:22] service delivery for food to students.

[1:45:24] It sort of has a three-pronged approach.

[1:45:25] One, we have school-based lunches.

[1:45:27] School-based lunches are those that

[1:45:29] schools can prepare at on their own.

[1:45:31] They have the, you know, the facilities

[1:45:32] that they can prepare them for their

[1:45:34] kids themselves. We have the centralized

[1:45:36] lunch program and that's the one that's

[1:45:38] out of PGS where um we have meals

[1:45:40] workers that make centralized lunches

[1:45:42] and then we deliver it to schools for

[1:45:44] those schools that don't have the

[1:45:45] ability to make their own lunches. And

[1:45:47] then there's a hybrid model where

[1:45:49] there's a centralized lunch program, but

[1:45:51] trying to get breakfast also served um

[1:45:54] to students or breakfast is a

[1:45:56] combination of breakfast or some kind of

[1:45:57] a snack or something to eat in the

[1:45:59] morning. Um you heard earlier about long

[1:46:01] bus rides and that kind of thing. Um we

[1:46:04] do have um some some zones in our city.

[1:46:07] We're a we're a pretty expansive I think

[1:46:09] we traveled over 10,000 kilometers a day

[1:46:11] in buses um when it comes to the kids

[1:46:14] that we we deliver. So, um, imagine a

[1:46:17] child that has to get up at 5:30 in the

[1:46:18] morning to get to the bus stop by 7 to

[1:46:22] take an hour a long bus to, you know, to

[1:46:24] be here by 8:00. Well, that's a long

[1:46:26] time in the morning. So, we're trying to

[1:46:28] provide equity-free, stigmafree kind of

[1:46:32] food to kids. If you're hungry, just go

[1:46:33] eat, right? And make it accessible. So,

[1:46:36] um, and we call that the grab and go

[1:46:38] program. So, here are some numbers. So

[1:46:41] the 1,10

[1:46:43] number, that number represents the

[1:46:46] school-based lunches served daily. The

[1:46:49] 2,367

[1:46:51] number are the breakfasts, the grab and

[1:46:53] goes. And the 620 lunches are roughly

[1:46:56] the centralized lunch program that we

[1:46:58] deliver every day. Now, those aren't

[1:47:00] exact numbers, but it kind of gives you

[1:47:01] an idea. They're pretty close um as to

[1:47:04] how many kids that we're serving and and

[1:47:05] feeding every single day. And it's um it

[1:47:08] warms your heart because you think

[1:47:10] before we were doing this maybe kids

[1:47:11] were going hungry and it's just nice to

[1:47:13] know that that their nutrition um needs

[1:47:15] are being met in schools. Um here is a

[1:47:19] picture of some of the grab and goes. So

[1:47:21] the first one is over at Glen View. Um

[1:47:24] the middle one is at Springwood and the

[1:47:25] last one over there. But basically just

[1:47:28] putting out cards, putting out food,

[1:47:30] kids can come by and just grab things.

[1:47:32] They're hungry and and they can eat

[1:47:33] before they go to class. Um, we really

[1:47:36] want to make food delivery barrierfree.

