Are we good?
>> I got to wait 10 seconds
there. It's six o'clock. Thanks
everyone. Silly D. It's the best class
ever. I'd like to call the meeting to
order at 6 p.m. Board of Education is
committed to providing a safe and
respectful environment. The board
expects all participants to model
respectful communication in order to
foster positive relationships and build
understanding between all school
district partners. Trustees as members
of the corporate board shall act
prudently, ethically, and legally in
keeping with requirements of provincial
legislation. This includes proper use of
authority and appropriate decorum in
terms of group and individual behavior.
Trustees will ensure their comments are
issue based and not personal, demeaning,
derogatory or disparaging with regard to
board staff or fellow trustees,
including comments made to media or news
outlets. At this time, I'd like to
acknowledge the traditional territory.
We respectfully acknowledge that school
district 57 resides in the unseated
ancestral lands of the clay lake first
nations of Prince George.
Mloud Lake Indian Band Mloud Lake
McKenzie and the Seers Nation of the
Rosson Valley. It is our honor to walk
alongside our indigenous communities and
educating our students. As we gather
tonight, it certainly feels like the
changing of seasons and it we'll be
doing our elections later and uh it does
feel like a time of change. I started my
day off today being retired sipping tea
and watching some deer graze along our
back fence. And it is kind of neat
seeing two dos and two fawns that's
thinking about what they're teaching
their young ones and then the work that
we do here uh collectively as a board
but also for all of those few that help
with the the dayto-day. So thank you to
everybody. Um and again we're lucky to
be here and share in this good work. So
thank you.
Uh I would like to trustees get the
approval of the agenda recommended
motion the agenda be approved as
presented. Can I get that moved? Trusty
McCory, second to Trusty Holland. And
all in favor, [clears throat] that is
unanimous. Thank you, trustees. And for
everybody, just to note, you notice
Superintendent Aiz is not here today.
I've got him home resting. He has a cold
and we want him to get better. We wish
him all a speedy recovery. And thanks to
other staff for stepping up tonight and
helping with presentations and the
running of the meeting. So, thank you.
Uh, school district news. I believe
Trusty Holland, you had something you'd
like to share.
Yes, I thank I did. Thank you, chair.
Um, as the trusty rep for the PTSs
family of schools, I got to go read a
book to a kindergarten class at Pine
View Elementary and answer some
questions. Um, I do need to work on
describing what a trustee does in
language that's appropriate for
5-year-olds as I attend a lot a lot of
meetings did not seem to resonate with
them. I had a great time and would love
to thank the school, the teacher, and
the students. and I'm looking forward to
several other events that I've been
invited to as well in December.
>> Thank you, Trust. Was that book 191?
» I did not count it on my books that I've
read this year.
>> Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair
» Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair
McLean.
>> Thank you very much. And on a similar
» Thank you very much. And on a similar
thread, um I know that there's tons. I
just want to a little celebration for
this. Um recognizing all of the work
from the district student advisory
council that continues to go into this
and we may talk about that later, so I
won't touch too much, but just a huge
celebration. U recognizing that there's
lots of exciting news in there as well.
Um, and similar to Trusty Holland, I was
very fortunate to be invited to
participate in the Thursday morning
drumming sessions that take place at
Quinson Elementary as a member of the DP
Todd family of schools leaison work. And
it was incredible to get to be a part of
recognizing that this has become a norm,
a routine in this school. students come
flooding in after they do attendance um
Tuesdays and Thursday mornings and they
grab a drum and we walk around the
school and collect students and just
start our day by singing and drumming.
So, thank you very much, Quincson. I did
make um a comment that I really wanted
to share with the administrator at that
school how how lovely and welcoming it
was to come in there in the morning and
just have um such a nice a nice place to
be for students to come. So, thank you
for that.
Wonderful. And I think that concludes
item number four. So we'll go on to item
number five. And 51 is the College
Heights family of schools. So I see we
have a few people here. So we look
forward to your presentation. So take it
away, College Heights.
And we have a mic uh in the middle here.
There you go.
[clears throat]
Notice that I'm here by myself.
>> They will be joining you.
» So, thank you to the board button.
>> Oh, join this one.
» Oh, join this one.
>> Yep.
» Yep.
>> Okay, there you go.
» Okay, there you go.
>> There you go. You're good.
» There you go. You're good.
>> Thank you. Technical. Okay.
» Thank you. Technical. Okay.
Thank you to the board for inviting the
College Heights Family Schools uh to
join you this evening. We are missing
one of our colleagues who again is I
guess plagued with this cold and flu.
You'll probably hear it in a few of our
voices this evening. It is going around
the schools. So um for Mr. Delana's uh
presentation, I will provide his notes
at that time. And I'd like to again
thank everybody for being here. uh we uh
probably some quick introductions and
maybe my colleagues could just stand as
I call upon them. So I'll start with our
college height secondary team and I've
got Shannon Danes Clifford and Kim
Forest.
Thank you. Uh Vanway Joyce Willows
>> uh a call college Heights D Holmes
» uh a call college Heights D Holmes
and Malisfina is Bren Anderson. Thanks
for joining.
>> And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal
» And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal
of Beverly.
[clears throat]
Okay, these are big shoes to fill Mr.
Del, but I will do my best.
Uh so he writes the calls to action from
the truth and reconcil reconciliation
commission of Canada call for the
educators to be in the forefront of
learning about the Indian residential
school system. Southridge staff continue
on their TRC learning and growth
journey.
One way we are moving forward is by
participating in the four seasons of
indigenous learning and connecting our
understanding with student learning. The
Four Seasons is an online course
provided by the Outdoor Learning School.
Oops, I go too fast.
I just say two slides. My apologies. Um,
we have a large number of staff, he
says, at various stages of these
year-long indigenous learning series.
Some staff are on season one or two and
some have completed those and are now
working on integrating the these into
our everyday practice. Season 2.5 is our
switch to take our learning and embed uh
deck up ways of knowing with students.
Season 2.5 has four classes focused on
learning on the land. One example are
these classes combining language arts,
social studies, and ways of knowing. Uh
they have taken bus to the sawmill trail
it indicates and connected to the land
through their journaling.
Thank you sage
my colleague.
>> Okay. So as you know sorry
» Okay. So as you know sorry
>> you need that
» you need that
>> I actually have a big choice but
» I actually have a big choice but
>> I know but it's
» I know but it's
>> okay. So we know learning ultimately
» okay. So we know learning ultimately
supports the well-being of the self,
family, the community, the land, the
spirits and the ancestors. So one of the
things that Malispina was fortunate
enough to do is we welcomed uh the Earth
Rangers presentation last year. And it
was an inspiring presentation focusing
on animal conservation, biodiversity,
and sustainable living. Uh the
presentation they brought live animals.
uh they walked in and out of the
students so that students could see them
and then they would have quizzes uh with
the whole school about what kinds of
things would recognize conservation and
biodiversity. So it was great learning
for the students. Um, so last year when
we first had them here, they then had a
battery blitz and so they invited
schools to participate in collecting uh
recyclable batteries and they had a
contest and the top three schools in all
of BC would win a prize and the
community students and the staff did a
great job. We had 26 boxes of recycled
batteries and we came in third. So we
won $1,000. So it was pretty exciting at
our school. So this year they came back.
uh we again were learning about the
biodiversity and the conservation and it
was a very exciting time to have them
come back because the kids then
participated in the similar um quizzes
that they gave us and uh it was amazing
how much they had retained from last
year. So we hope we get them again next
year. Canor is the one that sort of
allows this opportunity. So we thank
Canor for that and we were lucky to host
them two years in a row. So thank you
Good evening. Um over the past uh three
years at Eagle College Heights uh it we
were uh we were asked to talk about
learning and wellness. And as I thought
about that, I thought, hm, which comes
first, wellness or learning? And so for
me, I needed to flip it in my mind
because when our kids have a sense of
self and a self-worth uh and uh
perseverance,
they're well and they can handle the
learning and the challenge being out of
their comfort zone. So a big part of
that process at Eco College Heights for
the last three years and this being the
fourth I believe is our school program
and uh skoo stands for it's an
indigenous word standing for our our
house sorry
and uh and we treat it that way just
like we use the word ko which means our
community uh this is how we present that
at a co polishes. It's become our house
teams if you like uh with a very
indigenous flavor. So we'll move on to
the next slide.
So what we've done is over the last few
years we've created eight school teams
or houses and it allows us to integrate
as a French immersion school our French
students with our English school uh
students which is really critical
because there's a natural separation in
immersion schools. So this brings us all
together. Uh from that point uh we then
make sure that we have our primary and
our intermediates all in different
houses so that our senior students or
intermediates take on a mentorship role
again creating community within our
houses. From there, uh, we integrate the
the pathways of, uh, knowing, being, and
building community into all of our
school activities. So, we'll have about
six school activities throughout the
year. And in those structures, uh, we
will do a wide range of indigenous
learning. And as you can see, uh we do a
lot of nature art, language,
storytelling with the legends, uh
singing, drumming, uh tree
identification, the cat language, lot of
drumming and singing
games and orienteering. Every year we
sort of add, delete and try
new learning if you like. Um next slide.
Oh, that was I have one more, but that's
okay.
We're speeding this along. [laughter]
Um, so at at the end of the day, um, we
continue to, uh, take our school model,
uh, turn it into what we needed to be.
Uh this year we uh are partnering with a
BC outdoor grant uh where we're going to
take our what we call Husky Nook, which
is about the size of our space right
here, um to basically add a space for
reflection,
uh circle work with our kids,
restorative uh restitution,
uh classroom work, and then native
plants along with uh garden beds. Uh
right now all our primaries basically
take the city bus and spend quite a bit
of time up at UNMBC uh learning about
the outdoors uh and that whole world at
the Rotary Gardens. So we're able to
create that in our own space.
» Rowdy did it again and
jumped in on the presentation. Um, so
I'm at Joyce Schools, principal at
Vanway Elementary. And so to build on
our
theme of wellness and learning, I want
to share with you uh just a little bit
about Vanway Elementary, who we are and
what we do. Uh, so Van Vikings are
strong, have brave hearts, and are
always kind. And indeath, bear with me.
Uh we're probably the biggest Cougar
fans in town as well. Um so learning and
wellness are enhanced when we encourage
student agency and voice.
Naturally, our choir loves to sing at
Cougars hockey games. They sang twice
last year and are planning to sing again
twice this year. And at least a few of
the players visited us last year at a
schoolwide assembly
um that where we encouraged
participation in the spirit of healthy
kids challenge which is sponsored by
Northern Health PG Cougars and the
Spirit of the North Health Foundation.
Uh it encourages students to set goals
and track their minutes of reading and
physical exercise.
So last year a group of avid grade five
and six hockey players uh did some
planning and organizing uh around the
spirit of healthy kids challenge with me
and it's part of a leadership project
and the leadership group shared some
testimonial videos at the assembly and
one student uh did the PowerPoint slides
or some of the PowerPoint slides for me.
He's a special needs student. He's
sitting on this side of Rowdycat and
he's a bit humble so he didn't want me
to share his picture at the
presentation. So that's why you just see
Rowdy Cat there.
Uh after the kickoff assembly last
spring, students were encouraged to
participate and it spanned for two weeks
to track their reading and their
physical activity and it span over
spring break. um which was a win for us
because we collected about half of the
forms back and kids had tracked lots of
reading and lots of physical activity
minutes which is pretty exciting for um
staff and parents over the break.
Current research in education points
towards the importance in the sense of
belonging for student learning
engagement and a motivation. So for this
year staff, parents and students uh we
focused on this at the very beginning of
the year and uh it'll be one of our
themes throughout the year and building
on the excitement of the spirit of
healthy kids again uh with student
leaders. We're talking about increasing
learning and awareness around
anti-racism.
