[0:06] Are we good?
[0:07] >> I got to wait 10 seconds
[0:27] there. It's six o'clock. Thanks
[0:28] everyone. Silly D. It's the best class
[0:31] ever. I'd like to call the meeting to
[0:33] order at 6 p.m. Board of Education is
[0:36] committed to providing a safe and
[0:37] respectful environment. The board
[0:39] expects all participants to model
[0:40] respectful communication in order to
[0:42] foster positive relationships and build
[0:44] understanding between all school
[0:46] district partners. Trustees as members
[0:48] of the corporate board shall act
[0:50] prudently, ethically, and legally in
[0:52] keeping with requirements of provincial
[0:54] legislation. This includes proper use of
[0:57] authority and appropriate decorum in
[0:58] terms of group and individual behavior.
[1:01] Trustees will ensure their comments are
[1:02] issue based and not personal, demeaning,
[1:05] derogatory or disparaging with regard to
[1:07] board staff or fellow trustees,
[1:09] including comments made to media or news
[1:11] outlets. At this time, I'd like to
[1:13] acknowledge the traditional territory.
[1:15] We respectfully acknowledge that school
[1:17] district 57 resides in the unseated
[1:19] ancestral lands of the clay lake first
[1:21] nations of Prince George.
[1:24] Mloud Lake Indian Band Mloud Lake
[1:25] McKenzie and the Seers Nation of the
[1:27] Rosson Valley. It is our honor to walk
[1:30] alongside our indigenous communities and
[1:31] educating our students. As we gather
[1:34] tonight, it certainly feels like the
[1:36] changing of seasons and it we'll be
[1:38] doing our elections later and uh it does
[1:41] feel like a time of change. I started my
[1:43] day off today being retired sipping tea
[1:46] and watching some deer graze along our
[1:48] back fence. And it is kind of neat
[1:50] seeing two dos and two fawns that's
[1:52] thinking about what they're teaching
[1:53] their young ones and then the work that
[1:55] we do here uh collectively as a board
[1:58] but also for all of those few that help
[2:00] with the the dayto-day. So thank you to
[2:02] everybody. Um and again we're lucky to
[2:04] be here and share in this good work. So
[2:06] thank you.
[2:08] Uh I would like to trustees get the
[2:11] approval of the agenda recommended
[2:13] motion the agenda be approved as
[2:14] presented. Can I get that moved? Trusty
[2:16] McCory, second to Trusty Holland. And
[2:18] all in favor, [clears throat] that is
[2:20] unanimous. Thank you, trustees. And for
[2:22] everybody, just to note, you notice
[2:24] Superintendent Aiz is not here today.
[2:26] I've got him home resting. He has a cold
[2:29] and we want him to get better. We wish
[2:31] him all a speedy recovery. And thanks to
[2:33] other staff for stepping up tonight and
[2:35] helping with presentations and the
[2:37] running of the meeting. So, thank you.
[2:39] Uh, school district news. I believe
[2:40] Trusty Holland, you had something you'd
[2:42] like to share.
[2:45] Yes, I thank I did. Thank you, chair.
[2:47] Um, as the trusty rep for the PTSs
[2:50] family of schools, I got to go read a
[2:52] book to a kindergarten class at Pine
[2:54] View Elementary and answer some
[2:56] questions. Um, I do need to work on
[2:59] describing what a trustee does in
[3:00] language that's appropriate for
[3:02] 5-year-olds as I attend a lot a lot of
[3:04] meetings did not seem to resonate with
[3:06] them. I had a great time and would love
[3:09] to thank the school, the teacher, and
[3:11] the students. and I'm looking forward to
[3:13] several other events that I've been
[3:15] invited to as well in December.
[3:18] >> Thank you, Trust. Was that book 191?
[3:24] » I did not count it on my books that I've
[3:26] read this year.
[3:27] >> Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair
[3:29] » Good. Good. Thank you, Vice Chair
[3:29] McLean.
[3:31] >> Thank you very much. And on a similar
[3:33] » Thank you very much. And on a similar
[3:33] thread, um I know that there's tons. I
[3:35] just want to a little celebration for
[3:37] this. Um recognizing all of the work
[3:40] from the district student advisory
[3:41] council that continues to go into this
[3:43] and we may talk about that later, so I
[3:45] won't touch too much, but just a huge
[3:47] celebration. U recognizing that there's
[3:48] lots of exciting news in there as well.
[3:50] Um, and similar to Trusty Holland, I was
[3:53] very fortunate to be invited to
[3:55] participate in the Thursday morning
[3:57] drumming sessions that take place at
[3:59] Quinson Elementary as a member of the DP
[4:01] Todd family of schools leaison work. And
[4:04] it was incredible to get to be a part of
[4:06] recognizing that this has become a norm,
[4:09] a routine in this school. students come
[4:11] flooding in after they do attendance um
[4:14] Tuesdays and Thursday mornings and they
[4:16] grab a drum and we walk around the
[4:19] school and collect students and just
[4:21] start our day by singing and drumming.
[4:23] So, thank you very much, Quincson. I did
[4:25] make um a comment that I really wanted
[4:27] to share with the administrator at that
[4:29] school how how lovely and welcoming it
[4:32] was to come in there in the morning and
[4:34] just have um such a nice a nice place to
[4:36] be for students to come. So, thank you
[4:38] for that.
[4:40] Wonderful. And I think that concludes
[4:42] item number four. So we'll go on to item
[4:44] number five. And 51 is the College
[4:46] Heights family of schools. So I see we
[4:49] have a few people here. So we look
[4:50] forward to your presentation. So take it
[4:52] away, College Heights.
[4:55] And we have a mic uh in the middle here.
[4:58] There you go.
[5:00] [clears throat]
[5:08] Notice that I'm here by myself.
[5:12] >> They will be joining you.
[5:17] » So, thank you to the board button.
[5:21] >> Oh, join this one.
[5:22] » Oh, join this one.
[5:22] >> Yep.
[5:22] » Yep.
[5:22] >> Okay, there you go.
[5:23] » Okay, there you go.
[5:23] >> There you go. You're good.
[5:25] » There you go. You're good.
[5:25] >> Thank you. Technical. Okay.
[5:28] » Thank you. Technical. Okay.
[5:28] Thank you to the board for inviting the
[5:30] College Heights Family Schools uh to
[5:33] join you this evening. We are missing
[5:35] one of our colleagues who again is I
[5:38] guess plagued with this cold and flu.
[5:40] You'll probably hear it in a few of our
[5:42] voices this evening. It is going around
[5:44] the schools. So um for Mr. Delana's uh
[5:49] presentation, I will provide his notes
[5:51] at that time. And I'd like to again
[5:54] thank everybody for being here. uh we uh
[5:59] probably some quick introductions and
[6:01] maybe my colleagues could just stand as
[6:03] I call upon them. So I'll start with our
[6:06] college height secondary team and I've
[6:09] got Shannon Danes Clifford and Kim
[6:13] Forest.
[6:14] Thank you. Uh Vanway Joyce Willows
[6:20] >> uh a call college Heights D Holmes
[6:24] » uh a call college Heights D Holmes
[6:24] and Malisfina is Bren Anderson. Thanks
[6:27] for joining.
[6:29] >> And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal
[6:30] » And I'm Jason Schwarz. I'm the principal
[6:30] of Beverly.
[6:33] [clears throat]
[6:40] Okay, these are big shoes to fill Mr.
[6:43] Del, but I will do my best.
[6:46] Uh so he writes the calls to action from
[6:48] the truth and reconcil reconciliation
[6:50] commission of Canada call for the
[6:53] educators to be in the forefront of
[6:54] learning about the Indian residential
[6:56] school system. Southridge staff continue
[6:59] on their TRC learning and growth
[7:02] journey.
[7:04] One way we are moving forward is by
[7:06] participating in the four seasons of
[7:09] indigenous learning and connecting our
[7:11] understanding with student learning. The
[7:14] Four Seasons is an online course
[7:16] provided by the Outdoor Learning School.
[7:20] Oops, I go too fast.
[7:27] I just say two slides. My apologies. Um,
[7:30] we have a large number of staff, he
[7:31] says, at various stages of these
[7:33] year-long indigenous learning series.
[7:36] Some staff are on season one or two and
[7:39] some have completed those and are now
[7:42] working on integrating the these into
[7:45] our everyday practice. Season 2.5 is our
[7:48] switch to take our learning and embed uh
[7:51] deck up ways of knowing with students.
[7:54] Season 2.5 has four classes focused on
[7:57] learning on the land. One example are
[7:59] these classes combining language arts,
[8:01] social studies, and ways of knowing. Uh
[8:06] they have taken bus to the sawmill trail
[8:10] it indicates and connected to the land
[8:12] through their journaling.
[8:15] Thank you sage
[8:18] my colleague.