[1:47:38] Um, sometimes there are wonky systems in

[1:47:40] schools where um, in order to get

[1:47:42] something, you got to go to this person

[1:47:43] and then to that person. Well, kids

[1:47:44] don't want to do that and that creates

[1:47:46] stigma. So, how do we just simply

[1:47:48] deliver kids to, you know, kids that are

[1:47:49] hungry. Um, and that's sort of what

[1:47:51] we're trying to do in that feeding in

[1:47:53] that feeding futures program. Um the

[1:47:56] next part is wellness and I I had I had

[1:48:00] TJ said um can you provide sort of some

[1:48:02] of the wellness stuff that you're doing

[1:48:04] at your school. Um and he sent a few um

[1:48:07] slides around community wellness like uh

[1:48:10] student wellness and family wellness

[1:48:12] kind of some of the stuff that they're

[1:48:13] focusing on. Here's the picture of his

[1:48:15] youthare workers who run just groups and

[1:48:18] individual sort of sessions for

[1:48:19] students. Um of course youth care

[1:48:21] workers can't do the work that

[1:48:22] counselors do. counselors are the deeper

[1:48:24] dive um sort of you know social

[1:48:27] emotional therapeutic realm but the the

[1:48:29] youth care workers have an important

[1:48:31] role in supporting kids. Um he's got a a

[1:48:34] section of nutritional wellness where

[1:48:35] IWS teach students how to grow different

[1:48:38] food and the nutritional value of

[1:48:39] different food. Um the students harvest

[1:48:42] it and the chef uses it in their

[1:48:43] lunches. NO is one of those places that

[1:48:45] can do 150 160 lunches daily because

[1:48:48] their kitchen is set up to do so. Um,

[1:48:52] they have a cultural wellness here where

[1:48:54] the IWS hosted an engagement and this is

[1:48:57] cool. I missed this cuz I was in

[1:48:58] meetings, but they have they were

[1:48:59] processing and smoking and cooking moose

[1:49:01] uh moose meat. The families received a

[1:49:03] portion and then they did the same thing

[1:49:05] in September with salmon, but you can

[1:49:07] see some of the pictures here in their

[1:49:08] smokehouse and and you know the families

[1:49:10] that are coming in to learn how to

[1:49:12] prepare and harvest moose meat. Um and

[1:49:15] then the last one is just a picture of

[1:49:16] their of their um family room where

[1:49:18] families can gather. A nurse

[1:49:20] practitioner is available one day a week

[1:49:22] to support families with health care

[1:49:23] needs and carers county. I thought this

[1:49:25] was you know I didn't expect it but car

[1:49:27] uses the room to support families with

[1:49:29] their taxes and other needs. So um just

[1:49:32] trying to provide as much support for

[1:49:33] families in that inner city that that

[1:49:34] that they can. So all part of the the

[1:49:37] wellness that they own. um for equity.

[1:49:41] Um this was cool cuz I I I was out at NO

[1:49:44] Lake and started just chatting with kids

[1:49:46] and they started talking about this

[1:49:48] their job and I thought what do you mean

[1:49:50] their job? Like there were about six or

[1:49:52] seven kids talking um well they want to

[1:49:54] raise money to go to some camp the grade

[1:49:56] seven trip at the end of the year. So

[1:49:58] the grade sevens um have formed this you

[1:50:00] know with a parent volunteer have formed

[1:50:02] this little group where the community

[1:50:04] hires them. So, they go out, the

[1:50:06] community hires them to do jobs, and

[1:50:08] they've raised I think about $800 so

[1:50:11] far, but this is from um the parent

[1:50:13] volunteer that helps organize this. So,

[1:50:15] please find the next pictures of some of

[1:50:17] our grade sevens working towards um

[1:50:20] their grad fundraiser.

[1:50:22] I'm so proud of how these kids have been

[1:50:24] getting together and working so hard. It

[1:50:26] is rewarding to watch them see each

[1:50:27] other in different environment and have

[1:50:29] them work out their interpersonal

[1:50:31] challenges and start seeing the value

[1:50:33] everyone brings to the table in their

[1:50:35] own way. Looking at each other in a new

[1:50:37] light and working towards a common goal

[1:50:39] has been building mutual respect and

[1:50:41] acceptance between the group. The

[1:50:43] leadership and collaboration skills they

[1:50:45] have been displaying is wonderful to

[1:50:46] watch. some skills they have been

[1:50:48] working on. Proper etiquette on

[1:50:50] handshakes and introductions to a new

[1:50:52] employer as well as proper goodbyes.