And so uh students will set goals,
minutes of reading, physical activity,
and also acts of kindness. And we'll
track those again probably over spring
break and hope to have another kickoff
assembly and invite a few of the PG
cougars to come see us and maybe rowdy
cat will come too. We keep hoping.
Thanks everybody.
Elementary. Uh we've got 213 students K
to 7th. And if you haven't been there,
we're just right at the end of Western
Road as you're heading out Highway 16.
The [snorts] school plan for student
success that uh staff have been actively
involved in features a lot of strategies
and success measures but the one I
really want to focus in is the learning
that's happening with staff in a very
short period of time uh being principal
there recognize the commitment that's
been made by staff uh to work diligently
with our literacy and our new pools. uh
literacy being uh resources that we're
using our UFly and dibbles uh and our
our numerousy being uh the Carol Fryin
workshops and certainly we've got path
on the go all of which is a commitment
like I've indicated the staff have been
solidly behind this plan and the
benefits are that the data is really
showing it and I'm really so pleased
with what's happening in this building.
Uh the one thing I do want to focus on
are these pictures and the pictures
indicate what's happening. Something
really good that's happening coming to
Beaverly. This is my first year as
principal. I recognize that some of our
students are on the bus for upwards to
an hour uh in one direction. They're
coming off the bus 8 a.m. and now we're
in the dark and now it's cold and
chances are a lot of hungry. So we've
been able to come together and
collaboratively work with the national
school food program grants and feeding
preachers to open a breakfast program or
breakfast club. Uh and you can see we've
got a number of students coming in on a
daily basis to attend and be supported
by that nourishment so they can focus,
they can learn and they can start their
day.
uh the population that's going through
right now, we're data suggesting
anywhere between 30 and 40 students. So,
we're getting a good chunk of traffic
coming through. That in turn has led to
a very quick decision uh on behalf
myself and my team at Beaverly to
introduce a lunch program as well. So
with that in itself that adds all
different types of layers of great
leadership with our grade seven students
and I am just so impressed in such a
very quick turnaround like we've only
been in school for a few months that we
have a breakfast program a lunch program
and we've got a real commitment to
literacy and literacy happening in the
building.
Thank you.
These are the
>> Was that the other slide that got tucked
» Was that the other slide that got tucked
in somehow?
>> I'll pause for
» I'll pause for
>> I think it's okay.
» I think it's okay.
>> Hello
» Hello
everyone. I'm Shannon Dane. I'm the
principal of college secondary school.
Um this is him forest and
we are not going to speak to you at all
today. But what College Heights would
like to present about is our new outdoor
ed program. We are fortunate to enough
to live in a place where we have an
incredible resource at our disposal and
we recognize that it a lot of our kids
learn best in different ways other than
inside classrooms and walls and things.
And so we brought a wonderful talented
teacher Suzanne Mloud with us and she's
going to tell you a little bit about our
outdoor program.
» All right. on.
>> Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the
» Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the
outdoor teacher at College Heights. We
just resurrected redeveloped this
program that has been offered there for
a long time. I'm very passionate about
it. It's I've taken it more of an
outdoor adventure education route.
That's my bit of my background there.
So, we've it's not outdoor wreck, it's
not outdoor learning. It's kind of a
combination of the two. We've made it
inclusive learning. There's lots of
different ways that students can show
their learning. Um written, writing,
hands-on. So it kind of catches a web of
uh students in a web. Um we have
something called challenge by choice. So
students can choose how far to
participate each activity encouraging
them to step out of their comfort zone
because that's where the growth zone
happens and it takes them a little while
to get there. As right the academically
sometimes it's hard to explain what
we're doing but I want to see progress
through each student. They're only
judged by against each other themselves
not against each other. Um it's all
strength-based approach. So, can you
master your skills? Have you gotten
better at yourself? Are you encouraging?
Can you share your skills? Uh, they
support each other with their peers. Uh,
there's lots of different backgrounds,
lots of different learning styles. We,
um, incorporate a lot of indigenous
perspectives. We work tightly with the
indigenous ed department as well. Uh, I
like to incorporate a two-eyed scene. So
we take the western perspective and we
take the traditional perspective and we
mesh them together for a holistic
experience there. Um we have a wonderful
indigenous ed department and we do lots
of field trips well as many field trips
as we can. Uh Josh Mueller, our
indigenous ed worker, he comes out with
us and provides an excellent support. We
were just out at Camp Hughes for a
two-day twoight uh trip with my older
class which was a big ask for those
students who have not necessarily spent
that much time alone. uh new
environment, no cell service, they don't
necessarily hang out together in the
hallways, but we have quite a good unit
in the classroom. It's been great to see
all the different backgrounds come
together and support each other. Uh so
he took us through a tracking exercise,
which was very interesting because we
had a snowy day and we had a not snowy
day. So they could use observations in
different ways. They had to problem
solve. Um they had to strategize,
support each other. So that was
something we had on the weekend. Off
topic of that, but um it really helped
them make well-round decisions out in
nature and in the outdoors and inside.
It doesn't just everything we teach in
outdoor ed can be applied inside as
well. The resilience, the perseverance,
the confidence they're building, they
can take that into indoor classrooms,
indoor learning outside of the school,
and it just gives them a deeper sense of
confidence in themselves and their
skills. Um, we hit on lots of the
curriculum. So, I also am a science and
math and foods teacher. I kind of cover
it all. I'm jack of all trades, but
outdated and science are my main ones.
But, we're always drawing from the
science, the applied uh skills we throw
in social studies, math. The students
don't necessarily realize that those are
being incorporated, but they just
naturally happen. And because it's an
authentic learning, it kind of sticks a
little bit better in their minds. Um, if
I told my students that we're going to
go do a leadership activity, they'd
they'd bulk at it. But just by
participating in the classroom and
supporting each other, they're showing
and building leadership skills. Um, they
take risk assessments. We never go out
and do anything without talking about
the risks. So, it helps them like think,
prethinking, uh, food planning,
navigation. We talk about the
environment and the ecosystem, how we're
impacting the environment, how the land
is affecting us, what the land is
teaching us as we have to what we are
going into. We don't always know the
landscape, the environment. So, we have
to take the learning from there. It is
snowy. Well, now how are we going to
change our plans? If we want to build a
shelter, what resources are available?
But in a respectful, non-damaging way.
And [clears throat] we've been able to
incorporate numeracy. I also teach an
algebra 8 class where we have numeracy
built into the curriculum. Um so we're
doing unit conversions uh we're doing
estimations, we're doing navigation and
compass directional work there. Uh it's
really interesting to see how they take
those problem solving skills without
calling it math but using math and they
are actually quite capable and able to
use it and they're confident and they go
off excitedly telling their friends
about what they learned in red. It's
like did you know we measured our
footsteps down the hallway and they that
wasn't interesting how they all thought
their steps were the same length and
they definitely weren't and converting
those to meters and feet. So yeah that
just even in the hallways doing that is
a like skill that they're learning.
Uh so everything for outdoor ed we try
to do real world not hypothetical like
maybe do some theory uh but land-based
experiences going out there doing
something different that not everyone is
able to do catching the students that
maybe are not academically as strong on
paper and written things but are
exceptional in the outdoors and it's
really giving them a chance to show
their skills. It's just been marvelous
to see these some of these students that
aren't rising necessarily to the
occasion really shining and being
absolute leaders out on our camping
trips. I think challenge by choice is
something that is underutilized and may
be misunderstood or you haven't heard
about it in the setting but outdoor
adventure education is a very strong
mandate there and um idea and it really
lets students grow and grow an inner
confidence themselves. They become
motivated themselves by doing the task
there. It's all about teamwork,
cooperation. They know that they need to
support each other. What happens to one
happens to all of us. We all need to
work together to be safe out there. And
we are also with the mental well-being
as I said like the resilience, the
perseverance, the confidence, all that
that is slowly being built. You can see
that quiet confidence build in these
students and then it becomes loud
confidence. They're just so impressed
with themselves and they can do
something or they've had a hard day and
they're coming to outdoor edit to say
that they're not going to other classes,
but outdoor edited it's consistently
they're coming they're behaving they are
participating in ways I haven't seen
some of these students do in other
classes. So, it's been a really special
thing and I think it's very important to
have that available to other students.
Like I'm one person, but I'd like to
catch as many students as they are
because it's a very valuable opportunity
that doesn't always isn't something they
can maybe do in their everyday lives.
Outdoor adventure.
» Thank you both. That's wonderful.
Trusties usually like I don't know if
they will or not but
yes
interesting.
Actually, this isn't a question, but
just uh thank you so much for taking
time out of your evening to present to
us. It's very valuable to find out for
me what's happening in your school. So,
thank you.
>> Trust McCory, please.
» Trust McCory, please.
>> You my family of schools people. So, if
» You my family of schools people. So, if
you're having anything going on in your
schools, uh if you share that with us,
we as trustees try to come and and visit
your schools if we're available. So, I
appreciate all the good work you're
doing. We really heard about the passion
that you have for the work that you do
with the students and I'm sure that that
shows through to the students and great
programs happening all over. Thank you
very much. Thank you for break
>> echoing what others have said like we
» echoing what others have said like we
just love hearing about learning like
hearing about the specific resour like
you know hearing about you fly hearing
about the big ideas like in action those
are the pieces that like really
illustrate what education is and you
really like bring that to life in the in
these public like in this space. Um so
thank you thank you very much for taking
the time.
Okay. And uh that concludes the college
Heights presentation. So thank you.
And as as usual uh it is a great agenda.
You are all welcome to stay or you can
take this opportunity to sache and
that's fine too. While they are
sacheting with my guests, we're going to
go on to 52. Oh, DAC's already
organized. But let's I'll just pause for
a second.
>> Thank you.
Okay. So, we're 52 District Student
Advisory Council. Welcome.
>> Okay. It's good to be back for another
» Okay. It's good to be back for another
year and um we're happy to present. I
feel like this is maybe the latest we've
got to present to you in the year. So,
we're we got lots to share. Uh Emily's
got a full uh address to read here in a
second. Um I just wanted to let you know
this is Emily Clark. She'll introduce
herself, but she's going to be the chair
for DESAC this year. Um she'll be joined
with Aribba Khaled who's a grade 12
student at College Heights as vice
chair. She's away because she has grad
photos this evening. Um but DACA has a
great leadership team this year. Um we
have Max and Martina. They're both uh
participating in the DPAC meetings
throughout the year as the student
voice. Um Lily and Tea, they are part of
the district so committee as well. Um we
have two member of larges, Nico and
Lucille, who kind of jump in when others
can't make meetings. And then Emily, she
hasn't had this meeting yet, but she's
also part of the policy advisory
committee that will be starting later
this year for the district. So, I will
turn it over to Emily now. Oh, before I
do, I just want to share that DESAC has
over 35 uh members this year. So, it is
the largest group that I've had in the
last five years. Um
I've I'm in this early talks with CAP. I
would actually like um later this year
to present to the board potentially on
creating a locally developed district
advisory leadership course. Um that way
these kids are giving so much of their
time. They're volunteering in elementary
schools, secondary schools. I would love
to write some curriculum that hopefully
you would support to reward them with
marks um for the work they do. Okay,
I'll turn it over to Emily.
» Good evening. My name is Emily Clark and
I am a grade 12 student at Duchess Park
second. I'm honored to speak on behalf
of the district student advisory council
to share what we've accomplished so far
this year and how these experiences have
strengthened student voice and
leadership across our district.
Since September, Tesly involved in a
variety of initiatives that connect
students, schools, and our broader
community. We began the year by
participating in the international
student welcome event hosted in
partnership with CNC, UNMBC, and the
city of Prince George. This event was an
incredible opportunity to meet students
from around the world, help them feel at
home, and showcase the welcoming spirit
of our district. It reminded us how
diversity enriches our schools, and why
inclusion matters.