[8:19] >> Okay. So as you know sorry
[8:22] » Okay. So as you know sorry
[8:22] >> you need that
[8:24] » you need that
[8:24] >> I actually have a big choice but
[8:25] » I actually have a big choice but
[8:25] >> I know but it's
[8:27] » I know but it's
[8:27] >> okay. So we know learning ultimately
[8:29] » okay. So we know learning ultimately
[8:29] supports the well-being of the self,
[8:31] family, the community, the land, the
[8:33] spirits and the ancestors. So one of the
[8:35] things that Malispina was fortunate
[8:37] enough to do is we welcomed uh the Earth
[8:40] Rangers presentation last year. And it
[8:43] was an inspiring presentation focusing
[8:45] on animal conservation, biodiversity,
[8:48] and sustainable living. Uh the
[8:50] presentation they brought live animals.
[8:52] uh they walked in and out of the
[8:54] students so that students could see them
[8:56] and then they would have quizzes uh with
[8:58] the whole school about what kinds of
[9:00] things would recognize conservation and
[9:02] biodiversity. So it was great learning
[9:04] for the students. Um, so last year when
[9:06] we first had them here, they then had a
[9:09] battery blitz and so they invited
[9:11] schools to participate in collecting uh
[9:14] recyclable batteries and they had a
[9:16] contest and the top three schools in all
[9:18] of BC would win a prize and the
[9:21] community students and the staff did a
[9:23] great job. We had 26 boxes of recycled
[9:25] batteries and we came in third. So we
[9:27] won $1,000. So it was pretty exciting at
[9:29] our school. So this year they came back.
[9:32] uh we again were learning about the
[9:34] biodiversity and the conservation and it
[9:37] was a very exciting time to have them
[9:39] come back because the kids then
[9:40] participated in the similar um quizzes
[9:43] that they gave us and uh it was amazing
[9:46] how much they had retained from last
[9:47] year. So we hope we get them again next
[9:49] year. Canor is the one that sort of
[9:52] allows this opportunity. So we thank
[9:54] Canor for that and we were lucky to host
[9:56] them two years in a row. So thank you
[10:15] Good evening. Um over the past uh three
[10:19] years at Eagle College Heights uh it we
[10:22] were uh we were asked to talk about
[10:25] learning and wellness. And as I thought
[10:26] about that, I thought, hm, which comes
[10:29] first, wellness or learning? And so for
[10:31] me, I needed to flip it in my mind
[10:34] because when our kids have a sense of
[10:36] self and a self-worth uh and uh
[10:40] perseverance,
[10:42] they're well and they can handle the
[10:44] learning and the challenge being out of
[10:46] their comfort zone. So a big part of
[10:50] that process at Eco College Heights for
[10:52] the last three years and this being the
[10:54] fourth I believe is our school program
[10:57] and uh skoo stands for it's an
[10:59] indigenous word standing for our our
[11:02] house sorry
[11:06] and uh and we treat it that way just
[11:09] like we use the word ko which means our
[11:12] community uh this is how we present that
[11:15] at a co polishes. It's become our house
[11:18] teams if you like uh with a very
[11:21] indigenous flavor. So we'll move on to
[11:24] the next slide.
[11:26] So what we've done is over the last few
[11:28] years we've created eight school teams
[11:31] or houses and it allows us to integrate
[11:33] as a French immersion school our French
[11:36] students with our English school uh
[11:38] students which is really critical
[11:39] because there's a natural separation in
[11:42] immersion schools. So this brings us all
[11:44] together. Uh from that point uh we then
[11:48] make sure that we have our primary and
[11:50] our intermediates all in different
[11:52] houses so that our senior students or
[11:55] intermediates take on a mentorship role
[11:58] again creating community within our
[12:00] houses. From there, uh, we integrate the
[12:06] the pathways of, uh, knowing, being, and
[12:09] building community into all of our
[12:12] school activities. So, we'll have about
[12:15] six school activities throughout the
[12:17] year. And in those structures, uh, we
[12:21] will do a wide range of indigenous
[12:24] learning. And as you can see, uh we do a
[12:26] lot of nature art, language,
[12:28] storytelling with the legends, uh
[12:31] singing, drumming, uh tree
[12:33] identification, the cat language, lot of
[12:36] drumming and singing
[12:38] games and orienteering. Every year we
[12:41] sort of add, delete and try
[12:46] new learning if you like. Um next slide.
[12:52] Oh, that was I have one more, but that's
[12:55] okay.
[12:57] We're speeding this along. [laughter]
[13:01] Um, so at at the end of the day, um, we
[13:04] continue to, uh, take our school model,
[13:08] uh, turn it into what we needed to be.
[13:10] Uh this year we uh are partnering with a
[13:13] BC outdoor grant uh where we're going to
[13:16] take our what we call Husky Nook, which
[13:19] is about the size of our space right
[13:21] here, um to basically add a space for
[13:25] reflection,
[13:27] uh circle work with our kids,
[13:29] restorative uh restitution,
[13:31] uh classroom work, and then native
[13:34] plants along with uh garden beds. Uh
[13:38] right now all our primaries basically
[13:40] take the city bus and spend quite a bit
[13:43] of time up at UNMBC uh learning about
[13:47] the outdoors uh and that whole world at
[13:50] the Rotary Gardens. So we're able to
[13:52] create that in our own space.
[14:01] » Rowdy did it again and
[14:04] jumped in on the presentation. Um, so
[14:07] I'm at Joyce Schools, principal at
[14:09] Vanway Elementary. And so to build on
[14:12] our
[14:14] theme of wellness and learning, I want
[14:16] to share with you uh just a little bit
[14:18] about Vanway Elementary, who we are and
[14:20] what we do. Uh, so Van Vikings are
[14:23] strong, have brave hearts, and are
[14:24] always kind. And indeath, bear with me.
[14:32] Uh we're probably the biggest Cougar
[14:34] fans in town as well. Um so learning and
[14:38] wellness are enhanced when we encourage
[14:40] student agency and voice.
[14:43] Naturally, our choir loves to sing at
[14:45] Cougars hockey games. They sang twice
[14:47] last year and are planning to sing again
[14:49] twice this year. And at least a few of
[14:52] the players visited us last year at a
[14:55] schoolwide assembly
[14:57] um that where we encouraged
[14:59] participation in the spirit of healthy
[15:01] kids challenge which is sponsored by
[15:04] Northern Health PG Cougars and the
[15:06] Spirit of the North Health Foundation.
[15:09] Uh it encourages students to set goals
[15:11] and track their minutes of reading and
[15:12] physical exercise.
[15:14] So last year a group of avid grade five
[15:17] and six hockey players uh did some
[15:20] planning and organizing uh around the
[15:22] spirit of healthy kids challenge with me
[15:25] and it's part of a leadership project
[15:27] and the leadership group shared some
[15:29] testimonial videos at the assembly and
[15:32] one student uh did the PowerPoint slides
[15:34] or some of the PowerPoint slides for me.
[15:37] He's a special needs student. He's
[15:38] sitting on this side of Rowdycat and
[15:40] he's a bit humble so he didn't want me
[15:41] to share his picture at the
[15:43] presentation. So that's why you just see
[15:44] Rowdy Cat there.
[15:46] Uh after the kickoff assembly last
[15:49] spring, students were encouraged to
[15:50] participate and it spanned for two weeks
[15:54] to track their reading and their
[15:55] physical activity and it span over
[15:57] spring break. um which was a win for us
[16:01] because we collected about half of the
[16:04] forms back and kids had tracked lots of
[16:06] reading and lots of physical activity
[16:08] minutes which is pretty exciting for um
[16:11] staff and parents over the break.
[16:14] Current research in education points
[16:15] towards the importance in the sense of
[16:17] belonging for student learning
[16:18] engagement and a motivation. So for this
[16:21] year staff, parents and students uh we
[16:24] focused on this at the very beginning of
[16:26] the year and uh it'll be one of our
[16:28] themes throughout the year and building
[16:30] on the excitement of the spirit of
[16:32] healthy kids again uh with student
[16:34] leaders. We're talking about increasing
[16:36] learning and awareness around
[16:37] anti-racism.
[16:39] And so uh students will set goals,
[16:41] minutes of reading, physical activity,
[16:44] and also acts of kindness. And we'll
[16:46] track those again probably over spring
[16:48] break and hope to have another kickoff
[16:50] assembly and invite a few of the PG
[16:52] cougars to come see us and maybe rowdy
[16:54] cat will come too. We keep hoping.
[16:57] Thanks everybody.
[17:11] Elementary. Uh we've got 213 students K
[17:15] to 7th. And if you haven't been there,
[17:17] we're just right at the end of Western
[17:19] Road as you're heading out Highway 16.