[1:50:55] Listening and taking directions from an

[1:50:56] employer, time management and job

[1:50:59] prioritization. The employer gives them

[1:51:01] several jobs and is up to the kids to

[1:51:03] manage their time and build teams or

[1:51:05] work alone depending on the needs of the

[1:51:07] task. Cleaning up after themselves,

[1:51:09] putting tools away and performing their

[1:51:11] work safely and efficiently. Um, so in

[1:51:14] the pictures, you know, they were

[1:51:15] cleaning out horse stables, they were

[1:51:16] pulling carrots out here, u working with

[1:51:19] animals, just a variety of things that

[1:51:21] the new goal community is hiding hiring

[1:51:23] these kids to do, which is just pretty

[1:51:24] cool. Um,

[1:51:27] they're also, um, running a lot of

[1:51:29] accessibility work there. Um, and some

[1:51:32] of the things that they're doing to

[1:51:34] facilitate equity and accessibility, um,

[1:51:37] they're on a two-year cycle of

[1:51:38] instruction around a home alone course

[1:51:41] and a babysitting course. So, all their

[1:51:42] kids in grade four and five get the home

[1:51:44] alone course and then in grades six and

[1:51:46] seven they do the babysitting course. Um

[1:51:48] there's a year they get swim lessons uh

[1:51:50] for two classes. In grades two to five

[1:51:53] uh with a regional district grant and

[1:51:54] some pack funds. They're offering the

[1:51:56] core curriculum. Um they're they're

[1:51:58] playing adaptive sports, wheelchair

[1:52:00] basketball, seated volleyball, heart

[1:52:02] judo, um physical health as part of

[1:52:04] their curriculum. Um they're part of the

[1:52:06] Blue Jays Career Foundation, girls at

[1:52:08] bat and rookies at bat. and they try to

[1:52:10] include all their strong start families

[1:52:12] in their school. So they don't want

[1:52:14] strong start to feel independent, right?

[1:52:16] It's not K to 7, it's actually preK to,

[1:52:19] you know, leaving Nougal [clears throat]

[1:52:21] Lake. So um just the way that they're

[1:52:22] trying to get people involved to do to

[1:52:25] be equitable there and have all these

[1:52:27] different experiences in a small rural

[1:52:28] school. Um

[1:52:31] the last uh the last school example I

[1:52:33] have um in this section [snorts] is um

[1:52:35] Hixit's intermediate classes grades four

[1:52:37] to seven went to camp trapping um and

[1:52:40] there were both indigenous and

[1:52:41] non-indigenous kids participated in the

[1:52:44] services that camp trapping had to offer

[1:52:45] and you guys may know that Clay Tate

[1:52:47] took over grant camping and and they

[1:52:49] sort of allowed our kids to access it

[1:52:51] and do some of the stuff um out there

[1:52:52] for land-based learning. The experience

[1:52:54] honored indigenous knowledge,

[1:52:56] perspectives, and land-based learning,

[1:52:57] and provided students with access to

[1:52:59] meaningful cultural opportunities they

[1:53:01] might not otherwise receive. Students

[1:53:03] engaged in activities such as archery,

[1:53:05] observing rabbit skinning, learning

[1:53:07] together in culturally authentic

[1:53:08] environment. All students were fully

[1:53:10] engaged and excited upon returning to

[1:53:11] the school. So, that's just some

[1:53:12] comments from the principal. And lastly,

[1:53:16] um I I thought this was really neat. So

[1:53:18] I could sit is another small school, 30

[1:53:20] kids. And um you know, you can see this

[1:53:23] closer, but one of the things that

[1:53:25] schools are also trying to get away from

[1:53:27] is just sandwiches like a a piece of

[1:53:29] bread with cheese and piece of baloney

[1:53:31] in the middle of turkey or something.