Next, we worked with the RCMP on their
blockatch program, learning about
community safety and how students can
contribute to creating a safe
neighborhood. This partnership gave us
insight into the importance of
collaboration between youth and law
enforcement. And it sparked
conversations about how we can take
proactive steps to keep our schools and
communities secure. In September, I had
the privilege of representing DESAC at
the logo unveiling event event held here
at the board office. This was a proud
moment for our council because it
symbolized our identity and commitment
to leadership. Seeing how our district's
logo was shaped by students reinforced
the message about how our voice is
valued and missible.
We also supported the Terry Fox
initiative at Ron Brandt Elementary,
helping to promote awareness and
participation in this important cause.
We held discussions of leadership with
each class and brainstormed ways that
they could improve an aspect of their
lives in their school or community. By
the end of the morning, we had created a
vision board titled our hopes and
dreams. It was inspiring to see students
of all ages come together to learn about
making positive change.
Another highlight was assisting during
the indigenous education professional
development day at PGSS.
This experience uses allowed us to learn
alongside educators and contribute to
creating meaningful opportunities for
understanding and reconciliation.
It was a powerful reminder to the role
students can play in fostering respect
and cultural awareness.
One of the most exciting moments for
DESAC this fall was being recognized at
the PG Cougars community event. Our
members were invited onto the ice at the
start of the game, which was an
incredible way to celebrate student
leadership and strengthen our connection
with the wider PG community. Beyond
these larger events, we've also focused
on building relationships at the
elementary school level. At Harin
Elementary, we carved pumpkins with a
kindergarten class. A simple but
memorable experience that brought joy to
both the younger students and our
council members. At Ron Brent, we hosted
an outdoor Halloween celebration
featuring a haunted house, apple
bobbing, and face painting. This event
was a fantastic way to create a safe,
inclusive space for students to have fun
and connect.
These activities reflect DESAC's
commitment to leadership, community
engagement, and creating positive
experiences for students across the
district. We're proud of what we've
accomplished so far, and we're excited
about what's ahead. Moving forward,
DESAC plans to continue strengthening
student voice by organizing and
participating in events that promote
inclusion and leadership development. We
also hope to expand our partnerships
with community organizations to ensure
students have opportunity to learn
beyond the classroom.
On behalf of DESAC, I want to thank the
board for your ongoing support of
student leadership. Your encouragement
makes these initiatives possible and it
helps us create a school district where
every student feels heard and valued.
Thank you for your time.
» Thank you, Emily. Thank you. You just
have a moment. I think any trustees
would like to add anything like please.
>> Anybody else could take it?
» Anybody else could take it?
>> Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]
» Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]
and you have done as a as a group a lot
of things and accomplished a lot
already. It's incredible. So, keep it
going. And I think what I would like to
recognize is the leadership qualities.
Like you're a flawless speaker. You're
doing an amazing job. and like we love
hearing about the good work that you and
your and the whole team does. So keep it
up and keep growing. It's great. Thank
you.
>> Thank you. Great. And I would say as
» Thank you. Great. And I would say as
well did tremendous job speaking like
way better than me. So that that's a
high bar, but it's excellent. So thank
you both very much for your time, your
commitment and on behalf of the whole
team. Thank you and know that you have
our support.
Okay. and rest. Good evening again. You
are also up. You saw it up before. So
that's we're going to go on to 5.3 and I
believe is director B.
» Thanks.
That's kind of how I was feeling as I
was walking up here after the last three
presentations from the family schools
and they always have such great things
going on and now I'm going to present on
the FSAs which might not be quite as
exciting but nonetheless here we are. Uh
so the intention of my presentation
tonight is just to give an overview of
the foundation skills assessment the
components how it's marked and uh what
is done with the data after students
complet it and we get the results.
I don't think
anything.
» So
the FSA is our provincial assessment for
all grades four and seven students. Uh
focus on literacy and numeracy and
assesses how students analyze,
communicate and reflect on their
thinking. So it's not just facts they
know about memorization. Um the FSA is
just a snapshot of student learning in
the moment in time and the results are
just one way of measuring how the
education system is doing in those key
areas. Um for parents and caregivers the
FSA is an indicator of where their child
is at in literacy and numeracy
development.
So the timeline for administration it's
always in the fall. This year it was
from October 1st to November 10th.
Typically, we have all the FSAs marked
by now. Uh we usually do at the end of
October, but there's just a delay in
getting the ministry uh marking packages
this year. So, we're actually going into
our marking sessions next week. Uh once
the packages are marked, we have some
local data entry that takes place for
the that we then send to the ministry
and students and families get their
results back uh the booklets and the
online portion in January. And then as a
district, we get kind of the mass data
of all the students in our district in
um in usually around March. Sometimes
it's a little bit delayed, but that's I
think that's always their goal.
Okay. Um there's five components of the
FSA. So the student booklets kind of as
mentioned in the previous slide is made
up of a literacy and a numeracy portion.
The literacy portion is comprised of
three written responses to pieces of
reading. Uh students always get a choice
of themes in this section. So there's
always two themes and then there's two
articles that go with each theme. Uh
before they choose a theme, there's a
collaboration activity that they take
part in. And that activity is just meant
to help students activate prior
knowledge, uh build some connections
with the materials, discuss ideas just
so that they can engage a little bit
more with the material. Uh just as an
example, this year the um on the great
border FSA, one of the themes was
together on the land. And then a story
about fish ladders and other passes that
wildlife used to meander through our
highways and things like that. And
another story about um a family that
visited a fish camp each year and kind
of the emotion and excitement that went
along with that. And then the second
theme was challenges that people face or
animals face. And one of the stories was
about a, this is a true story and I
actually looked it up so I didn't
believe it, but it was about a cat that
made it from Ontario to Alberta and a
family found in Alberta and somehow got
that cat back to the family in Ontario,
which is quite impressive. And then
another story just about a a girl that
broke her leg and kind of the ups and
downs that went with that injury.
Uh, the nubcy portion of the booklets is
just comprised of three questions. So
there's three questions in grade four,
three questions in grade seven.
uh students are just tasked to analyze
and think critically about the math
concepts and those questions. Um and
this portion always involves multiple
steps to solve a question. So it's not
just a quick question and answer. And
then there's an online uh literacy pass
which is 30 questions long and again
it's reading uh different articles and
different stories and there's multiple
choice questions students answer and
then an online numeracy uh section as
well that's 30 questions long and um
again it's just based on different
concepts in the curriculum that that
students work through. Uh it's just
important to note that students aren't
sitting down and doing this whole thing
at once. They're kind of that's why
spaced out from October 1st to November
10th. And then once all those sections
are complete, they just do a quick 5 10
minute reflection on how they felt um
the FSA was for them.
Uh so as mentioned the booklets are
marked locally by principles and vice
principles and the online portion is
marked provinially. Um, basically for
the online or for the booklet portion,
we get a package from the ministry uh
with different rubrics for all the
different sections and as a as a group
of principles and vice principles. We
sit down and look at the rubrics and
they also give us samples to go through.
So, as a group, we talk about the
samples, we mark the samples to make
sure that there's consensus among the
group in terms of um we just want
everyone on the same page when they're
marking and then we spend four or five
pages going through and and marking
everything. Once we finish marking, we
also send um we send a certain number of
uh booklets off to the ministry because
they kind of they mark our marking to
make sure that we're we're on par with
where they want us to be. So, they have
a provincial team that looks through
booklets and we always do quite well
there.
Uh when the results um are given back to
the district and to families, they're
given back to us in a three-point scale.
So students are for literacy and
numeracy you're emerging on track you're
extending and there there is a more
comprehensive kind of definition of of
these three indicators but just for the
purpose of tonight I thought I'd just
leave it with a snapshot
and then that kind of brings us to what
we do with the data. So from a
provincial level, the FSAs give a
snapshot of how our education system is
doing and adjustments that may need to
be made at a provincial level to boost
the education system. Uh locally, we use
the FSA along with other data points to
track student progress, make adjustments
to the course that we offer. Um, just
one note I'd like to give is we're
usually about our participation rates in
in SG57 are usually about 10 to 15%
higher um than the province which gives
us a little bit more of a good
representation of the cohorts that are
ready and we get that data and then we
also make adjustments to our strategic
plan. So, I know the enhancing student
learning report was um presented at the
last board meeting and that document
actually outlines a lot of the changes
that that we bring into place in the
academic areas. Uh one notable change
kind of that we've made over the last
couple years is just around the the five
pillars of literacy and just really
trying to enhance those in our
classrooms and and support teachers
around those ideas. um offering more
prob in those areas especially in
aquatics and biological awareness and um
also the introduction of um literacy
screeners. So all kindergarten teachers
being using it right now um dibbles but
we also have uh 22 other schools that
are involved in various pilots around um
the dibbles screener. So getting a lot
more information about early literacy
skills and how we can support those
skills. uh in numeracy the FSA is very
heavily problem solving based and uh we
just know that we need to continue to
support students and teachers in that
area. So just one thing that we've been
doing we've been working with Carol
Forman for the last three years and her
a big focus with her is just around
incorporating problem solving into um
various aspects of the curriculum. So
Carol is kind of a provincial math u I
just I call her a guru just because I've
seen her a lot. She's quite smart. Uh
but Carol was here two weeks ago. She
did some co-planning and co-eing with
teachers at uh around Brmpton Buckorn
and we had groups of teachers that went
into also watch those lessons and then
retail afterwards and she also presented
to our principal vice principal during
that same week. Uh so that's kind of a
FSA snapshot and I'm more than happy to
answer any questions.
>> Thank you director.
» Thank you director.
>> Oh can I say one more thing? I just
» Oh can I say one more thing? I just
really wanted to thank also the the
teachers and the administrators um for
all the help in administering the
assessments because it takes a lot of
time and a lot of work to make sure kids
get caught up and complete the various
aspects of it and it's just so really
appreciated.
>> Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or
» Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or
questions for director B on behalf
trust
» thank you for thank you for your
presentation always valuable to see how
FSA results can be used in a way that
works to support the school system. Uh
unfortunately some people use the FSA
results for I don't want to say for evil
but shall we say with a flawed
methodology in in um doing a ranking of
schools. Uh would you agree? Would you
say that that choosing school say for
parents would far more than just finding
the one with the highest FSA scores?
>> Oh I would
» Oh I would
press
>> yes I'll completely agree. I think all
» yes I'll completely agree. I think all
of our schools offer great supports,
great instruction, assessment practices.
Um they're very caring for kids. Uh we
have different programs that run
throughout our schools. And I think
that's also from my perspective. Um one
of the goals in my department is to
create kind of more cohesion and
direction in the areas of literary
university. So we're kind of all on the
same page as the district. Um the
discussion was around UFly kind of in
one of the last presentations and the
majority of our schools are actually
using things like UFly right now. So I
think just creating that consistency
among schools just gives opportunity for
all kids.
>> Thank you Trust McCory.
» Thank you Trust McCory.
>> I would just like to echo a little bit
» I would just like to echo a little bit
um Trustee Holland. I find that FSAs I
had kids. They wrote FSAs. Sometimes
they didn't. And um I think that it's a
contentious issue because of what's done
with the data outside of what the use
is. And so to rank schools off a a
report is ridiculous from my personal
opinion. Um but I think that um you know
we need some baseline information but
the way that it's utilized by certain
organizations is not conducive to the
good work that's being done in schools
and the students that are successful
even like personally I had a child that
did not do well with FSAs who has done
very well as an adult and so I that's
just my personal opinion on it and um I
think that it's unfortunate that one one
little indicator has so much impact on
how people are making decisions that in
my opinion really aren't valid. Thanks.