[17:22] The [snorts] school plan for student
[17:24] success that uh staff have been actively
[17:27] involved in features a lot of strategies
[17:30] and success measures but the one I
[17:32] really want to focus in is the learning
[17:34] that's happening with staff in a very
[17:36] short period of time uh being principal
[17:38] there recognize the commitment that's
[17:41] been made by staff uh to work diligently
[17:44] with our literacy and our new pools. uh
[17:47] literacy being uh resources that we're
[17:49] using our UFly and dibbles uh and our
[17:53] our numerousy being uh the Carol Fryin
[17:56] workshops and certainly we've got path
[17:59] on the go all of which is a commitment
[18:02] like I've indicated the staff have been
[18:04] solidly behind this plan and the
[18:08] benefits are that the data is really
[18:10] showing it and I'm really so pleased
[18:12] with what's happening in this building.
[18:15] Uh the one thing I do want to focus on
[18:18] are these pictures and the pictures
[18:20] indicate what's happening. Something
[18:22] really good that's happening coming to
[18:25] Beaverly. This is my first year as
[18:26] principal. I recognize that some of our
[18:28] students are on the bus for upwards to
[18:31] an hour uh in one direction. They're
[18:34] coming off the bus 8 a.m. and now we're
[18:37] in the dark and now it's cold and
[18:40] chances are a lot of hungry. So we've
[18:43] been able to come together and
[18:46] collaboratively work with the national
[18:48] school food program grants and feeding
[18:51] preachers to open a breakfast program or
[18:53] breakfast club. Uh and you can see we've
[18:57] got a number of students coming in on a
[18:58] daily basis to attend and be supported
[19:01] by that nourishment so they can focus,
[19:04] they can learn and they can start their
[19:05] day.
[19:06] uh the population that's going through
[19:09] right now, we're data suggesting
[19:11] anywhere between 30 and 40 students. So,
[19:14] we're getting a good chunk of traffic
[19:15] coming through. That in turn has led to
[19:18] a very quick decision uh on behalf
[19:21] myself and my team at Beaverly to
[19:24] introduce a lunch program as well. So
[19:27] with that in itself that adds all
[19:30] different types of layers of great
[19:32] leadership with our grade seven students
[19:35] and I am just so impressed in such a
[19:38] very quick turnaround like we've only
[19:40] been in school for a few months that we
[19:42] have a breakfast program a lunch program
[19:45] and we've got a real commitment to
[19:46] literacy and literacy happening in the
[19:48] building.
[19:50] Thank you.
[20:00] These are the
[20:01] >> Was that the other slide that got tucked
[20:03] » Was that the other slide that got tucked
[20:03] in somehow?
[20:06] >> I'll pause for
[20:07] » I'll pause for
[20:07] >> I think it's okay.
[20:10] » I think it's okay.
[20:10] >> Hello
[20:12] » Hello
[20:12] everyone. I'm Shannon Dane. I'm the
[20:14] principal of college secondary school.
[20:17] Um this is him forest and
[20:20] we are not going to speak to you at all
[20:23] today. But what College Heights would
[20:24] like to present about is our new outdoor
[20:26] ed program. We are fortunate to enough
[20:29] to live in a place where we have an
[20:31] incredible resource at our disposal and
[20:34] we recognize that it a lot of our kids
[20:37] learn best in different ways other than
[20:40] inside classrooms and walls and things.
[20:41] And so we brought a wonderful talented
[20:43] teacher Suzanne Mloud with us and she's
[20:45] going to tell you a little bit about our
[20:47] outdoor program.
[20:51] » All right. on.
[20:53] >> Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the
[20:56] » Yes. So, I'm Suzanne Mloud, uh the
[20:56] outdoor teacher at College Heights. We
[20:58] just resurrected redeveloped this
[21:00] program that has been offered there for
[21:01] a long time. I'm very passionate about
[21:03] it. It's I've taken it more of an
[21:05] outdoor adventure education route.
[21:07] That's my bit of my background there.
[21:09] So, we've it's not outdoor wreck, it's
[21:11] not outdoor learning. It's kind of a
[21:12] combination of the two. We've made it
[21:15] inclusive learning. There's lots of
[21:16] different ways that students can show
[21:18] their learning. Um written, writing,
[21:21] hands-on. So it kind of catches a web of
[21:24] uh students in a web. Um we have
[21:26] something called challenge by choice. So
[21:28] students can choose how far to
[21:30] participate each activity encouraging
[21:31] them to step out of their comfort zone
[21:33] because that's where the growth zone
[21:34] happens and it takes them a little while
[21:36] to get there. As right the academically
[21:40] sometimes it's hard to explain what
[21:41] we're doing but I want to see progress
[21:43] through each student. They're only
[21:45] judged by against each other themselves
[21:47] not against each other. Um it's all
[21:49] strength-based approach. So, can you
[21:52] master your skills? Have you gotten
[21:54] better at yourself? Are you encouraging?
[21:55] Can you share your skills? Uh, they
[21:57] support each other with their peers. Uh,
[21:59] there's lots of different backgrounds,
[22:01] lots of different learning styles. We,
[22:04] um, incorporate a lot of indigenous
[22:06] perspectives. We work tightly with the
[22:09] indigenous ed department as well. Uh, I
[22:12] like to incorporate a two-eyed scene. So
[22:14] we take the western perspective and we
[22:16] take the traditional perspective and we
[22:18] mesh them together for a holistic
[22:20] experience there. Um we have a wonderful
[22:23] indigenous ed department and we do lots
[22:26] of field trips well as many field trips
[22:27] as we can. Uh Josh Mueller, our
[22:29] indigenous ed worker, he comes out with
[22:30] us and provides an excellent support. We
[22:32] were just out at Camp Hughes for a
[22:34] two-day twoight uh trip with my older
[22:37] class which was a big ask for those
[22:39] students who have not necessarily spent
[22:40] that much time alone. uh new
[22:42] environment, no cell service, they don't
[22:45] necessarily hang out together in the
[22:46] hallways, but we have quite a good unit
[22:48] in the classroom. It's been great to see
[22:50] all the different backgrounds come
[22:52] together and support each other. Uh so
[22:53] he took us through a tracking exercise,
[22:56] which was very interesting because we
[22:58] had a snowy day and we had a not snowy
[23:00] day. So they could use observations in
[23:02] different ways. They had to problem
[23:03] solve. Um they had to strategize,
[23:06] support each other. So that was
[23:08] something we had on the weekend. Off
[23:10] topic of that, but um it really helped
[23:13] them make well-round decisions out in
[23:17] nature and in the outdoors and inside.
[23:19] It doesn't just everything we teach in
[23:21] outdoor ed can be applied inside as
[23:23] well. The resilience, the perseverance,
[23:25] the confidence they're building, they
[23:27] can take that into indoor classrooms,
[23:29] indoor learning outside of the school,
[23:31] and it just gives them a deeper sense of
[23:34] confidence in themselves and their
[23:36] skills. Um, we hit on lots of the
[23:39] curriculum. So, I also am a science and
[23:42] math and foods teacher. I kind of cover
[23:44] it all. I'm jack of all trades, but
[23:46] outdated and science are my main ones.
[23:49] But, we're always drawing from the
[23:50] science, the applied uh skills we throw
[23:52] in social studies, math. The students
[23:54] don't necessarily realize that those are
[23:56] being incorporated, but they just
[23:57] naturally happen. And because it's an
[23:59] authentic learning, it kind of sticks a
[24:01] little bit better in their minds. Um, if
[24:04] I told my students that we're going to
[24:05] go do a leadership activity, they'd
[24:07] they'd bulk at it. But just by
[24:09] participating in the classroom and
[24:11] supporting each other, they're showing
[24:12] and building leadership skills. Um, they
[24:15] take risk assessments. We never go out
[24:17] and do anything without talking about
[24:18] the risks. So, it helps them like think,
[24:21] prethinking, uh, food planning,
[24:23] navigation. We talk about the
[24:24] environment and the ecosystem, how we're
[24:27] impacting the environment, how the land
[24:28] is affecting us, what the land is
[24:30] teaching us as we have to what we are
[24:34] going into. We don't always know the
[24:36] landscape, the environment. So, we have
[24:37] to take the learning from there. It is
[24:39] snowy. Well, now how are we going to
[24:40] change our plans? If we want to build a
[24:42] shelter, what resources are available?
[24:43] But in a respectful, non-damaging way.
[24:46] And [clears throat] we've been able to
[24:48] incorporate numeracy. I also teach an
[24:50] algebra 8 class where we have numeracy
[24:52] built into the curriculum. Um so we're
[24:55] doing unit conversions uh we're doing
[24:57] estimations, we're doing navigation and
[25:01] compass directional work there. Uh it's
[25:05] really interesting to see how they take
[25:07] those problem solving skills without
[25:08] calling it math but using math and they
[25:10] are actually quite capable and able to
[25:13] use it and they're confident and they go
[25:15] off excitedly telling their friends
[25:16] about what they learned in red. It's
[25:18] like did you know we measured our
[25:19] footsteps down the hallway and they that
[25:22] wasn't interesting how they all thought
[25:23] their steps were the same length and
[25:24] they definitely weren't and converting
[25:26] those to meters and feet. So yeah that
[25:29] just even in the hallways doing that is
[25:30] a like skill that they're learning.