[1:53:32] How can we offer maybe some quality or

[1:53:34] some hot lunches or some so Hixon has

[1:53:37] been able to do that and I was blown

[1:53:39] away by their menu so I thought I'd

[1:53:40] share it. So, chili, grilled cheese

[1:53:42] sandwiches, egg and sandwiches, turkey,

[1:53:44] mashed potatoes, chicken quesadillas,

[1:53:46] chicken Caesar wraps, spaghetti and meat

[1:53:47] sauce, taco [snorts] salad. So, he's got

[1:53:49] this was the October menu for the kids.

[1:53:51] Um, what they're eating every day. So,

[1:53:53] they're getting quality hot food in the

[1:53:55] small rural place. Um, I just thought it

[1:53:57] was neat and kudos to that community out

[1:53:59] there. And that ends my portion of the

[1:54:02] presentation. Thanks. Thanks to the

[1:54:05] associate superintendents for the

[1:54:07] presentations. We appreciate it very

[1:54:08] much. Trustees, we're going to move on

[1:54:10] with uh number 11, 11.1 BC uh school

[1:54:14] trustee association. Trusty McCory,

[1:54:16] please.

[1:54:17] >> Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple

[1:54:20] » Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple

[1:54:20] things I want to mention and maybe one

[1:54:22] should have been in school reports but

[1:54:24] myself and prestige Antrram in October

[1:54:28] were able to attend our BCSTA branch

[1:54:33] meeting which was a combination of

[1:54:36] Northern Interior Branch and Northwest

[1:54:38] Branch trustees gathering and we did

[1:54:41] that in Terrace um hosted by school

[1:54:44] district 82. Uh the actual

[1:54:48] uh weekend was great. We got Trustee

[1:54:52] Antrram. You did the school tour. I did

[1:54:55] not do the school tour because I used to

[1:54:56] be a trustee there. But um the other

[1:54:59] things that happened were there was a

[1:55:01] there was a superintendent panel and it

[1:55:03] was really informative about the

[1:55:04] different uh districts and what they're

[1:55:07] doing.

[1:55:08] There was a bunch of like mini

[1:55:11] presentations on recruitment and

[1:55:12] retention with the highlight being

[1:55:14] Katherine Whan who's a professor from

[1:55:16] UNMBC speaking about trends in the

[1:55:19] north. So that was really useful

[1:55:22] information that I will share out with

[1:55:23] the rest of the trustees. And um I'd

[1:55:26] just like to thank the host which was

[1:55:29] the chair of the Northwest branch who is

[1:55:33] Ed Harrison and Helen Gilbert who is our

[1:55:36] president of our branch for hosting us.

[1:55:38] It was a really good um event. Next,

[1:55:43] several of us at the end of the month

[1:55:45] will be going to the fall academy for

[1:55:47] the BCSTA in Vancouver and the agenda

[1:55:51] looks really good for that. So, I think

[1:55:54] there's four of us that are able to

[1:55:56] attend and I think we all look forward

[1:55:58] to that as well as superintendent will

[1:56:01] be joining us and that's all for me.

[1:56:04] Thank you.

[1:56:05] >> We're three

[1:56:13] You want me to make a motion?

[1:56:15] >> Yes, please.

[1:56:17] » Yes, please.

[1:56:17] >> May I put a motion forward, chair, to

[1:56:19] » May I put a motion forward, chair, to

[1:56:20] extend the meeting for half an hour?

[1:56:23] >> Second. And all in favor? We are

[1:56:26] » Second. And all in favor? We are

[1:56:26] extended till 8:30. Thank you. Uh we're

[1:56:29] going to move on to 11.2 District Parent

[1:56:31] Advisory Council. This is Trusty

[1:56:32] Holland, please.

[1:56:34] >> Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great

[1:56:36] » Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great

[1:56:36] presentation about um feeding good in

[1:56:39] schools by Harmon Kle.