>> Thank you. Any other trustees?
» Thank you. Any other trustees?
>> Thanks, director. We appreciate your
» Thanks, director. We appreciate your
time and have a pleasant evening.
Trustes, we're going to go on to number
six, please. Regular public meeting of
October the 14th. the recommended motion
that the minutes of the October 14th,
2025 regular public meeting be approved
as presented. Could I get a moer,
please? Vice Chair McLean, seconded.
Trusty answer. All in favor? And that is
unanimous. Thank you. 6.2 Record of
Incame meetings. Recommended motion that
the record of the inc camera meetings be
approved as presented. Could I get a
mover, please? Trusty Holland seconded.
Trusty Weber. All in favor? And that is
unanimous. Thank you. On to number
seven. Trustees, business arising for
minutes. I do not see any. So, we'll go
on to number eight. Trusty Holland, have
you had a sip of water?
>> Yes, you better.
» Yes, you better.
>> Okay,
» Okay,
>> I turn it over to you.
» I turn it over to you.
>> Thank you very much.
» Thank you very much.
Okay, so the first item here from the ad
hoc policy committee is the public
committee report. The recommended motion
is that the report of the ad hoc policy
committee be received.
>> Can I get a second or second? Trustee
» Can I get a second or second? Trustee
McCory. Go ahead.
Okay, I won't read everything here. I
will note that we met October the well,
we've been meeting pretty much weekly,
including yesterday to to continue the
board of policy review. Um, we've got
some items that appear on this evening's
agenda, and we're uh we've been
reviewing the section 4 appeals bylaw in
our last meeting. Uh, we're looking at
potential policies for our section two.
We did section one already and we're
looking forward next week to section
three coming towards us. Uh so I will
speak to the other items on here once we
get to that particular point in the
agenda.
>> Okay. So the recommend motion that the
» Okay. So the recommend motion that the
report of the ad hoc policy committee be
received. All in favor?
And that is unanimous. Thank you. Trusty
Holland if you'd like to continue on
with 8.2 please.
>> Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a
» Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a
recommended motion that bylaw two
traffic and access to property be given
third and final reading. So, can I have
a seconder?
The mid. There's a couple of you all at
once. Sorry, bit of a rush there.
Continue on.
>> Okay. So, in accordance with section 68
» Okay. So, in accordance with section 68
of the school act, bylaws must be given
three distinct readings. And we had at
the October 14th meeting, uh, we passed
the first and second reading of bylaw 2,
which is traffic and access to property.
And then the third final reading is for
this evening here. Um,
Given that everybody has it in their
agenda package, I'm not going to read
out the the whole thing, although it is
one of our shorter bylaws, only three
pages.
Um, I will ask if there's any questions
for trustes regarding you.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
And seeing none, I'll call the question.
All in favor?
And that is unanimous. Thank you very
much. Uh, we'll go on to 8.3, please.
Trusty Holland. We go and the
recommended motion here is that bylaw
five board procedures be given first
reading. [clears throat]
>> So move the second
» So move the second
trusty Andrew. Go ahead Trusty Almond.
>> Okay. And then again bylaws of the board
» Okay. And then again bylaws of the board
must be given three distinct readings.
Um we have revised our current policy
seven board operations
including changing the contents from a
policy to a bylaw. So, we're
recommending that the first reading of
bylaw 5 be given at this evening's
meeting and then the second reading at
which discussion would be take would be
um
place take place would be given at the
January the 13th 2026 regular public
meeting.
Uh something I will add to that uh as as
well. Did you have a question first? Oh,
there we go. Um sorry. um is that this
the being a bylaw would not go to policy
advisory committee. However, we will
take public input on this as as per
normal. There's public input at
sdb57.bc.ca
and trustees at sb57.bc.ca.
That would be a normal process for
receiving public input for matters.
>> Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the
» Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the
recommended motion is that bylaw five
board procedure be given first reading.
All in favor?
That is unanimous. Thank you. Trustee
Holland 8.4 policies for reveal for
appeal.
>> I'm just scrolling.
» I'm just scrolling.
[clears throat]
» Goodness. This is even the bylaw is
being shortened. I think we go. Here we
go. Okay.
Reveal policies. Recommended motion that
the following policy be repealed
immediately. So that is policy two role
of the board. Policy three role of the
trustee. Policy four trustee code of
conduct. Policy five role of the board's
chair. Policy six role of the vice
chair. Policy 9 board of
representatives. Policy 11 for
delegation of authority. Policy 12 role
of the superintendent. Policy 11 1,100
uh freedom of information and protection
of pro uh privacy. Policy 1110,
communications, policy 1240, Virginia
Volunteer Services, and policy 1340,
Educational Heritage.
>> So, second,
» So, second,
>> Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty
» Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty
Holland.
>> So, uh the the first
» So, uh the the first
uh from policy 2 to policy 12, we
adopted uh revised governance policies
that would replace all those particular
policies.
policy um 11000 freedom of information
and protection of privacy is no longer
required as the content in that policy
has been replaced by our privacy
management program and admin procedures.
Policy 1110 is no longer required as the
content in that is included in 1.22 22
the role of the board chair and vice
chair and there's uh has this notes uh
the policies 1240 provision of volunteer
services and 1340 educational heritage
are operational in nature and will be
established as administrative procedures
um
>> I will
» I will
I mean I I'm so much torn here because
uh Policy 1240, provision of volunteer
services, I think might be slightly
premature for in there to be repealed.
It's one of the ones that would be
reflected on the next in the next area,
the 2.41 parent engagement, and there
are some other policies that would uh go
into those as well. So while the the
bulk of that policy um is 1240 provision
volunteers is indeed administrative,
there are some some government um
governance related areas that I probably
should not be repealed before we have
the new policy in place.
>> Am I hearing suggested amend? But
» Am I hearing suggested amend? But
>> yes, you are.
» yes, you are.
>> Would you like to on the floor, please?
» Would you like to on the floor, please?
We'll see just a second. I would like to
amend uh the motion on the floor by
removing the words policy 1240 provision
of volunteer services.
>> Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any
» Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any
discussion trustees?
All in favor of the amendment
that is unanimous. So the motion has
amended now. Any further comment to
that?
>> Does anyone have any questions about
» Does anyone have any questions about
this?
>> Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,
» Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,
more so just a comment on recognizing
and I know that we had this conversation
last month, but just also revisiting
because that that work continues to be
significant and ongoing and as you
mentioned almost weekly. So just a note
of gratitude.
>> Thank you.
» Okay. And seeing no further discussion,
we are going on the amended motion. All
in favor?
That is unanimous. Thank you very much,
Trusty Holland. And if you want to set
water again 8.5
» there we go. Okay. So the recommended
motion is that the board of education
refer policies 2.4 student voice 2.41
parent engagement and 250 partnerships
corporate sponsorships and donations to
the policy advisory committee for
review.
>> So move seconded
» So move seconded
vice chair clean. in discussion.
>> I can give a bit of background here
» I can give a bit of background here
basically. Uh so we're looking at the
policies for the policy management
section two which is expectations,
relationships and communications and
engagement and there will be several
quite a number of other policies that
will go to the the policy advisory
committee for review. These are the
first three that we'll be going to there
because um we we thought we thought
these were good policies to start off
with.
Um so I don't believe we currently have
policy advisory committee uh meeting
scheduled. Uh we probably be looking in
January for that. But again uh I believe
our DPAC um president is is going to be
serving as the DPAC represent DSAC by
apologies of the district student
advisory committee. uh chair serving as
the representative. So we are looking
forward to that taking place.
>> Go ahead. Trust Corey.
» Go ahead. Trust Corey.
>> So because we have not yet formed that
» So because we have not yet formed that
and that would be an appointment of
physicians, would that be on the January
agenda
uh for for action?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
Any other discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor?
That is unanimous. Thank you, Trusty
Holland. And again, just trusty Holland.
Uh, everyone helps on this, but you do a
lot of the heavy lifting and we
appreciate that. So, thank you very
much. Uh, we're going to move on to
number nine. Uh, trust. So, this is a
board authorized course, equin assisted
learning and animal care at 12. And so,
we have Christie here and Christa, you
come on up to the mic for me.
>> The first thing trustees said, the first
» The first thing trustees said, the first
thing when they saw this item is where's
the horse?
Please let them know there is no horse
today
and direct your vote. Sorry.
Go ahead. Thanks for looking forward to
You're actually not going to hear from
me very much. I just wanted to introduce
the two. So this is Christopher Olivier
and Chris Allen or sorry
» it's
like Olivia%
on last name for the record. Uh but I I
just wanted to make one comment before
they started. We we just heard in the
college trace family of school
presentations how important it is to
engage students in different ways and
try to find an opportunity so they they
can engage with our school communities.
And so I just very thankful that um
these two educators decided to um put in
the time to to try to make a board off
the right course and and be willing to
come here tonight to present. So thank
you both. I'll pass it over to you.
Thank you.
Try and share this here.
» All right. Um, so I said my name is
Chris Oliver. Uh, I'm a teacher at ACP.
>> I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and
» I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and
also a ecoin assisted learning
facilitator.
And we do have one other person on our
team who wishes she was here. Her name
is Terresa Hick. She's another youth
care worker at our school. Many many of
you, I'm sure, know her and may know her
better as T. Um, very she's very sadly
not here, let's say. She's getting jaw
major jaw surgery. Uh, actually earlier
this morning she had major jaw surgery
and she's in recovery now. Um, and she
she's in here. She's here in spirit and
she left me some very detailed things
she wants me to say and to remind
everyone remind me a few times yesterday
of what I should be saying for her.
So you will you'll be hearing from her
but not directly.
Um so this is my seventh year in the
district as a teacher. Uh almost the
entire time I've been working in
alternate education at ACP and
Intersect. Um I have been working with
animals my entire life. I I have family
a lot of family members have farms and I
spent most of my summers helping out on
those farms. Uh as well as pets and
other animals in my own house. And I
really strongly believe that courses
like this and some other ones especially
we heard earlier today from uh from Miss
Mloud and the outdoor ed program about
how experiential hands-on learning is of
utmost importance in the schools
especially today.
And uh T gave me a list of what she
wants to say to introduce her. I'll I'll
read her words exactly as I had them.
Um she's been in the district for over
30 years working with some of the most
atrisisk youth in the city. She believes
incredibly strongly that compassion and
empathy are critical skills that
everyone must learn and the best way to
learn them is to work with animals of
all kinds. Cats, dogs, horses, they all
work to really build that compassion,
empathy these kids really desperately
need. and also that students need to
learn to connect to their community and
to give back to their community through
volunteerism which this course will
hopefully provide in spades.
» Good evening everyone. Um so I'm from a
really small I'm not even going to say
town community. Um does anyone know
where Grassy Plains is?
>> Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,
» Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,
there wasn't hardly any girls my age or
boys and
I grew up on a cattle ranch and horses
were our means of everything. And so
horses gave me wellness. They gave me
friendship and I knew somehow someway I
was going to work with people and
horses. And so about eight years ago, I
heard about this program out of Calgary
called Equin assisted Learning. And it
was everything I ever dreamed about. And
not even two months later, I was in
Calgary becoming certified. And so, um,
I've put thousands of people through our
program. It is I'm very passionate about
it. I've seen some major transformation
with some of our kids and youth. Um,
hopefully I'll be able to tell tell you
a couple stories if I talk too much. Um
but yeah, working for the school
district for the last 15 years, also
with high-risisk youth mental health has
been kind of an area that I've been
working in mostly through intersect
school program. And then I also did
indigenous education when I first came
to the school district. So have had
quite a bit of experience working with
all kinds of diverse uh students and
yeah I've definitely worked with some
complex horses. Their horses are amazing
teachers. Um they are the teacher in our
program. So you'll learn a little bit
more about that. But yeah that's
something that I uh definitely have a
big heart for and I went to Conrad our
principal last year and said is there
any way we can do this through school?