[25:33] Uh so everything for outdoor ed we try
[25:36] to do real world not hypothetical like
[25:38] maybe do some theory uh but land-based
[25:41] experiences going out there doing
[25:43] something different that not everyone is
[25:44] able to do catching the students that
[25:46] maybe are not academically as strong on
[25:48] paper and written things but are
[25:50] exceptional in the outdoors and it's
[25:52] really giving them a chance to show
[25:54] their skills. It's just been marvelous
[25:56] to see these some of these students that
[25:58] aren't rising necessarily to the
[26:00] occasion really shining and being
[26:02] absolute leaders out on our camping
[26:04] trips. I think challenge by choice is
[26:06] something that is underutilized and may
[26:08] be misunderstood or you haven't heard
[26:10] about it in the setting but outdoor
[26:12] adventure education is a very strong
[26:14] mandate there and um idea and it really
[26:17] lets students grow and grow an inner
[26:20] confidence themselves. They become
[26:21] motivated themselves by doing the task
[26:24] there. It's all about teamwork,
[26:26] cooperation. They know that they need to
[26:28] support each other. What happens to one
[26:30] happens to all of us. We all need to
[26:31] work together to be safe out there. And
[26:35] we are also with the mental well-being
[26:37] as I said like the resilience, the
[26:39] perseverance, the confidence, all that
[26:40] that is slowly being built. You can see
[26:42] that quiet confidence build in these
[26:44] students and then it becomes loud
[26:45] confidence. They're just so impressed
[26:47] with themselves and they can do
[26:48] something or they've had a hard day and
[26:50] they're coming to outdoor edit to say
[26:52] that they're not going to other classes,
[26:54] but outdoor edited it's consistently
[26:56] they're coming they're behaving they are
[26:59] participating in ways I haven't seen
[27:00] some of these students do in other
[27:02] classes. So, it's been a really special
[27:04] thing and I think it's very important to
[27:06] have that available to other students.
[27:09] Like I'm one person, but I'd like to
[27:10] catch as many students as they are
[27:12] because it's a very valuable opportunity
[27:13] that doesn't always isn't something they
[27:16] can maybe do in their everyday lives.
[27:18] Outdoor adventure.
[27:23] » Thank you both. That's wonderful.
[27:26] Trusties usually like I don't know if
[27:28] they will or not but
[27:31] yes
[27:33] interesting.
[27:36] Actually, this isn't a question, but
[27:38] just uh thank you so much for taking
[27:39] time out of your evening to present to
[27:42] us. It's very valuable to find out for
[27:44] me what's happening in your school. So,
[27:45] thank you.
[27:47] >> Trust McCory, please.
[27:50] » Trust McCory, please.
[27:50] >> You my family of schools people. So, if
[27:53] » You my family of schools people. So, if
[27:53] you're having anything going on in your
[27:55] schools, uh if you share that with us,
[27:58] we as trustees try to come and and visit
[28:01] your schools if we're available. So, I
[28:04] appreciate all the good work you're
[28:05] doing. We really heard about the passion
[28:07] that you have for the work that you do
[28:09] with the students and I'm sure that that
[28:11] shows through to the students and great
[28:14] programs happening all over. Thank you
[28:16] very much. Thank you for break
[28:20] >> echoing what others have said like we
[28:23] » echoing what others have said like we
[28:23] just love hearing about learning like
[28:25] hearing about the specific resour like
[28:27] you know hearing about you fly hearing
[28:29] about the big ideas like in action those
[28:32] are the pieces that like really
[28:34] illustrate what education is and you
[28:36] really like bring that to life in the in
[28:38] these public like in this space. Um so
[28:41] thank you thank you very much for taking
[28:42] the time.
[28:44] Okay. And uh that concludes the college
[28:46] Heights presentation. So thank you.
[28:50] And as as usual uh it is a great agenda.
[28:53] You are all welcome to stay or you can
[28:56] take this opportunity to sache and
[28:59] that's fine too. While they are
[29:01] sacheting with my guests, we're going to
[29:02] go on to 52. Oh, DAC's already
[29:06] organized. But let's I'll just pause for
[29:07] a second.
[29:08] >> Thank you.
[29:18] Okay. So, we're 52 District Student
[29:20] Advisory Council. Welcome.
[29:22] >> Okay. It's good to be back for another
[29:24] » Okay. It's good to be back for another
[29:24] year and um we're happy to present. I
[29:27] feel like this is maybe the latest we've
[29:28] got to present to you in the year. So,
[29:30] we're we got lots to share. Uh Emily's
[29:32] got a full uh address to read here in a
[29:34] second. Um I just wanted to let you know
[29:37] this is Emily Clark. She'll introduce
[29:38] herself, but she's going to be the chair
[29:40] for DESAC this year. Um she'll be joined
[29:42] with Aribba Khaled who's a grade 12
[29:44] student at College Heights as vice
[29:45] chair. She's away because she has grad
[29:47] photos this evening. Um but DACA has a
[29:50] great leadership team this year. Um we
[29:52] have Max and Martina. They're both uh
[29:54] participating in the DPAC meetings
[29:56] throughout the year as the student
[29:57] voice. Um Lily and Tea, they are part of
[30:00] the district so committee as well. Um we
[30:03] have two member of larges, Nico and
[30:04] Lucille, who kind of jump in when others
[30:06] can't make meetings. And then Emily, she
[30:09] hasn't had this meeting yet, but she's
[30:10] also part of the policy advisory
[30:12] committee that will be starting later
[30:13] this year for the district. So, I will
[30:15] turn it over to Emily now. Oh, before I
[30:17] do, I just want to share that DESAC has
[30:20] over 35 uh members this year. So, it is
[30:22] the largest group that I've had in the
[30:24] last five years. Um
[30:27] I've I'm in this early talks with CAP. I
[30:30] would actually like um later this year
[30:32] to present to the board potentially on
[30:34] creating a locally developed district
[30:36] advisory leadership course. Um that way
[30:38] these kids are giving so much of their
[30:40] time. They're volunteering in elementary
[30:41] schools, secondary schools. I would love
[30:43] to write some curriculum that hopefully
[30:45] you would support to reward them with
[30:48] marks um for the work they do. Okay,
[30:50] I'll turn it over to Emily.
[30:54] » Good evening. My name is Emily Clark and
[30:57] I am a grade 12 student at Duchess Park
[30:59] second. I'm honored to speak on behalf
[31:01] of the district student advisory council
[31:03] to share what we've accomplished so far
[31:05] this year and how these experiences have
[31:07] strengthened student voice and
[31:09] leadership across our district.
[31:11] Since September, Tesly involved in a
[31:14] variety of initiatives that connect
[31:16] students, schools, and our broader
[31:18] community. We began the year by
[31:20] participating in the international
[31:22] student welcome event hosted in
[31:24] partnership with CNC, UNMBC, and the
[31:27] city of Prince George. This event was an
[31:30] incredible opportunity to meet students
[31:31] from around the world, help them feel at
[31:34] home, and showcase the welcoming spirit
[31:36] of our district. It reminded us how
[31:38] diversity enriches our schools, and why
[31:41] inclusion matters.
[31:43] Next, we worked with the RCMP on their
[31:45] blockatch program, learning about
[31:48] community safety and how students can
[31:50] contribute to creating a safe
[31:51] neighborhood. This partnership gave us
[31:54] insight into the importance of
[31:55] collaboration between youth and law
[31:57] enforcement. And it sparked
[31:59] conversations about how we can take
[32:01] proactive steps to keep our schools and
[32:03] communities secure. In September, I had
[32:06] the privilege of representing DESAC at
[32:09] the logo unveiling event event held here
[32:11] at the board office. This was a proud
[32:14] moment for our council because it
[32:15] symbolized our identity and commitment
[32:17] to leadership. Seeing how our district's
[32:20] logo was shaped by students reinforced
[32:22] the message about how our voice is
[32:24] valued and missible.
[32:27] We also supported the Terry Fox
[32:29] initiative at Ron Brandt Elementary,
[32:31] helping to promote awareness and
[32:33] participation in this important cause.
[32:35] We held discussions of leadership with
[32:37] each class and brainstormed ways that
[32:40] they could improve an aspect of their
[32:41] lives in their school or community. By
[32:44] the end of the morning, we had created a
[32:46] vision board titled our hopes and
[32:48] dreams. It was inspiring to see students
[32:51] of all ages come together to learn about
[32:53] making positive change.