[1:56:42] Thank you. Um they also had Sheldon

[1:56:45] Claire MLA speaking about parent

[1:56:46] advocacy uh by by Zoom or team I think

[1:56:50] this um he also noted that some of the

[1:56:52] schools in our district need to be

[1:56:53] upgraded. Uh but he said that the

[1:56:55] biggest thing parents can do is being

[1:56:57] involved, helping out, volunteering,

[1:56:58] showing up. There were some questions

[1:57:00] from parents about advocacy methods. He

[1:57:03] noted that nicely written me letters in

[1:57:05] the mail tend to get better responses.

[1:57:08] Um, it sounds like his office doesn't

[1:57:10] even look at templated emails. And he

[1:57:12] noted that rallies can be a double-edged

[1:57:14] sword. Um, you need to know what you

[1:57:17] want so that you can articulate it

[1:57:19] effectively and have very clear goals in

[1:57:22] mind. It was terrific to see all the

[1:57:24] representatives there both in person and

[1:57:26] many online. I spoke briefly about

[1:57:28] policy revisions and how we wanted to

[1:57:30] get these done by the end of the term

[1:57:32] which is coming up with our elections in

[1:57:33] October. And then after the media I also

[1:57:36] found out that I first met one of the

[1:57:38] DAC reps when she was a baby which was a

[1:57:42] surprise. So thank you.

[1:57:45] >> Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District

[1:57:48] » Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District

[1:57:48] Student Advisory Council Trusty Andrew

[1:57:50] please.

[1:57:51] >> Yes I attended the last uh district

[1:57:53] » Yes I attended the last uh district

[1:57:54] student advisory council meeting. I

[1:57:56] won't go over anything that was that the

[1:57:58] presenter did really well today

[1:58:00] articulating what they're working on,

[1:58:01] but as an observer of watching

[1:58:05] administration, staff and students and

[1:58:09] just my main comment is how well they

[1:58:12] work together, how well respectful

[1:58:15] students are, how respectful staff is.

[1:58:18] I see what I'm witnessing is

[1:58:21] staff and administration really trying

[1:58:23] to put more responsibility towards

[1:58:26] students and seeing them grasp that and

[1:58:29] take on more of a role and as much as

[1:58:32] staff can and and uh superintendent

[1:58:36] stepping back slowly and and seeing the

[1:58:39] students stepping forward. And so that's

[1:58:42] that that's really fantastic to see and

[1:58:44] and through the just the short years

[1:58:47] I've been here watching that I witness

[1:58:50] the growth and feel it and it's amazing

[1:58:52] for seeing those future leaders really

[1:58:56] taking that opportunity. So thank you to

[1:58:58] staff, thank you to the students and and

[1:59:00] really really neat and I'm looking

[1:59:02] forward to see where this goes.

[1:59:04] >> Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh

[1:59:06] » Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh

[1:59:06] trustes go on to number 12

[1:59:08] correspondence. Uh you have a memo in

[1:59:10] your package. Uh the background is the

[1:59:12] attached correspondence been received or

[1:59:14] sent since the last public board

[1:59:15] meeting. There are two uh letter 251031

[1:59:19] teachers of the coral college Heights

[1:59:20] Elementary School. That one's been

[1:59:21] referred to the committee of the whole

[1:59:23] catchment and capacity. And the second

[1:59:25] one was 25102 email from Jess Kimon that

[1:59:28] was referred to district staff for

[1:59:30] action. So the recommended motion is

[1:59:31] that the board of education receive the

[1:59:33] open correspondence received and/or sent

[1:59:35] since the October 14th 2025 board

[1:59:38] meeting. and blueber trusty. Thank you.

[1:59:40] Seconded trustee Holland is all in favor

[1:59:44] and that is unanimous.

[1:59:47] >> Yeah, go ahead. Trusty

[1:59:48] » Yeah, go ahead. Trusty

[1:59:48] >> just to check we do have a date and time

[1:59:50] » just to check we do have a date and time

[1:59:50] for the committee of the whole catchment

[1:59:52] capacity. Uh how will that be sent out

[1:59:55] to the the partners that

[1:59:57] >> yes we will publish that for sure. Thank

[1:59:58] » yes we will publish that for sure. Thank

[1:59:58] you.