Um I have a partnership with uh my work
equestrian center and so we all decided
to kind of make it work and so it didn't
start off really as a elective but um
we've been working this last year giving
like PE credits and stuff like that. So
we really like to make it work. It's
actually good credit.
>> Yeah.
All right. So
So why are we teaching this course?
Well, we believe it or not, these these
are the paired down notes on the slides
as well. We we originally had even more
words on there. Um we all three of us
believe really strongly in as I said
before building connection to the
community through volunteerism and in
building skills through working with
animals. So compassion, empathy, I
already mentioned were really important
things that come from working with
animals. but also learning social cues,
learning body language, learning
confidence, learning how to step outside
of your comfort zone. All these things
come very naturally when you work with
animals. Uh whether it be something very
small like a cat or something very large
like a horse, it does come through in
all of these things. Um and one thing I
found last year was we have some really
amazing resources in this town. We have
the ecoin program that Christa runs on
her own. Uh if you want to flaunt your
business, you can show the logo on here.
Ultra ecoin.
Um the ultraequin program which I which
Christa runs her own business which I
have seen kids I've had students who've
gone through that program and they came
out changed. first took one of my prote.
[laughter]
» Well, yeah, I prefer cows. Um
but
um we also have a really important
resource in the local humane societies
and the volunteer programs that they
offer. So combining these two things
into a course is such an important way
of of using the resources we have in the
community to help the kids who need it.
Um you know students at ACP obviously
they come from in many case many places
very troubled lives. We deal with
cross-sections of the community that
includes high mental health, addiction,
gang involvement, street entrenchment,
lots of things like that. And giving
them these opportunities they would
never have in any other situation is is
powerful. Like it it's something that
they would never be able to do
otherwise. And it allows them to learn
skills that are so that are going to
carry them through for the rest of their
life because there's skills involved
with working with the animals. But we
also make sure as a major point to
relate everything back to how this can
work in your daily life. Working with
people, working with yourself, how these
skills transfer to all those aspects of
your life.
with me. So, I kind of already went into
this a little bit on the previous slide,
but why this course matters, as I
already mentioned, has to do with how
important these skills are when it comes
to building up our students in our
community. And one thing that we have
found, and I'm sure everyone who's
worked in schools has has made similar
observations, is we do notice a decline
in a lot of social skills in our
students coming in. some our older
students often have more than our newer
ones coming in and a few years ago it
was even higher than it was now. We we
tend to see this and I've definitely
heard a lot of people talking about it
and it was something we thought this is
a way to help combat that because one of
the reasons so many students are
struggling with these social skills is
they've never learned body language,
social cues, how to be confident enough
to ask a question or to stick their neck
out in a conversation or anything like
that. and they they're afraid to step
out of their comfort zone. And so giving
them an opportunity where they can learn
all those skills in a very safe way, in
a very non-judgmental way in the sense
that a a horse will never judge you in
the same way a person will. Uh gives
them so so much practice. They're able
to take that and then apply it in their
life and become much more productive
members of the community afterwards.
» Okay. Um so equin assisted learning uh
the program that I took is has a
trademark called building block
curriculum and every session has
objective. So we start off with um
safety number one. My biggest priority
when it comes to horses is kids learning
safety, learning how to be safe around
them, how to walk around them. Um and
then they have to learn the skills. So
they go into relationship building um
skill development and then we get in
different forms of communication and
also includes like problem solving and
um negotiation focus those are all
objectives that we have in our program
and there's 12 of them and then at the
very end which Chris will talk about a
little bit more is they actually become
the facilitator to the other group and
facilitate their own course. So, a
little bit about the program. They come
um we debrief on whatever the objective
is going to be for the day and usually
takes about 10 15 minutes and then they
go and work with the horse for about 45
to 50 minutes. And it's all kind of like
exercises or obstacles that they have to
work together and work as a team, step
up and be a leader to. And they have to
work of course is part of their team as
well. And so then I step in if I see
anything that's like unsafe or any kind
of learning moments. That's my job. And
then we come back at the end, we debrief
about it, reflect it to everyday um
learning like how they can use those
skills and and um then they do a a
journal at the end talking about what
the horse taught them. And then we they
pick a word. So we have a word board.
They pick a word. We talk about why that
word mattered to them for the day.
[clears throat] So that's every day
looks the same. It's very structured so
the kids get to learn and feel
comfortable and safe. Uh we make it very
safe place and I also have a a
partnership with my work equestrian
center that one of the girls there is
always there horses getting them ready
um and and helps me with making sure the
horses are safe because we can't do this
program unless the horses are looked
after properly, their mental health,
physical health and that somebody is
always looking out for their safety. So
that's kind of how it works. And with
the humane society, um, basically the
kind of it's similar. We go there, we
find out what we're going to do for the
day, and we make sure that everybody
kind of knows their job and has a job
and we go over safety and kind of what
that job looks like. So even when
they're working with the animals,
usually happens at towards the end of
the day. if there's new kids that
haven't been there before, we kind of go
in with them, make sure that they're
comfortable and and uh kind of
understand like how dogs and cats work.
So, yeah, I'll let you go over the rest
of that.
>> Oh, thank you.
» Oh, thank you.
>> Um,
» Um,
as you can see, if I I I can very easily
go into every one of these aspects in
detail. uh out of respect for everyone's
time and evening, I I will leave. If you
have any of these aspects you'd like to
ask me more about, please do during the
question session, um I I hope everyone
will be able to actually leave this
place this evening and not listen to me
talk for an an hour. But suffice to say
just to touch kind of expend on what
Christa was saying as well. um when it
comes to the when it comes to the humane
society side of things because how how
our course is currently structured is on
Tuesday afternoons students go down to
the myth equestrian center and work with
the horses on Thursdays they go to to
the humane society and then there's
another group of students who don't want
to work with the horses and only do the
humane society and they will often go on
Thursdays and Fridays
>> it's not a
» it's not a
>> it's not part of the same program like
» it's not part of the same program like
there it's a sort of a separate a
separate existing program that T had
started in previous years that we kind
of grafted this together to make a whole
thing out of. Um, but one thing that,
and you'll see this when we come to the
pictures as well, is kind of said, is
it's not just playing with cats and
dogs. They work. They come in, they do
laundry, they do dishes, they have
scraped frozen dog poop off of concrete
for an hour. And some days they don't
even get a chance to actually spend time
with the animals. And they're still
happy to be there because they know
they're helping those animals lives by
doing all the cleaning and sorting and
organizing. And and I got I've never
seen teenagers clean so well as when
they are washing and drying all the
stuff that belongs to all the dogs cuz
they suddenly care about it a lot more.
But all these different skills, all
different content, these are things that
we go through every day, whether it's
working with the horses or working with
the cats and dogs. Um,
and they're all, as I said before, all
things that we try to relate back to
their everyday life. Like if you once
you learn how to how to fold a dog's
sheet, you know how to fold your own
sheets, too. So you don't have to rely
on your mom to fold your sheets for you
at home anymore, for example.
[clears throat]
So as I said, uh we off this currently
at ACP twice a week. We are currently
offering students credits towards their
PE or active living courses. Um, we've
also sometimes counted the the time at
the at the Humane Society towards
volunteer hours for things like CLC12
and work experience and other volunteer
hours that they need for courses.
The hope would be once if we can get
this approved to make a more formalized
course.
And while this is currently only
available at ACP, there are options to
expand this to other schools. The
considerations I have for you is you
have to have someone like Christa who is
an ecoin like a trained ecoin assisted
learning facilitator. You have to have
access to horses obviously. Um
transportation safety have a teacher
involved for assessment any other
supports that are required for things
like emergency transportation or
classroom management. If one student has
some kind of problem, whether it be a
medical problem or they have some kind
of breakdown, we'll make sure that we
have supports set to keep that student
safe without also compromising the
learning of everyone else in the in the
arena. For instance, um when it comes to
Humane Society, they accept volunteers
from all over. I'm sure any school would
be happy to have a group that could go.
The only thing, if I could make a
suggestion, would be if there was some
kind of like district-wide signup board
for some simple reason that they get
overwhelmed if there's more than say 10
or more volunteers at once. And also,
yes, there would have to be adults there
to help supervise, transport, and once
again manage because it's not fair to
the Humane Society staff if they are now
having to, you know, tell the kids what
to do and stop them from messing around
or anything like that. We want to make
sure they're being productive and we're
not interrupting their actual jobs there
because they have their own work that
they have to do as well. So all the
these all these things could be
absolutely applied to other schools. It
would require some resources like I said
uh most importantly perhaps a ecoin
assistant facilitator but they are all
very possible within other schools.
» All right. So here's a couple of well
few pictures of some of our kids. Um, I
have seen or we have seen some major
transformation.
I can't even tell you how shocked I am.
We've had kids that have had like
selective mutism that wouldn't even talk
to us at school and we've convinced them
to come there and they end up having a
voice for the horse. I've seen kids with
pretty complex mental health that'll be
able to gain some skills and start using
them within the school setting and just
smiles on face. Like sometimes we have
kids that are pretty depressed or you
don't see them with smiles on their face
very often. Have another kid that's I
don't I wouldn't say he has a like a
tough guy. He's pretty uh I don't know
how how to explain him. He's I wouldn't
say that he's like a gang member, but
he's kind of like has that hard shell
around him and pretty hard to approach
and seeing him with animals is he has he
has a huge heart. It just blew my mind
actually. I wasn't sure about bringing
him there to begin with and what was
that was going to look like and yeah
it's so lots of good qualities um come
out of some of these kids that just blow
you away and just uh how they start
being leaders in the school and with
some of these kids. So yeah, I I have
tons of stories. I could talk about it
for a long long time, but it's uh
definitely really rewarding. And being
able to
offer this is just something that has
really I guess made my career at the um
school district like something that I
love. Yeah.
The last just said questions, the rest
was blank. So questions for anyone. Yes,
please. Um, just before we do that, I'm
going to put the motion on the floor and
then we'll talk about it behind. So that
recommend a motion that Aquin assisted
learning and animal care 12 be approved
as a board authorized course. Moved by
Trusty Holland, seconded by Trusty
Weber. And now questions or discussions?
Trustees?
Uh, Trusty Weber, please.
» Hi. I just want to thank you so much for
having the courage to create a course
like this. Um, it can be challenging at
times. Um, but the passion that I'm
hearing from you and and the desire to
help kids in a way that isn't inside the
school walls um is really super
encouraging. Um, I have read your uh
framework for your course very thorough,
very well laid out. Um, I am so excited
about this. You 100% have my backing on
this. Um, I would like to see the
schools in McKenzie come out and work
with you if that's an opportunity. Um,
yeah, I just wish there would be more
opportunities for things like this, more
hands-on, and I think the local SPCAS
will really appreciate you. The extra
hands is always encouraging. Um, so
thank you. Well done. This is very good.
>> Thank you very much,
» Thank you very much,
>> Trusty.
» Trusty.
>> Yeah, thanks very much. That was
» Yeah, thanks very much. That was
perfectly said. I I knew nothing about
horses and and just this summer I was I
was fortunate enough to go on some rides
at a place El Shadai and and an owner
Sean and and just his description of how
much he loved horses matches this and
just the different personalities of each
horse and how as we know every student
has a different personality and just
seeing those combinations and coming
together was was is magic. So for myself
who knew nothing about horses and going
out there and being on it, it did change
my life and my family's life going on an
hourong horse ride. So I can't imagine
how much you can impact children's
lives, students lives at a at a younger
age by by building those uh
relationships between the horses and
them. And and so I it's amazing. So,
thank you very much and I hope the
program in the future expands further to
support not just students around Prince
George but but further and so well done
and thank you and I really appreciate
all your passion.