[32:56] Another highlight was assisting during
[32:58] the indigenous education professional
[33:00] development day at PGSS.
[33:02] This experience uses allowed us to learn
[33:04] alongside educators and contribute to
[33:07] creating meaningful opportunities for
[33:09] understanding and reconciliation.
[33:11] It was a powerful reminder to the role
[33:14] students can play in fostering respect
[33:16] and cultural awareness.
[33:19] One of the most exciting moments for
[33:21] DESAC this fall was being recognized at
[33:23] the PG Cougars community event. Our
[33:26] members were invited onto the ice at the
[33:28] start of the game, which was an
[33:30] incredible way to celebrate student
[33:32] leadership and strengthen our connection
[33:34] with the wider PG community. Beyond
[33:37] these larger events, we've also focused
[33:39] on building relationships at the
[33:41] elementary school level. At Harin
[33:43] Elementary, we carved pumpkins with a
[33:45] kindergarten class. A simple but
[33:47] memorable experience that brought joy to
[33:49] both the younger students and our
[33:51] council members. At Ron Brent, we hosted
[33:54] an outdoor Halloween celebration
[33:56] featuring a haunted house, apple
[33:58] bobbing, and face painting. This event
[34:00] was a fantastic way to create a safe,
[34:02] inclusive space for students to have fun
[34:05] and connect.
[34:07] These activities reflect DESAC's
[34:09] commitment to leadership, community
[34:11] engagement, and creating positive
[34:13] experiences for students across the
[34:15] district. We're proud of what we've
[34:18] accomplished so far, and we're excited
[34:19] about what's ahead. Moving forward,
[34:22] DESAC plans to continue strengthening
[34:24] student voice by organizing and
[34:26] participating in events that promote
[34:29] inclusion and leadership development. We
[34:32] also hope to expand our partnerships
[34:34] with community organizations to ensure
[34:36] students have opportunity to learn
[34:37] beyond the classroom.
[34:40] On behalf of DESAC, I want to thank the
[34:42] board for your ongoing support of
[34:44] student leadership. Your encouragement
[34:46] makes these initiatives possible and it
[34:48] helps us create a school district where
[34:50] every student feels heard and valued.
[34:52] Thank you for your time.
[34:59] » Thank you, Emily. Thank you. You just
[35:01] have a moment. I think any trustees
[35:02] would like to add anything like please.
[35:06] >> Anybody else could take it?
[35:10] » Anybody else could take it?
[35:10] >> Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]
[35:13] » Okay. So, it's only November [laughter]
[35:13] and you have done as a as a group a lot
[35:17] of things and accomplished a lot
[35:19] already. It's incredible. So, keep it
[35:22] going. And I think what I would like to
[35:24] recognize is the leadership qualities.
[35:26] Like you're a flawless speaker. You're
[35:28] doing an amazing job. and like we love
[35:32] hearing about the good work that you and
[35:34] your and the whole team does. So keep it
[35:37] up and keep growing. It's great. Thank
[35:40] you.
[35:42] >> Thank you. Great. And I would say as
[35:44] » Thank you. Great. And I would say as
[35:44] well did tremendous job speaking like
[35:47] way better than me. So that that's a
[35:49] high bar, but it's excellent. So thank
[35:51] you both very much for your time, your
[35:53] commitment and on behalf of the whole
[35:54] team. Thank you and know that you have
[35:56] our support.
[35:59] Okay. and rest. Good evening again. You
[36:01] are also up. You saw it up before. So
[36:04] that's we're going to go on to 5.3 and I
[36:08] believe is director B.
[36:19] » Thanks.
[36:23] That's kind of how I was feeling as I
[36:24] was walking up here after the last three
[36:27] presentations from the family schools
[36:28] and they always have such great things
[36:31] going on and now I'm going to present on
[36:33] the FSAs which might not be quite as
[36:35] exciting but nonetheless here we are. Uh
[36:37] so the intention of my presentation
[36:39] tonight is just to give an overview of
[36:41] the foundation skills assessment the
[36:43] components how it's marked and uh what
[36:46] is done with the data after students
[36:48] complet it and we get the results.
[36:56] I don't think
[37:00] anything.
[37:06] » So
[37:09] the FSA is our provincial assessment for
[37:11] all grades four and seven students. Uh
[37:13] focus on literacy and numeracy and
[37:16] assesses how students analyze,
[37:17] communicate and reflect on their
[37:19] thinking. So it's not just facts they
[37:21] know about memorization. Um the FSA is
[37:24] just a snapshot of student learning in
[37:26] the moment in time and the results are
[37:28] just one way of measuring how the
[37:30] education system is doing in those key
[37:32] areas. Um for parents and caregivers the
[37:35] FSA is an indicator of where their child
[37:36] is at in literacy and numeracy
[37:38] development.
[37:41] So the timeline for administration it's
[37:43] always in the fall. This year it was
[37:44] from October 1st to November 10th.
[37:47] Typically, we have all the FSAs marked
[37:49] by now. Uh we usually do at the end of
[37:51] October, but there's just a delay in
[37:53] getting the ministry uh marking packages
[37:55] this year. So, we're actually going into
[37:57] our marking sessions next week. Uh once
[38:00] the packages are marked, we have some
[38:02] local data entry that takes place for
[38:04] the that we then send to the ministry
[38:07] and students and families get their
[38:08] results back uh the booklets and the
[38:11] online portion in January. And then as a
[38:13] district, we get kind of the mass data
[38:15] of all the students in our district in
[38:18] um in usually around March. Sometimes
[38:20] it's a little bit delayed, but that's I
[38:22] think that's always their goal.
[38:25] Okay. Um there's five components of the
[38:28] FSA. So the student booklets kind of as
[38:31] mentioned in the previous slide is made
[38:33] up of a literacy and a numeracy portion.
[38:36] The literacy portion is comprised of
[38:38] three written responses to pieces of
[38:41] reading. Uh students always get a choice
[38:43] of themes in this section. So there's
[38:45] always two themes and then there's two
[38:46] articles that go with each theme. Uh
[38:48] before they choose a theme, there's a
[38:50] collaboration activity that they take
[38:52] part in. And that activity is just meant
[38:54] to help students activate prior
[38:56] knowledge, uh build some connections
[38:58] with the materials, discuss ideas just
[39:00] so that they can engage a little bit
[39:02] more with the material. Uh just as an
[39:04] example, this year the um on the great
[39:06] border FSA, one of the themes was
[39:08] together on the land. And then a story
[39:11] about fish ladders and other passes that
[39:14] wildlife used to meander through our
[39:16] highways and things like that. And
[39:18] another story about um a family that
[39:20] visited a fish camp each year and kind
[39:22] of the emotion and excitement that went
[39:24] along with that. And then the second
[39:26] theme was challenges that people face or
[39:29] animals face. And one of the stories was
[39:31] about a, this is a true story and I
[39:33] actually looked it up so I didn't
[39:34] believe it, but it was about a cat that
[39:35] made it from Ontario to Alberta and a
[39:38] family found in Alberta and somehow got
[39:39] that cat back to the family in Ontario,
[39:42] which is quite impressive. And then
[39:43] another story just about a a girl that
[39:46] broke her leg and kind of the ups and
[39:47] downs that went with that injury.
[39:50] Uh, the nubcy portion of the booklets is
[39:53] just comprised of three questions. So
[39:55] there's three questions in grade four,
[39:57] three questions in grade seven.
[39:58] uh students are just tasked to analyze
[40:00] and think critically about the math
[40:02] concepts and those questions. Um and
[40:04] this portion always involves multiple
[40:06] steps to solve a question. So it's not
[40:07] just a quick question and answer. And
[40:10] then there's an online uh literacy pass
[40:12] which is 30 questions long and again
[40:14] it's reading uh different articles and
[40:17] different stories and there's multiple
[40:18] choice questions students answer and
[40:20] then an online numeracy uh section as
[40:22] well that's 30 questions long and um
[40:25] again it's just based on different
[40:26] concepts in the curriculum that that
[40:28] students work through. Uh it's just
[40:30] important to note that students aren't
[40:32] sitting down and doing this whole thing
[40:34] at once. They're kind of that's why
[40:36] spaced out from October 1st to November
[40:38] 10th. And then once all those sections
[40:41] are complete, they just do a quick 5 10
[40:43] minute reflection on how they felt um
[40:46] the FSA was for them.
[40:50] Uh so as mentioned the booklets are
[40:54] marked locally by principles and vice
[40:55] principles and the online portion is
[40:58] marked provinially. Um, basically for
[41:01] the online or for the booklet portion,
[41:02] we get a package from the ministry uh
[41:05] with different rubrics for all the
[41:07] different sections and as a as a group
[41:09] of principles and vice principles. We
[41:11] sit down and look at the rubrics and
[41:12] they also give us samples to go through.