[2:00:00] >> Okay, we're going to go on in your

[2:00:02] » Okay, we're going to go on in your

[2:00:02] program to number 13. So I would take

[2:00:05] this ceremonial and then pass this

[2:00:07] twice.

[2:00:13] » The board policy on board operations uh

[2:00:15] states that annual elections must be

[2:00:17] held at positions of chair, vice chair

[2:00:19] and other provincial representation. So

[2:00:22] as the current chair has vacated the

[2:00:24] chair um staff will now call for

[2:00:26] nominations for the board chair. I'll do

[2:00:29] that in the absence of the

[2:00:30] superintendent. So I'd like to call for

[2:00:32] the uh first time for the position

[2:00:34] nomination for the position of board

[2:00:36] chair

[2:00:42] » like to nominate Craig Breny

[2:00:45] Bren. Do you accept the nomination?

[2:00:47] >> I do.

[2:00:49] » I do.

[2:00:49] I'm going to call a second time for

[2:00:51] nominations for the positions of board

[2:00:53] chair

[2:00:56] and a third time or nominations for

[2:00:58] position.

[2:01:00] See none, I declare trust colle.

[2:01:10] » Thank you. Thank you very much trustes.

[2:01:12] appreciate your support and I promise to

[2:01:14] try to do my very best and a special

[2:01:16] promise to Hannah

[2:01:18] next. [laughter]

[2:01:21] So trustees, we're going to go on then

[2:01:23] with the rest of our agenda. So we'll be

[2:01:24] moving to uh 14 election of the vice

[2:01:27] chair. So I'll now call for nominations

[2:01:29] for position for the position of vice

[2:01:32] chair.

[2:01:34] Trusty Andrum. Uh I'd like to nominate

[2:01:37] Erica.

[2:01:39] >> Trusty Mlean, do you accept the

[2:01:40] » Trusty Mlean, do you accept the

[2:01:40] nomination? Yes. Thank you. I'll call

[2:01:44] for a second time for nominations for

[2:01:45] the position of vice chair.

[2:01:50] I'll call for a third time for

[2:01:52] nominations for the position of vice

[2:01:53] chair.

[2:01:56] Seeing none, I will declare that trustee

[2:01:59] MLAN is acclaimed by acclamation as vice

[2:02:02] chair of the board of education, school

[2:02:03] district number 57, Prince George.

[2:02:05] Congratulations,

[2:02:10] trustees. We're going to go on to number

[2:02:12] 15. So this is the BCSTA Provincial

[2:02:17] Council. So I'll now call for

[2:02:19] nominations for the position of BCSTA

[2:02:22] Provincial Council.

[2:02:26] Uh Trusty,

[2:02:29] sorry. Vice Chair Mc

[2:02:31] >> like to nominate Char McCroy.

[2:02:33] » like to nominate Char McCroy.

[2:02:33] >> Trusty McCory, do you accept the

[2:02:35] » Trusty McCory, do you accept the

[2:02:35] nomination?

[2:02:36] >> Yes, I do.

[2:02:37] » Yes, I do.

[2:02:37] >> Thank you. I'll call for a second time

[2:02:39] » Thank you. I'll call for a second time

[2:02:39] for the nominations for the position of

[2:02:41] BCSTA Provincial Council.

[2:02:46] I'll call for a third time for

[2:02:48] nominations for the position of BCSTA

[2:02:50] Provincial Council.

[2:02:54] Seeing none, I declare that Trusty

[2:02:56] McCory is elected by acclamation as

[2:02:58] ECSTA provincial council of the board of

[2:03:01] education of school district number 57,

[2:03:03] Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee

[2:03:05] McCory.