>> Thank you. Thank you very much. I just
» Thank you. Thank you very much. I just
want to say that I encourage any one of
you guys to come out and check it out.
And usually by like day three or session
three or four like I it's really where
you see the value and the benefits of
the program. But we also do pro days.
I've done spring bling for six years now
and sometimes we do the mental health
symposium. But yeah, if you guys want to
come out and do a program, we do team
building program. So I'd be up for it.
So thank you uh Chris and Christa and
again this is ACP alternate community
programs.
>> Yes,
» Yes,
>> I mean this is very well brought those
» I mean this is very well brought those
words to life. So trustees before they
go I think it might be important for us
to do a vote. So all
>> congratulations.
» congratulations.
Thank you.
>> Um if I just one final thing just to
» Um if I just one final thing just to
make sure it's absolutely clear to
everyone. Uh there is no horse riding in
this [laughter] particular horse. Okay,
>> everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.
» everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.
>> Yeah,
» Yeah,
>> they don't like it, but they have to.
» they don't like it, but they have to.
>> Thanks very much.
» Thanks very much.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard
» So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard
to follow that uh 9.2 statement of
financial information, the SOFI report.
Secretary Treasur,
» thank you. Attached to your agenda is
the statement of financial information
which is a requirement under the
financial information act. And as you
can see in the agenda, there's a number
of attachments including the June 30th,
2025 audit financial statements, the
schedule of remuneration and expense for
trustees and employees with all trustees
and those employees with salaries
exceeding 75,000. schedule of payments
to suppliers of goods and services for
suppliers that are paid in excess of
$25,000 and then an explanation of the
difference differences between the
report and the financial statements.
>> Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes
» Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes
recommended motion is that the statement
of financial information for the fiscal
year and the June 30th, 2025 be approved
as the presented. Could I have a mover,
please? Trustee Weber, the seconder,
Vice Chair Mlean. And any questions or
discussion for Secretary Treasure?
Trusty Holland, please.
>> You didn't see my hand go up before if
» You didn't see my hand go up before if
you said Trusty Holland.
Um, a a question then for the secretary
treasure and
you know the uh the only thing that I uh
have an issue with in this report is
that $75,000 is the threshold and has
been the threshold since what it 2002
thereabouts. So if in $22 the threshold
would have been $120,000 roughly for
salaries and uh so originally it was
above the average amount of teacher
salary in BC and now it's quite a bit
below that average amount. So this is an
increase in paperwork for this district
for all districts for all public
employers and a decrease in privacy for
our employees. Do you see any sign that
this might change and and that it be
indexed to inflation in the future?
I have not I know this is a discussion
that has occurred in the last several
years because the $75,000 as you'd say
has been unchanged and I haven't seen
any indication or seen any communication
of any potential change.
>> Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing
» Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing
nothing further all in favor
and that is unanimous. Thank you very
much secretary treasure. 9.3 trustees is
a cla a class size report and coming in
and helping out today I believe is uh
associate superintendent.
>> Yes. So in front of you you have the
» Yes. So in front of you you have the
class size report. Um on the one column
is the um the max numbers per
kindergarten primary um intermediate and
then secondary and then the other is the
average for the 2025 2026 school year uh
for the district. Um you can see that
we've met all of our enrolling ratios or
in the process of meeting them um as
outlined in the collective agreement and
we are below all of the the class size
sort of limits um that we want to be
there. So the report is very
self-explanatory.
>> Thank you very much. So the recommended
» Thank you very much. So the recommended
motion is that the class size report be
received as presented. Can I get a mover
please? Trusty Holland seconded. Vice
Chair Mlean and any discussions or
questions?
Seeing none, all in favor
and that is unanimous. Thank you very
much. Associate Superintendent Men.
Number 9.5 everyone. 2627 annual budget
process and timeline. And this is back
to our secretary treasurer minaria.
Please number 9.4.
>> Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it
» Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it
again. Hannah, I can't believe I
[clears throat] did that.
9.4
US financial December 382 director of
finance Hannah Brown and
>> a I'm state sorry
» a I'm state sorry
in your agenda package you'll find uh
the operating fund results for quarter
one uh which show an operating fund
deficit of $2.5 million. An operating
deficit in quarter one is typical for
school districts mainly because of the
timing of how we receive grants from the
ministry. For example, the September
operating grant revenue was 9.3 million
compared to 17 million in October in
spite of the fact that we have a full
schoolbased payroll in September.
The operating grant revenue is based on
spring enrollment estimates until
December when the ministry will
recalculate the operating grant based on
actual enrollments and the actual number
of students designated with special
needs and an amended budget for the year
will be presented in February. Overall,
we estimate the operating grant will
decrease about $660,000
compared to the original budget and
staffing levels have been adjusted in
response to uh enrollment variances and
we don't expect that any significant
reductions to other operating expenses
will be required in response to the
reduced revenue.
When we look at our operating expenses
for the first quarter for salaries
costs, we would expect most school-based
costs to be about 10% of budget at the
end of September and 12 month employee
salaries to be approximately 25% of
budget. And for quarter 1, salary costs
for all employee groups are in alignment
with those expectations.
Services and supplies expenses include
costs for 12 month departments as well
as 10-month schools and are comparable
to prior year September year to date as
a percent.
Uh there is also a summary of governance
costs included in your agenda package
and uh that's all.
>> Okay,
» Okay,
thank you very much. So the uh
recommended motion is that the attached
2526 operating fund report and
governance expenses for the year to date
to September 30th, 2025 be received. Can
I get that moved, please? Vice Chair
Main seconded. Trusty Holland or sorry,
Trusty Weber, any discussion or
questions? Go ahead, Vice Chair.
And I'm not sure if this question might
be appropriate for um yourself or uh
perhaps our secretary treasure, but just
looking at the decrease in student
enrollment, but an increase in inclusive
ed um anecdotally, is this something you
think can or we will see more of in the
future? Just anecdotally, recognizing
that that may not be um that information
may not be handy.
Uh gen generally our enrollment
estimates are pretty flat maybe slightly
decreasing. I really can't speak to
future number of designated students but
in recent years we have seen an increase
>> anyone else. Okay seeing none other all
» anyone else. Okay seeing none other all
in favor
it's unanimous. Thank you.
Next time guaranteed.
I don't I don't have any report. uh 9.5
202627 annual budget process and
timeline or secretary treasurer mberry I
got right
>> information is attached to the agenda on
» information is attached to the agenda on
the proposed um budget development
timeline for the 26 27th school year and
we have considered what we the board's
process in prior years and then tried to
sort of take what we heard through
feedback from um participants in the
budget process. We are still
recommending an earlier meeting in the
budget process for presentation of
projected enrollments and preliminary
budget estimates in February along with
an opportunity for rights holders,
unions, partner groups, and the public
on budget priorities.
Um the preliminary budget or the draft
2627 annual budget will be provided to
the board at the April public meeting.
uh then an opportunity for public input
will be provided so that people can
provide input to you on um what they see
that has been presented to them through
the draft budget. There'll be um
increased opportunities or an additional
opportunity for the district student
advisory council as long as they have
time for us in their schedule. um the
indigenous education council
and then following the feedback period
of uh committee the whole meeting will
be held where we will provide um the
summarized [clears throat] feedback that
has been received through the process
and we are also going to be mindful of
the process or the feedback that is
received and where we potentially see
that reflected in the draft budget. um
if necessary a budget discussion with
the board through a workshop process in
on April the 28th and then ideally the
and hopefully their presentation and
approval of the 26 27 annual budget by
May 12th. We do have until the end of
June, you know, if there's any um
additional meetings that are required or
anything unusual that occurs during that
process. There is some additional time
but um hopefully that will be concluded
by May 12th.
So the recommended motion is the board
of education approve the 2627 annual
budget development process and timeline.
Can I get that moved? Trustee Weber or
second it trustee Antrum. And any
discussion or questions? Trusty McCory,
please.
Just looking at the proposed schedule.
Um, is it in alignment with what we did
the the year prior? Because I'm just
wondering if the presentation of the
budget happens in February, the amended
budget, and we send it out to our
partners and rights holders, is that
enough time for them to provide
feedback?
>> Normally, like is the amended budget?
» Normally, like is the amended budget?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on
» I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on
February 10th. That is when the board
approves the amended annual budget for
this current school year.
>> Oh, thank you.
» Oh, thank you.
>> Sort of closing that process. Take the
» Sort of closing that process. Take the
estimates that we have um we have
received or incurred through the year
and that sort of includes sort of
concludes the 2526 annual budget
process.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> And then we go into the 2026 27 process
» And then we go into the 2026 27 process
as of February 2.
>> Okay. And then so that's presented
» Okay. And then so that's presented
February 24th. Okay. to everybody.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Got it. Thanks,
» Got it. Thanks,
>> Trusty Hollow, please.
» Trusty Hollow, please.
>> Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]
» Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]
>> Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a
» Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a
moment to uh just a comment to remind um
and really invite folks from community.
I know certainly in my role as a trustee
this past year have um heard that
question of like where can we put input
or where can we have voice on these
things and and rightfully so that's an
important question to ask. So really
drawing attention to these timelines and
really hopefully you know wanting to
share that with community that come on
out we want to hear those voices.
» Yes. Two questions. Uh one is I seem to
recall some sort of discussion at the
end of the budget process last year
about potentially having you know the
opportunity for trustees to to go a
little bit some trustees to go a bit
deeper into the numbers. I'm wondering
if that would be part of of this
response.
We did recall that conversation and saw
that as part of the board workshop on
April the 28th. An opportunity for
really to go in with a little more
questions and this is okay. Next
question. I'm very sad because I'm
likely not going to be here April the
28th given that I have plane tickets um
for that at 10. I might be occasionally
then in between flights. But um so my
question then was for the April 28th um
committee the whole meeting if that
would be recorded and um publicly
available but now I'm very sad about
board workshop.
» Okay. Anything else? Go ahead.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you
because uh coming into this is something
that when people when I talk to people
about in my my job as a trustee and
speaking to people is something I'm very
proud of that that I feel our district
has done really well and turned into a
positive news story of of being fiscally
responsible and handling the finances.
and from somebody that came, I was very
nervous about learning about this, but
you all have been very patient with me
and and uh helping me to to learn as we
go. And it's something that I'm very
proud to talk to people about. And so,
it's really turned into a really
positive thing uh for us, whether I'm
speaking to other trustees from other
districts or people from our community.
And so, I I'm I'm very confident and
very happy with everything that's going
on. So, a big thank you to Hannah and
yourself and superintendent and
everybody. So, I I I feel everybody does
a really good job of handling
the public's finances in a a very
professional and and very efficient way.
So, thank you,
>> Craig.
» Craig.
>> Um, how long did we have last year for
» Um, how long did we have last year for
public input? Because I see like if we
get the presentation on the 14th, it's
like a week for public input after that
presentation is public. Is that long
enough? And did like did that work for
us before or did we have a longer period
last year just comparative?
It's a similar time frame.
Follow
>> what do other districts do?
» what do other districts do?
Is no
I think every district has a process
that works for them. It really is driven
by the context of each district. So I
think you could probably depending on
every district website, you could look
and see and there would be a slightly
different process.
>> Follow
» Follow
followup. Yeah.
>> Do you think that's enough time? Like
» Do you think that's enough time? Like
did we get ample like did we get
feedback a lot and was like do you think
that's sufficient for people in the
public to respond?