[41:14] So, as a group, we talk about the
[41:16] samples, we mark the samples to make
[41:18] sure that there's consensus among the
[41:19] group in terms of um we just want
[41:21] everyone on the same page when they're
[41:23] marking and then we spend four or five
[41:25] pages going through and and marking
[41:27] everything. Once we finish marking, we
[41:30] also send um we send a certain number of
[41:34] uh booklets off to the ministry because
[41:36] they kind of they mark our marking to
[41:38] make sure that we're we're on par with
[41:40] where they want us to be. So, they have
[41:41] a provincial team that looks through
[41:43] booklets and we always do quite well
[41:45] there.
[41:49] Uh when the results um are given back to
[41:52] the district and to families, they're
[41:55] given back to us in a three-point scale.
[41:57] So students are for literacy and
[41:59] numeracy you're emerging on track you're
[42:01] extending and there there is a more
[42:02] comprehensive kind of definition of of
[42:05] these three indicators but just for the
[42:07] purpose of tonight I thought I'd just
[42:08] leave it with a snapshot
[42:14] and then that kind of brings us to what
[42:16] we do with the data. So from a
[42:18] provincial level, the FSAs give a
[42:20] snapshot of how our education system is
[42:22] doing and adjustments that may need to
[42:24] be made at a provincial level to boost
[42:26] the education system. Uh locally, we use
[42:29] the FSA along with other data points to
[42:32] track student progress, make adjustments
[42:34] to the course that we offer. Um, just
[42:37] one note I'd like to give is we're
[42:38] usually about our participation rates in
[42:40] in SG57 are usually about 10 to 15%
[42:43] higher um than the province which gives
[42:46] us a little bit more of a good
[42:48] representation of the cohorts that are
[42:49] ready and we get that data and then we
[42:53] also make adjustments to our strategic
[42:55] plan. So, I know the enhancing student
[42:57] learning report was um presented at the
[42:59] last board meeting and that document
[43:01] actually outlines a lot of the changes
[43:03] that that we bring into place in the
[43:04] academic areas. Uh one notable change
[43:07] kind of that we've made over the last
[43:09] couple years is just around the the five
[43:11] pillars of literacy and just really
[43:12] trying to enhance those in our
[43:14] classrooms and and support teachers
[43:15] around those ideas. um offering more
[43:18] prob in those areas especially in
[43:20] aquatics and biological awareness and um
[43:23] also the introduction of um literacy
[43:25] screeners. So all kindergarten teachers
[43:27] being using it right now um dibbles but
[43:29] we also have uh 22 other schools that
[43:32] are involved in various pilots around um
[43:34] the dibbles screener. So getting a lot
[43:37] more information about early literacy
[43:38] skills and how we can support those
[43:40] skills. uh in numeracy the FSA is very
[43:43] heavily problem solving based and uh we
[43:46] just know that we need to continue to
[43:47] support students and teachers in that
[43:49] area. So just one thing that we've been
[43:51] doing we've been working with Carol
[43:52] Forman for the last three years and her
[43:54] a big focus with her is just around
[43:56] incorporating problem solving into um
[43:59] various aspects of the curriculum. So
[44:02] Carol is kind of a provincial math u I
[44:04] just I call her a guru just because I've
[44:06] seen her a lot. She's quite smart. Uh
[44:09] but Carol was here two weeks ago. She
[44:11] did some co-planning and co-eing with
[44:12] teachers at uh around Brmpton Buckorn
[44:15] and we had groups of teachers that went
[44:16] into also watch those lessons and then
[44:18] retail afterwards and she also presented
[44:21] to our principal vice principal during
[44:23] that same week. Uh so that's kind of a
[44:26] FSA snapshot and I'm more than happy to
[44:29] answer any questions.
[44:32] >> Thank you director.
[44:32] » Thank you director.
[44:32] >> Oh can I say one more thing? I just
[44:35] » Oh can I say one more thing? I just
[44:35] really wanted to thank also the the
[44:37] teachers and the administrators um for
[44:39] all the help in administering the
[44:40] assessments because it takes a lot of
[44:41] time and a lot of work to make sure kids
[44:44] get caught up and complete the various
[44:45] aspects of it and it's just so really
[44:47] appreciated.
[44:49] >> Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or
[44:51] » Thank you. Uh trustes any comments or
[44:52] questions for director B on behalf
[44:55] trust
[45:00] » thank you for thank you for your
[45:02] presentation always valuable to see how
[45:04] FSA results can be used in a way that
[45:07] works to support the school system. Uh
[45:10] unfortunately some people use the FSA
[45:13] results for I don't want to say for evil
[45:16] but shall we say with a flawed
[45:17] methodology in in um doing a ranking of
[45:21] schools. Uh would you agree? Would you
[45:23] say that that choosing school say for
[45:25] parents would far more than just finding
[45:28] the one with the highest FSA scores?
[45:32] >> Oh I would
[45:34] » Oh I would
[45:34] press
[45:37] >> yes I'll completely agree. I think all
[45:38] » yes I'll completely agree. I think all
[45:38] of our schools offer great supports,
[45:40] great instruction, assessment practices.
[45:42] Um they're very caring for kids. Uh we
[45:46] have different programs that run
[45:47] throughout our schools. And I think
[45:49] that's also from my perspective. Um one
[45:52] of the goals in my department is to
[45:54] create kind of more cohesion and
[45:56] direction in the areas of literary
[45:58] university. So we're kind of all on the
[46:00] same page as the district. Um the
[46:02] discussion was around UFly kind of in
[46:04] one of the last presentations and the
[46:06] majority of our schools are actually
[46:07] using things like UFly right now. So I
[46:09] think just creating that consistency
[46:11] among schools just gives opportunity for
[46:13] all kids.
[46:15] >> Thank you Trust McCory.
[46:18] » Thank you Trust McCory.
[46:18] >> I would just like to echo a little bit
[46:20] » I would just like to echo a little bit
[46:20] um Trustee Holland. I find that FSAs I
[46:25] had kids. They wrote FSAs. Sometimes
[46:27] they didn't. And um I think that it's a
[46:30] contentious issue because of what's done
[46:32] with the data outside of what the use
[46:35] is. And so to rank schools off a a
[46:39] report is ridiculous from my personal
[46:41] opinion. Um but I think that um you know
[46:46] we need some baseline information but
[46:49] the way that it's utilized by certain
[46:51] organizations is not conducive to the
[46:54] good work that's being done in schools
[46:56] and the students that are successful
[47:00] even like personally I had a child that
[47:03] did not do well with FSAs who has done
[47:06] very well as an adult and so I that's
[47:09] just my personal opinion on it and um I
[47:12] think that it's unfortunate that one one
[47:15] little indicator has so much impact on
[47:19] how people are making decisions that in
[47:21] my opinion really aren't valid. Thanks.
[47:25] >> Thank you. Any other trustees?
[47:28] » Thank you. Any other trustees?
[47:28] >> Thanks, director. We appreciate your
[47:29] » Thanks, director. We appreciate your
[47:29] time and have a pleasant evening.
[47:32] Trustes, we're going to go on to number
[47:34] six, please. Regular public meeting of
[47:36] October the 14th. the recommended motion
[47:38] that the minutes of the October 14th,
[47:40] 2025 regular public meeting be approved
[47:42] as presented. Could I get a moer,
[47:44] please? Vice Chair McLean, seconded.
[47:46] Trusty answer. All in favor? And that is
[47:49] unanimous. Thank you. 6.2 Record of
[47:51] Incame meetings. Recommended motion that
[47:54] the record of the inc camera meetings be
[47:56] approved as presented. Could I get a
[47:58] mover, please? Trusty Holland seconded.
[48:01] Trusty Weber. All in favor? And that is
[48:04] unanimous. Thank you. On to number
[48:07] seven. Trustees, business arising for
[48:08] minutes. I do not see any. So, we'll go
[48:11] on to number eight. Trusty Holland, have
[48:13] you had a sip of water?
[48:14] >> Yes, you better.
[48:15] » Yes, you better.
[48:15] >> Okay,
[48:16] » Okay,
[48:16] >> I turn it over to you.
[48:19] » I turn it over to you.
[48:19] >> Thank you very much.
[48:21] » Thank you very much.
[48:21] Okay, so the first item here from the ad
[48:24] hoc policy committee is the public
[48:25] committee report. The recommended motion
[48:27] is that the report of the ad hoc policy
[48:29] committee be received.
[48:31] >> Can I get a second or second? Trustee
[48:33] » Can I get a second or second? Trustee
[48:33] McCory. Go ahead.
[48:35] Okay, I won't read everything here. I
[48:39] will note that we met October the well,
[48:41] we've been meeting pretty much weekly,
[48:43] including yesterday to to continue the
[48:45] board of policy review. Um, we've got
[48:48] some items that appear on this evening's
[48:50] agenda, and we're uh we've been
[48:53] reviewing the section 4 appeals bylaw in
[48:55] our last meeting. Uh, we're looking at
[48:57] potential policies for our section two.