[2:03:09] We're going to move on now to the

[2:03:11] election of the BCSTA Provincial Council

[2:03:15] Alternate.

[2:03:17] I now call for nominations for the

[2:03:19] position of BCSTA Provincial Council

[2:03:22] Alternate. Trusty McCory.

[2:03:25] >> I nominate Trusty Andrum.

[2:03:27] » I nominate Trusty Andrum.

[2:03:28] >> Trusty Andram, do you accept?

[2:03:30] » Trusty Andram, do you accept?

[2:03:30] >> Yes.

[2:03:31] » Yes.

[2:03:31] Thank you. I call for a second time for

[2:03:34] nominations for position of DCSTA

[2:03:36] provincial council alternate.

[2:03:41] I'll call for a third time for

[2:03:42] nominations for a position of BCSTA

[2:03:45] provincial council alternate.

[2:03:49] Seeing none, I declare that Trustee

[2:03:52] Entrum is collected by acclamation as

[2:03:55] BCSDA provincial council alternate of

[2:03:57] the board of education of school

[2:03:58] district number 57 Prince George.

[2:04:00] Congratulations, Trustee Andrew.

[2:04:10] » We'll go on to the next one. I believe

[2:04:11] is number 17. This is the BCPC

[2:04:14] representative. I'll now call for

[2:04:16] position nominations for the position of

[2:04:18] the BCPSA

[2:04:20] or BCPC representative.

[2:04:24] Nominations.

[2:04:25] Trust McCory.

[2:04:27] >> I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty

[2:04:29] » I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty

[2:04:30] Holland, do you accept?

[2:04:32] >> Yes, I do.

[2:04:33] » Yes, I do.

[2:04:33] >> I'll call a second time for nominations

[2:04:35] » I'll call a second time for nominations

[2:04:35] for position of BCPC representative.

[2:04:42] » I'll call the third time for nominations

[2:04:43] for the position of BCPC representative.

[2:04:49] Seeing none, I declare that Trustee

[2:04:51] Holland is acclaimed by acclamation as

[2:04:55] BCPC representative of the board of

[2:04:57] education of school district number 57,

[2:04:59] Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee

[2:05:01] Holland.

[2:05:04] And last one is number 18. This is BCTC

[2:05:10] Representative Alternate. I'll now call

[2:05:12] for nominations for position of BCPC

[2:05:15] representative alternate.

[2:05:21] I think I see trusty Holland.

[2:05:25] >> I believe I will nominate Trusty Andrew.

[2:05:31] And you accept the nomination.

[2:05:34] >> Yes. [laughter]

[2:05:38] » I'll call the second time for the

[2:05:39] nominations. The position of BCPC

[2:05:41] representative alternate.

[2:05:46] I'll [clears throat] call for a third

[2:05:47] time for nominations for position of

[2:05:49] BCPC representative alternate.

[2:05:54] Seeing none, I declare the trustee

[2:05:56] Antrram selected by acclamation as the

[2:05:58] BCPC representative alternate of the

[2:06:00] board of education and school district

[2:06:02] number 57, Prince George.

[2:06:03] Congratulations, Trusty Antrum.

[2:06:09] » That concludes our election portion. So,

[2:06:13] we're going to move on to number 19. Uh

[2:06:15] everyone are we do not have a December

[2:06:17] regular public board meeting. The next

[2:06:19] regular public board meeting will be

[2:06:21] January 13, 2026.

[2:06:25] So that's a ways away. Um just mark that

[2:06:27] in your calendars. And I don't see

[2:06:30] anything else. So I will ask for a

[2:06:34] motion the meeting be adjourned at 8:06

[2:06:37] p.m. Could I get that loop? Trusty

[2:06:39] Holland. Thank you. Seconded Vice Chair

[2:06:41] Mane. And all in favor

[2:06:44] we are adjourned. Thanks everybody for

[2:06:46] your time sir.

Regular Public Meeting

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