>> You know in the first year we had 700
» You know in the first year we had 700
responses in a similar time frame. I
think last year we had about
40ish but I know in year one the first
year here it was very
there was lots of a catchin. Um last
year not so much. So there was about
smaller percentage and I don't even know
if I remember the 45.
>> Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do
» Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do
know that. So I put this we put this
together as a recommendation. So yes, I
do support that that time frame is
sufficient. you know, we're talking
about budget
continually and so it's a a pretty
focused time for people to provide their
input, but we really only have a very
structured time to put the budget
together because the revenue isn't
announced until in the middle of March.
So, we don't have a really much flex
timing between there.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in
» Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in
favor?
Thank you, trustees.
Uh we're going to go on now to 9.6 draft
policy 3.81 81 unexpected health
emergencies and I believe secretary
minary you're on this for
» trustees may recall that in the October
meeting this agenda or this item was on
your agenda and there was discussion
about language in the policy at the time
which trustees wondered if it was more
appropriate for their procedure because
it it talked about when the um AED
equipment should be used and so we did
review that at the request of the board.
We have removed it from the draft policy
and the revised draft is now attached to
your agend.
>> Thank you.
» So trustees, the recommended motion is
that the board of education approved
policy 3.81 unexpected health
emergencies as presented.
Moved. Seconded. Seconded. And any
further discussion? All in favor?
That is unanimous. Thank you.
And we are on to 9.7 pay transparency
reporting. And this I believe is for
secretary treasure.
Attached to the agenda is the
information on the pay transparency
report which is a fairly new requirement
for school districts. The pay
transparency act became law in May 2023.
And so this is the second report. As you
can see, we don't have a high particip
participation rate. uh employees may um
choose to identify and respond to the
survey about their gender and currently
we only have about 30% of employees who
have responded. So the based on the
employees that have responded you can
see the report that is attached that
addresses the uh the uh [snorts] gap in
pay depending on the gender. So we will
in continue to encourage employees to
respond to the request for uh their
gender identification so that we can um
really get a more wholesome report but
currently that is the information that
is there
>> and this is the information is
» and this is the information is
available. I don't know if there's
follow-up questions or not. I did not
think so. Okay. Thank you very much
secretary treasure. Uh we're going to go
on to number 10 and uh this is the
office of the superintendent report and
I believe it's our associate
superintendent doing two each. So thank
you.
» And we hit the clicker too from big
night.
» Good evening everyone. um superintendent
disease uh is unable to attend so we'll
uh be able to give some of his reports
um on some of the highlights that he's
been part of while um he's away. Uh
tonight I will be talking about learning
on behalf of the superintendent and then
reconciliation and then cap will be
talking about equity access.
I do want to before I begin, I just want
to talk a little bit about the memos
that are in the agenda package and it is
so nice to see the professionalism that
that new logo has on it. And uh it it
it's nice to see something that that
you're actually proud of and and I was
just at a conference in um Vancouver and
I I have the logo on a badge on my bag
and I I probably have about three or
four compliments on. So good work to to
the district that was able to do that.
Um I'm doing this my strength. So I'll
be talking a little bit about learning.
um Superintendent Aiz and uh four
principles um went to an outdoor
learning um conference in BA and um you
know you you heard that that there were
some there were some teachers there as
well and some lead educators and uh what
he brought back was that um we're
certainly in the forefront of um outdoor
learning and uh he has made a commitment
that he's going to provide some
resources and some training to uh each
uh school so that there'll be
opportunities for kids to get out of saw
that earlier tonight with the college
heads family and we'll see it in
different things
here as well.
>> Can you can you use your mic?
» Can you can you use your mic?
>> Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.
» Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.
Yeah. Um and Remembrance Day. Um this
this of course uh um we had these uh
opportunities. Normally we have it on
November 10th that we celebrated at
schools and most of our schools
celebrated it on the Friday the 7th. And
so that was a a a nice change. But we've
also um are really proud of um how how
much our schools are engaging students
in it and remembering um this event or
these this day. And um we've also had
the opportunity to be able to share uh
an an indigenous remembrance day um that
was on November 8th and that's something
that we are uh be be able to be proud of
and and all the students and communities
that are involved in that. Then I will
move over to truth and reconciliation.
And th this was um you heard tonight
about how EOL College Heights has their
school program and um we had the
opportunity of of moving one of our
principles from that school to Harvard
and um as an inner city school she's
been really um instrumental in trying to
make sure that she's
introducing truth and reconciliation in
a structured way uh and trying to show
language and culture there. And you can
see that every month she's uh or every
month that she's doing something a
little bit different and actively
engaging staff and students on student
leadership in it. So something really
fun and exciting um but um really
important here as well.
Well, I guess we didn't come across
either as well, but um Southridge um and
College Heights Secondary uh did a
program where they're drum making and
telling stories on the land. And um
[clears throat] this is a a work between
a grade six, seven classroom and the
leadership class at College Heights
Secondary. And um it's too bad the
pictures didn't get to show up. Maybe
they will show up later. Um but uh um
what's happening is that kids are
getting to have a hands-on experience um
making their own drums and the stories
behind the drums. And um you can see
that in reporting on truth and
reconciliation. There's so much going on
in our district in regards to truth and
reconciliation. And it's not just in the
month of September or on a certain day,
but but it's um all throughout the year
and it's being embraced by our staff and
students. And then you can see uh DB
Todd um has done some work in their
grade 8 elective program and they're
going out on uh monthly field trips uh
with that and because there's a rotation
in electives at grade 8 they're being
able to take all all the groups out on
the land and they're learning about
indigenous culture and um it's something
that's very very positive and you can
also see up there that
I missed I missed slide. That's my
fault. So this is Dutch this is Duchess
Park and Duchess Park um had a grade
six7 um camp and they had it uh in the
month of October and what they did was
they invited their foundation uh schools
and we've kind of seen this at a couple
of different places around and what
they're doing is that they're teaching
indigenous knowledge um to kids in kind
of like a kind of like a almost like a
sports day thing where they go around to
different stations and learn about and
this is of course supported by our
indigenous ed um staff, but as well as
the school staff as well. And here is
the DB Todd one. And I I talked about
the field trips out there, but I also
get to uh talk about one of our uh local
leaders in Leona Prince. And Leona
Prince um was, you know, honored uh
through a DBT experience where they um
where they where they um
what did they do? We did some artwork
with her and then she was so impressed
with it that she came out and she
presented to the kids. And so these are
some of the things that DP Todd has and
this is just a random sample like we
could ask um we could ask any of our our
schools to be able to present and they
would be more than willing to share this
information. Um and so it is exciting to
see truth and reconciliation happening
on a daily and weekly basis in our
schools.
» There you go.
>> Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to
» Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to
well all well this is fine and so is um
equity um equity of access or equity um
actually want to go back one. So I know
that you've all um heard about you know
you know about the feeding futures
program and the importance of ensuring
that we have um food available for kids
and nutrition just to prepare for the
day. So I thought I'd just give a quick
quick summary of sort of what we're
doing with that program. um our our
service delivery for food to students.
It sort of has a three-pronged approach.
One, we have school-based lunches.
School-based lunches are those that
schools can prepare at on their own.
They have the, you know, the facilities
that they can prepare them for their
kids themselves. We have the centralized
lunch program and that's the one that's
out of PGS where um we have meals
workers that make centralized lunches
and then we deliver it to schools for
those schools that don't have the
ability to make their own lunches. And
then there's a hybrid model where
there's a centralized lunch program, but
trying to get breakfast also served um
to students or breakfast is a
combination of breakfast or some kind of
a snack or something to eat in the
morning. Um you heard earlier about long
bus rides and that kind of thing. Um we
do have um some some zones in our city.
We're a we're a pretty expansive I think
we traveled over 10,000 kilometers a day
in buses um when it comes to the kids
that we we deliver. So, um, imagine a
child that has to get up at 5:30 in the
morning to get to the bus stop by 7 to
take an hour a long bus to, you know, to
be here by 8:00. Well, that's a long
time in the morning. So, we're trying to
provide equity-free, stigmafree kind of
food to kids. If you're hungry, just go
eat, right? And make it accessible. So,
um, and we call that the grab and go
program. So, here are some numbers. So
the 1,10
number, that number represents the
school-based lunches served daily. The
2,367
number are the breakfasts, the grab and
goes. And the 620 lunches are roughly
the centralized lunch program that we
deliver every day. Now, those aren't
exact numbers, but it kind of gives you
an idea. They're pretty close um as to
how many kids that we're serving and and
feeding every single day. And it's um it
warms your heart because you think
before we were doing this maybe kids
were going hungry and it's just nice to
know that that their nutrition um needs
are being met in schools. Um here is a
picture of some of the grab and goes. So
the first one is over at Glen View. Um
the middle one is at Springwood and the
last one over there. But basically just
putting out cards, putting out food,
kids can come by and just grab things.
They're hungry and and they can eat
before they go to class. Um, we really
want to make food delivery barrierfree.
Um, sometimes there are wonky systems in
schools where um, in order to get
something, you got to go to this person
and then to that person. Well, kids
don't want to do that and that creates
stigma. So, how do we just simply
deliver kids to, you know, kids that are
hungry. Um, and that's sort of what
we're trying to do in that feeding in
that feeding futures program. Um the
next part is wellness and I I had I had
TJ said um can you provide sort of some
of the wellness stuff that you're doing
at your school. Um and he sent a few um
slides around community wellness like uh
student wellness and family wellness
kind of some of the stuff that they're
focusing on. Here's the picture of his
youthare workers who run just groups and
individual sort of sessions for
students. Um of course youth care
workers can't do the work that
counselors do. counselors are the deeper
dive um sort of you know social
emotional therapeutic realm but the the
youth care workers have an important
role in supporting kids. Um he's got a a
section of nutritional wellness where
IWS teach students how to grow different
food and the nutritional value of
different food. Um the students harvest
it and the chef uses it in their
lunches. NO is one of those places that
can do 150 160 lunches daily because
their kitchen is set up to do so. Um,
they have a cultural wellness here where
the IWS hosted an engagement and this is
cool. I missed this cuz I was in
meetings, but they have they were
processing and smoking and cooking moose
uh moose meat. The families received a
portion and then they did the same thing
in September with salmon, but you can
see some of the pictures here in their
smokehouse and and you know the families
that are coming in to learn how to
prepare and harvest moose meat. Um and
then the last one is just a picture of
their of their um family room where
families can gather. A nurse
practitioner is available one day a week
to support families with health care
needs and carers county. I thought this
was you know I didn't expect it but car
uses the room to support families with
their taxes and other needs. So um just
trying to provide as much support for
families in that inner city that that
that they can. So all part of the the
wellness that they own. um for equity.
Um this was cool cuz I I I was out at NO
Lake and started just chatting with kids
and they started talking about this
their job and I thought what do you mean
their job? Like there were about six or
seven kids talking um well they want to
raise money to go to some camp the grade
seven trip at the end of the year. So
the grade sevens um have formed this you
know with a parent volunteer have formed
this little group where the community
hires them. So, they go out, the
community hires them to do jobs, and
they've raised I think about $800 so
far, but this is from um the parent
volunteer that helps organize this. So,
please find the next pictures of some of
our grade sevens working towards um
their grad fundraiser.
I'm so proud of how these kids have been
getting together and working so hard. It
is rewarding to watch them see each
other in different environment and have
them work out their interpersonal
challenges and start seeing the value
everyone brings to the table in their
own way. Looking at each other in a new
light and working towards a common goal
has been building mutual respect and
acceptance between the group. The
leadership and collaboration skills they
have been displaying is wonderful to
watch. some skills they have been
working on. Proper etiquette on
handshakes and introductions to a new
employer as well as proper goodbyes.