[49:00] We did section one already and we're
[49:02] looking forward next week to section
[49:05] three coming towards us. Uh so I will
[49:10] speak to the other items on here once we
[49:12] get to that particular point in the
[49:13] agenda.
[49:14] >> Okay. So the recommend motion that the
[49:16] » Okay. So the recommend motion that the
[49:16] report of the ad hoc policy committee be
[49:17] received. All in favor?
[49:20] And that is unanimous. Thank you. Trusty
[49:22] Holland if you'd like to continue on
[49:23] with 8.2 please.
[49:26] >> Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a
[49:29] » Yeah. Okay. 8.2 two is we have a
[49:30] recommended motion that bylaw two
[49:32] traffic and access to property be given
[49:34] third and final reading. So, can I have
[49:37] a seconder?
[49:40] The mid. There's a couple of you all at
[49:42] once. Sorry, bit of a rush there.
[49:45] Continue on.
[49:46] >> Okay. So, in accordance with section 68
[49:49] » Okay. So, in accordance with section 68
[49:49] of the school act, bylaws must be given
[49:51] three distinct readings. And we had at
[49:54] the October 14th meeting, uh, we passed
[49:56] the first and second reading of bylaw 2,
[49:58] which is traffic and access to property.
[50:01] And then the third final reading is for
[50:03] this evening here. Um,
[50:06] Given that everybody has it in their
[50:08] agenda package, I'm not going to read
[50:10] out the the whole thing, although it is
[50:13] one of our shorter bylaws, only three
[50:15] pages.
[50:17] Um, I will ask if there's any questions
[50:19] for trustes regarding you.
[50:22] >> Thank you.
[50:24] » Thank you.
[50:24] And seeing none, I'll call the question.
[50:26] All in favor?
[50:28] And that is unanimous. Thank you very
[50:30] much. Uh, we'll go on to 8.3, please.
[50:33] Trusty Holland. We go and the
[50:35] recommended motion here is that bylaw
[50:37] five board procedures be given first
[50:39] reading. [clears throat]
[50:40] >> So move the second
[50:43] » So move the second
[50:43] trusty Andrew. Go ahead Trusty Almond.
[50:46] >> Okay. And then again bylaws of the board
[50:48] » Okay. And then again bylaws of the board
[50:48] must be given three distinct readings.
[50:51] Um we have revised our current policy
[50:55] seven board operations
[50:58] including changing the contents from a
[50:59] policy to a bylaw. So, we're
[51:02] recommending that the first reading of
[51:03] bylaw 5 be given at this evening's
[51:06] meeting and then the second reading at
[51:08] which discussion would be take would be
[51:10] um
[51:12] place take place would be given at the
[51:14] January the 13th 2026 regular public
[51:17] meeting.
[51:20] Uh something I will add to that uh as as
[51:24] well. Did you have a question first? Oh,
[51:27] there we go. Um sorry. um is that this
[51:32] the being a bylaw would not go to policy
[51:35] advisory committee. However, we will
[51:37] take public input on this as as per
[51:40] normal. There's public input at
[51:42] sdb57.bc.ca
[51:44] and trustees at sb57.bc.ca.
[51:48] That would be a normal process for
[51:49] receiving public input for matters.
[51:53] >> Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the
[51:54] » Thank you, Trusty Holmes. So, the
[51:54] recommended motion is that bylaw five
[51:56] board procedure be given first reading.
[51:58] All in favor?
[51:59] That is unanimous. Thank you. Trustee
[52:02] Holland 8.4 policies for reveal for
[52:05] appeal.
[52:06] >> I'm just scrolling.
[52:08] » I'm just scrolling.
[52:08] [clears throat]
[52:11] » Goodness. This is even the bylaw is
[52:14] being shortened. I think we go. Here we
[52:16] go. Okay.
[52:19] Reveal policies. Recommended motion that
[52:21] the following policy be repealed
[52:24] immediately. So that is policy two role
[52:27] of the board. Policy three role of the
[52:28] trustee. Policy four trustee code of
[52:31] conduct. Policy five role of the board's
[52:33] chair. Policy six role of the vice
[52:35] chair. Policy 9 board of
[52:37] representatives. Policy 11 for
[52:40] delegation of authority. Policy 12 role
[52:43] of the superintendent. Policy 11 1,100
[52:48] uh freedom of information and protection
[52:50] of pro uh privacy. Policy 1110,
[52:53] communications, policy 1240, Virginia
[52:56] Volunteer Services, and policy 1340,
[53:00] Educational Heritage.
[53:01] >> So, second,
[53:05] » So, second,
[53:05] >> Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty
[53:06] » Vice Chair McLean. Go ahead, Trusty
[53:06] Holland.
[53:08] >> So, uh the the first
[53:11] » So, uh the the first
[53:11] uh from policy 2 to policy 12, we
[53:14] adopted uh revised governance policies
[53:18] that would replace all those particular
[53:20] policies.
[53:21] policy um 11000 freedom of information
[53:25] and protection of privacy is no longer
[53:28] required as the content in that policy
[53:31] has been replaced by our privacy
[53:33] management program and admin procedures.
[53:36] Policy 1110 is no longer required as the
[53:40] content in that is included in 1.22 22
[53:43] the role of the board chair and vice
[53:46] chair and there's uh has this notes uh
[53:50] the policies 1240 provision of volunteer
[53:53] services and 1340 educational heritage
[53:56] are operational in nature and will be
[53:59] established as administrative procedures
[54:04] um
[54:07] >> I will
[54:09] » I will
[54:09] I mean I I'm so much torn here because
[54:12] uh Policy 1240, provision of volunteer
[54:15] services, I think might be slightly
[54:18] premature for in there to be repealed.
[54:21] It's one of the ones that would be
[54:22] reflected on the next in the next area,
[54:25] the 2.41 parent engagement, and there
[54:29] are some other policies that would uh go
[54:32] into those as well. So while the the
[54:34] bulk of that policy um is 1240 provision
[54:40] volunteers is indeed administrative,
[54:42] there are some some government um
[54:44] governance related areas that I probably
[54:48] should not be repealed before we have
[54:49] the new policy in place.
[54:52] >> Am I hearing suggested amend? But
[54:54] » Am I hearing suggested amend? But
[54:54] >> yes, you are.
[54:55] » yes, you are.
[54:55] >> Would you like to on the floor, please?
[54:57] » Would you like to on the floor, please?
[54:57] We'll see just a second. I would like to
[55:00] amend uh the motion on the floor by
[55:03] removing the words policy 1240 provision
[55:06] of volunteer services.
[55:07] >> Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any
[55:10] » Is there a second? Trustee McCory. Any
[55:10] discussion trustees?
[55:12] All in favor of the amendment
[55:15] that is unanimous. So the motion has
[55:17] amended now. Any further comment to
[55:19] that?
[55:21] >> Does anyone have any questions about
[55:23] » Does anyone have any questions about
[55:23] this?
[55:26] >> Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,
[55:29] » Go ahead, vice chair. Uh, no questions,
[55:29] more so just a comment on recognizing
[55:31] and I know that we had this conversation
[55:33] last month, but just also revisiting
[55:35] because that that work continues to be
[55:38] significant and ongoing and as you
[55:40] mentioned almost weekly. So just a note
[55:42] of gratitude.
[55:43] >> Thank you.
[55:47] » Okay. And seeing no further discussion,
[55:49] we are going on the amended motion. All
[55:51] in favor?
[55:53] That is unanimous. Thank you very much,
[55:55] Trusty Holland. And if you want to set
[55:57] water again 8.5
[56:02] » there we go. Okay. So the recommended
[56:05] motion is that the board of education
[56:07] refer policies 2.4 student voice 2.41
[56:11] parent engagement and 250 partnerships
[56:15] corporate sponsorships and donations to
[56:18] the policy advisory committee for
[56:20] review.
[56:21] >> So move seconded
[56:23] » So move seconded
[56:23] vice chair clean. in discussion.
[56:27] >> I can give a bit of background here
[56:29] » I can give a bit of background here
[56:29] basically. Uh so we're looking at the
[56:32] policies for the policy management
[56:34] section two which is expectations,
[56:36] relationships and communications and
[56:38] engagement and there will be several
[56:42] quite a number of other policies that
[56:43] will go to the the policy advisory
[56:45] committee for review. These are the
[56:47] first three that we'll be going to there
[56:49] because um we we thought we thought
[56:53] these were good policies to start off
[56:54] with.
[56:56] Um so I don't believe we currently have
[56:59] policy advisory committee uh meeting
[57:01] scheduled. Uh we probably be looking in
[57:04] January for that. But again uh I believe
[57:08] our DPAC um president is is going to be
[57:10] serving as the DPAC represent DSAC by
[57:13] apologies of the district student
[57:15] advisory committee. uh chair serving as
[57:17] the representative. So we are looking
[57:19] forward to that taking place.