Listening and taking directions from an
employer, time management and job
prioritization. The employer gives them
several jobs and is up to the kids to
manage their time and build teams or
work alone depending on the needs of the
task. Cleaning up after themselves,
putting tools away and performing their
work safely and efficiently. Um, so in
the pictures, you know, they were
cleaning out horse stables, they were
pulling carrots out here, u working with
animals, just a variety of things that
the new goal community is hiding hiring
these kids to do, which is just pretty
cool. Um,
they're also, um, running a lot of
accessibility work there. Um, and some
of the things that they're doing to
facilitate equity and accessibility, um,
they're on a two-year cycle of
instruction around a home alone course
and a babysitting course. So, all their
kids in grade four and five get the home
alone course and then in grades six and
seven they do the babysitting course. Um
there's a year they get swim lessons uh
for two classes. In grades two to five
uh with a regional district grant and
some pack funds. They're offering the
core curriculum. Um they're they're
playing adaptive sports, wheelchair
basketball, seated volleyball, heart
judo, um physical health as part of
their curriculum. Um they're part of the
Blue Jays Career Foundation, girls at
bat and rookies at bat. and they try to
include all their strong start families
in their school. So they don't want
strong start to feel independent, right?
It's not K to 7, it's actually preK to,
you know, leaving Nougal [clears throat]
Lake. So um just the way that they're
trying to get people involved to do to
be equitable there and have all these
different experiences in a small rural
school. Um
the last uh the last school example I
have um in this section [snorts] is um
Hixit's intermediate classes grades four
to seven went to camp trapping um and
there were both indigenous and
non-indigenous kids participated in the
services that camp trapping had to offer
and you guys may know that Clay Tate
took over grant camping and and they
sort of allowed our kids to access it
and do some of the stuff um out there
for land-based learning. The experience
honored indigenous knowledge,
perspectives, and land-based learning,
and provided students with access to
meaningful cultural opportunities they
might not otherwise receive. Students
engaged in activities such as archery,
observing rabbit skinning, learning
together in culturally authentic
environment. All students were fully
engaged and excited upon returning to
the school. So, that's just some
comments from the principal. And lastly,
um I I thought this was really neat. So
I could sit is another small school, 30
kids. And um you know, you can see this
closer, but one of the things that
schools are also trying to get away from
is just sandwiches like a a piece of
bread with cheese and piece of baloney
in the middle of turkey or something.
How can we offer maybe some quality or
some hot lunches or some so Hixon has
been able to do that and I was blown
away by their menu so I thought I'd
share it. So, chili, grilled cheese
sandwiches, egg and sandwiches, turkey,
mashed potatoes, chicken quesadillas,
chicken Caesar wraps, spaghetti and meat
sauce, taco [snorts] salad. So, he's got
this was the October menu for the kids.
Um, what they're eating every day. So,
they're getting quality hot food in the
small rural place. Um, I just thought it
was neat and kudos to that community out
there. And that ends my portion of the
presentation. Thanks. Thanks to the
associate superintendents for the
presentations. We appreciate it very
much. Trustees, we're going to move on
with uh number 11, 11.1 BC uh school
trustee association. Trusty McCory,
please.
>> Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple
» Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple
things I want to mention and maybe one
should have been in school reports but
myself and prestige Antrram in October
were able to attend our BCSTA branch
meeting which was a combination of
Northern Interior Branch and Northwest
Branch trustees gathering and we did
that in Terrace um hosted by school
district 82. Uh the actual
uh weekend was great. We got Trustee
Antrram. You did the school tour. I did
not do the school tour because I used to
be a trustee there. But um the other
things that happened were there was a
there was a superintendent panel and it
was really informative about the
different uh districts and what they're
doing.
There was a bunch of like mini
presentations on recruitment and
retention with the highlight being
Katherine Whan who's a professor from
UNMBC speaking about trends in the
north. So that was really useful
information that I will share out with
the rest of the trustees. And um I'd
just like to thank the host which was
the chair of the Northwest branch who is
Ed Harrison and Helen Gilbert who is our
president of our branch for hosting us.
It was a really good um event. Next,
several of us at the end of the month
will be going to the fall academy for
the BCSTA in Vancouver and the agenda
looks really good for that. So, I think
there's four of us that are able to
attend and I think we all look forward
to that as well as superintendent will
be joining us and that's all for me.
Thank you.
>> We're three
You want me to make a motion?
>> Yes, please.
» Yes, please.
>> May I put a motion forward, chair, to
» May I put a motion forward, chair, to
extend the meeting for half an hour?
>> Second. And all in favor? We are
» Second. And all in favor? We are
extended till 8:30. Thank you. Uh we're
going to move on to 11.2 District Parent
Advisory Council. This is Trusty
Holland, please.
>> Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great
» Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great
presentation about um feeding good in
schools by Harmon Kle.
Thank you. Um they also had Sheldon
Claire MLA speaking about parent
advocacy uh by by Zoom or team I think
this um he also noted that some of the
schools in our district need to be
upgraded. Uh but he said that the
biggest thing parents can do is being
involved, helping out, volunteering,
showing up. There were some questions
from parents about advocacy methods. He
noted that nicely written me letters in
the mail tend to get better responses.
Um, it sounds like his office doesn't
even look at templated emails. And he
noted that rallies can be a double-edged
sword. Um, you need to know what you
want so that you can articulate it
effectively and have very clear goals in
mind. It was terrific to see all the
representatives there both in person and
many online. I spoke briefly about
policy revisions and how we wanted to
get these done by the end of the term
which is coming up with our elections in
October. And then after the media I also
found out that I first met one of the
DAC reps when she was a baby which was a
surprise. So thank you.
>> Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District
» Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District
Student Advisory Council Trusty Andrew
please.
>> Yes I attended the last uh district
» Yes I attended the last uh district
student advisory council meeting. I
won't go over anything that was that the
presenter did really well today
articulating what they're working on,
but as an observer of watching
administration, staff and students and
just my main comment is how well they
work together, how well respectful
students are, how respectful staff is.
I see what I'm witnessing is
staff and administration really trying
to put more responsibility towards
students and seeing them grasp that and
take on more of a role and as much as
staff can and and uh superintendent
stepping back slowly and and seeing the
students stepping forward. And so that's
that that's really fantastic to see and
and through the just the short years
I've been here watching that I witness
the growth and feel it and it's amazing
for seeing those future leaders really
taking that opportunity. So thank you to
staff, thank you to the students and and
really really neat and I'm looking
forward to see where this goes.
>> Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh
» Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh
trustes go on to number 12
correspondence. Uh you have a memo in
your package. Uh the background is the
attached correspondence been received or
sent since the last public board
meeting. There are two uh letter 251031
teachers of the coral college Heights
Elementary School. That one's been
referred to the committee of the whole
catchment and capacity. And the second
one was 25102 email from Jess Kimon that
was referred to district staff for
action. So the recommended motion is
that the board of education receive the
open correspondence received and/or sent
since the October 14th 2025 board
meeting. and blueber trusty. Thank you.
Seconded trustee Holland is all in favor
and that is unanimous.
>> Yeah, go ahead. Trusty
» Yeah, go ahead. Trusty
>> just to check we do have a date and time
» just to check we do have a date and time
for the committee of the whole catchment
capacity. Uh how will that be sent out
to the the partners that
>> yes we will publish that for sure. Thank
» yes we will publish that for sure. Thank
you.
>> Okay, we're going to go on in your
» Okay, we're going to go on in your
program to number 13. So I would take
this ceremonial and then pass this
twice.
» The board policy on board operations uh
states that annual elections must be
held at positions of chair, vice chair
and other provincial representation. So
as the current chair has vacated the
chair um staff will now call for
nominations for the board chair. I'll do
that in the absence of the
superintendent. So I'd like to call for
the uh first time for the position
nomination for the position of board
chair
» like to nominate Craig Breny
Bren. Do you accept the nomination?
>> I do.
» I do.
I'm going to call a second time for
nominations for the positions of board
chair
and a third time or nominations for
position.
See none, I declare trust colle.
» Thank you. Thank you very much trustes.
appreciate your support and I promise to
try to do my very best and a special
promise to Hannah
next. [laughter]
So trustees, we're going to go on then
with the rest of our agenda. So we'll be
moving to uh 14 election of the vice
chair. So I'll now call for nominations
for position for the position of vice
chair.
Trusty Andrum. Uh I'd like to nominate
Erica.
>> Trusty Mlean, do you accept the
» Trusty Mlean, do you accept the
nomination? Yes. Thank you. I'll call
for a second time for nominations for
the position of vice chair.
I'll call for a third time for
nominations for the position of vice
chair.
Seeing none, I will declare that trustee
MLAN is acclaimed by acclamation as vice
chair of the board of education, school
district number 57, Prince George.
Congratulations,
trustees. We're going to go on to number
15. So this is the BCSTA Provincial
Council. So I'll now call for
nominations for the position of BCSTA
Provincial Council.
Uh Trusty,
sorry. Vice Chair Mc
>> like to nominate Char McCroy.
» like to nominate Char McCroy.
>> Trusty McCory, do you accept the
» Trusty McCory, do you accept the
nomination?
>> Yes, I do.
» Yes, I do.
>> Thank you. I'll call for a second time
» Thank you. I'll call for a second time
for the nominations for the position of
BCSTA Provincial Council.
I'll call for a third time for
nominations for the position of BCSTA
Provincial Council.
Seeing none, I declare that Trusty
McCory is elected by acclamation as
ECSTA provincial council of the board of
education of school district number 57,
Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee
McCory.
We're going to move on now to the
election of the BCSTA Provincial Council
Alternate.
I now call for nominations for the
position of BCSTA Provincial Council
Alternate. Trusty McCory.
>> I nominate Trusty Andrum.
» I nominate Trusty Andrum.
>> Trusty Andram, do you accept?
» Trusty Andram, do you accept?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
Thank you. I call for a second time for
nominations for position of DCSTA
provincial council alternate.
I'll call for a third time for
nominations for a position of BCSTA
provincial council alternate.
Seeing none, I declare that Trustee
Entrum is collected by acclamation as
BCSDA provincial council alternate of
the board of education of school
district number 57 Prince George.
Congratulations, Trustee Andrew.
» We'll go on to the next one. I believe
is number 17. This is the BCPC
representative. I'll now call for
position nominations for the position of
the BCPSA
or BCPC representative.
Nominations.
Trust McCory.
>> I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty
» I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty
Holland, do you accept?
>> Yes, I do.
» Yes, I do.
>> I'll call a second time for nominations
» I'll call a second time for nominations
for position of BCPC representative.
» I'll call the third time for nominations
for the position of BCPC representative.
Seeing none, I declare that Trustee
Holland is acclaimed by acclamation as
BCPC representative of the board of
education of school district number 57,
Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee
Holland.
And last one is number 18. This is BCTC
Representative Alternate. I'll now call
for nominations for position of BCPC
representative alternate.
I think I see trusty Holland.
>> I believe I will nominate Trusty Andrew.
And you accept the nomination.
>> Yes. [laughter]
» I'll call the second time for the
nominations. The position of BCPC
representative alternate.
I'll [clears throat] call for a third
time for nominations for position of
BCPC representative alternate.
Seeing none, I declare the trustee
Antrram selected by acclamation as the
BCPC representative alternate of the
board of education and school district
number 57, Prince George.
Congratulations, Trusty Antrum.
» That concludes our election portion. So,
we're going to move on to number 19. Uh
everyone are we do not have a December
regular public board meeting. The next
regular public board meeting will be
January 13, 2026.
So that's a ways away. Um just mark that
in your calendars. And I don't see
anything else. So I will ask for a
motion the meeting be adjourned at 8:06
p.m. Could I get that loop? Trusty
Holland. Thank you. Seconded Vice Chair
Mane. And all in favor
we are adjourned. Thanks everybody for
your time sir.