[57:21] >> Go ahead. Trust Corey.
[57:23] » Go ahead. Trust Corey.
[57:23] >> So because we have not yet formed that
[57:26] » So because we have not yet formed that
[57:26] and that would be an appointment of
[57:28] physicians, would that be on the January
[57:30] agenda
[57:32] uh for for action?
[57:35] >> Yes.
[57:36] » Yes.
[57:36] Any other discussion?
[57:39] Seeing none, all in favor?
[57:42] That is unanimous. Thank you, Trusty
[57:44] Holland. And again, just trusty Holland.
[57:46] Uh, everyone helps on this, but you do a
[57:48] lot of the heavy lifting and we
[57:50] appreciate that. So, thank you very
[57:52] much. Uh, we're going to move on to
[57:54] number nine. Uh, trust. So, this is a
[57:57] board authorized course, equin assisted
[58:00] learning and animal care at 12. And so,
[58:03] we have Christie here and Christa, you
[58:06] come on up to the mic for me.
[58:08] >> The first thing trustees said, the first
[58:11] » The first thing trustees said, the first
[58:11] thing when they saw this item is where's
[58:12] the horse?
[58:15] Please let them know there is no horse
[58:17] today
[58:18] and direct your vote. Sorry.
[58:21] Go ahead. Thanks for looking forward to
[58:23] You're actually not going to hear from
[58:25] me very much. I just wanted to introduce
[58:27] the two. So this is Christopher Olivier
[58:28] and Chris Allen or sorry
[58:33] » it's
[58:36] like Olivia%
[58:37] on last name for the record. Uh but I I
[58:42] just wanted to make one comment before
[58:43] they started. We we just heard in the
[58:44] college trace family of school
[58:46] presentations how important it is to
[58:48] engage students in different ways and
[58:49] try to find an opportunity so they they
[58:51] can engage with our school communities.
[58:53] And so I just very thankful that um
[58:55] these two educators decided to um put in
[58:59] the time to to try to make a board off
[59:01] the right course and and be willing to
[59:03] come here tonight to present. So thank
[59:04] you both. I'll pass it over to you.
[59:09] Thank you.
[59:13] Try and share this here.
[59:21] » All right. Um, so I said my name is
[59:25] Chris Oliver. Uh, I'm a teacher at ACP.
[59:29] >> I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and
[59:31] » I'm Chris Hill and I'm a UK worker and
[59:31] also a ecoin assisted learning
[59:34] facilitator.
[59:37] And we do have one other person on our
[59:39] team who wishes she was here. Her name
[59:41] is Terresa Hick. She's another youth
[59:42] care worker at our school. Many many of
[59:44] you, I'm sure, know her and may know her
[59:46] better as T. Um, very she's very sadly
[59:49] not here, let's say. She's getting jaw
[59:50] major jaw surgery. Uh, actually earlier
[59:53] this morning she had major jaw surgery
[59:54] and she's in recovery now. Um, and she
[59:58] she's in here. She's here in spirit and
[59:59] she left me some very detailed things
[1:00:01] she wants me to say and to remind
[1:00:03] everyone remind me a few times yesterday
[1:00:05] of what I should be saying for her.
[1:00:09] So you will you'll be hearing from her
[1:00:11] but not directly.
[1:00:14] Um so this is my seventh year in the
[1:00:17] district as a teacher. Uh almost the
[1:00:20] entire time I've been working in
[1:00:21] alternate education at ACP and
[1:00:22] Intersect. Um I have been working with
[1:00:25] animals my entire life. I I have family
[1:00:28] a lot of family members have farms and I
[1:00:30] spent most of my summers helping out on
[1:00:32] those farms. Uh as well as pets and
[1:00:35] other animals in my own house. And I
[1:00:38] really strongly believe that courses
[1:00:41] like this and some other ones especially
[1:00:43] we heard earlier today from uh from Miss
[1:00:46] Mloud and the outdoor ed program about
[1:00:49] how experiential hands-on learning is of
[1:00:52] utmost importance in the schools
[1:00:54] especially today.
[1:00:57] And uh T gave me a list of what she
[1:01:00] wants to say to introduce her. I'll I'll
[1:01:02] read her words exactly as I had them.
[1:01:06] Um she's been in the district for over
[1:01:08] 30 years working with some of the most
[1:01:10] atrisisk youth in the city. She believes
[1:01:14] incredibly strongly that compassion and
[1:01:17] empathy are critical skills that
[1:01:19] everyone must learn and the best way to
[1:01:22] learn them is to work with animals of
[1:01:25] all kinds. Cats, dogs, horses, they all
[1:01:28] work to really build that compassion,
[1:01:30] empathy these kids really desperately
[1:01:32] need. and also that students need to
[1:01:35] learn to connect to their community and
[1:01:38] to give back to their community through
[1:01:39] volunteerism which this course will
[1:01:42] hopefully provide in spades.
[1:01:48] » Good evening everyone. Um so I'm from a
[1:01:51] really small I'm not even going to say
[1:01:53] town community. Um does anyone know
[1:01:55] where Grassy Plains is?
[1:01:57] >> Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,
[1:02:00] » Couple nods. Okay. So when I grew up,
[1:02:00] there wasn't hardly any girls my age or
[1:02:03] boys and
[1:02:06] I grew up on a cattle ranch and horses
[1:02:09] were our means of everything. And so
[1:02:12] horses gave me wellness. They gave me
[1:02:14] friendship and I knew somehow someway I
[1:02:17] was going to work with people and
[1:02:18] horses. And so about eight years ago, I
[1:02:21] heard about this program out of Calgary
[1:02:23] called Equin assisted Learning. And it
[1:02:25] was everything I ever dreamed about. And
[1:02:28] not even two months later, I was in
[1:02:29] Calgary becoming certified. And so, um,
[1:02:34] I've put thousands of people through our
[1:02:36] program. It is I'm very passionate about
[1:02:38] it. I've seen some major transformation
[1:02:41] with some of our kids and youth. Um,
[1:02:44] hopefully I'll be able to tell tell you
[1:02:45] a couple stories if I talk too much. Um
[1:02:48] but yeah, working for the school
[1:02:51] district for the last 15 years, also
[1:02:53] with high-risisk youth mental health has
[1:02:55] been kind of an area that I've been
[1:02:57] working in mostly through intersect
[1:02:59] school program. And then I also did
[1:03:03] indigenous education when I first came
[1:03:05] to the school district. So have had
[1:03:07] quite a bit of experience working with
[1:03:08] all kinds of diverse uh students and
[1:03:12] yeah I've definitely worked with some
[1:03:14] complex horses. Their horses are amazing
[1:03:17] teachers. Um they are the teacher in our
[1:03:20] program. So you'll learn a little bit
[1:03:22] more about that. But yeah that's
[1:03:24] something that I uh definitely have a
[1:03:28] big heart for and I went to Conrad our
[1:03:30] principal last year and said is there
[1:03:32] any way we can do this through school?
[1:03:34] Um I have a partnership with uh my work
[1:03:37] equestrian center and so we all decided
[1:03:39] to kind of make it work and so it didn't
[1:03:41] start off really as a elective but um
[1:03:45] we've been working this last year giving
[1:03:47] like PE credits and stuff like that. So
[1:03:49] we really like to make it work. It's
[1:03:51] actually good credit.
[1:03:54] >> Yeah.
[1:03:58] All right. So
[1:04:01] So why are we teaching this course?
[1:04:03] Well, we believe it or not, these these
[1:04:05] are the paired down notes on the slides
[1:04:07] as well. We we originally had even more
[1:04:09] words on there. Um we all three of us
[1:04:12] believe really strongly in as I said
[1:04:14] before building connection to the
[1:04:16] community through volunteerism and in
[1:04:18] building skills through working with
[1:04:21] animals. So compassion, empathy, I
[1:04:23] already mentioned were really important
[1:04:24] things that come from working with
[1:04:26] animals. but also learning social cues,
[1:04:29] learning body language, learning
[1:04:31] confidence, learning how to step outside
[1:04:33] of your comfort zone. All these things
[1:04:35] come very naturally when you work with
[1:04:38] animals. Uh whether it be something very
[1:04:40] small like a cat or something very large
[1:04:42] like a horse, it does come through in
[1:04:45] all of these things. Um and one thing I
[1:04:49] found last year was we have some really
[1:04:52] amazing resources in this town. We have
[1:04:54] the ecoin program that Christa runs on
[1:04:57] her own. Uh if you want to flaunt your
[1:04:59] business, you can show the logo on here.
[1:05:01] Ultra ecoin.
[1:05:03] Um the ultraequin program which I which
[1:05:06] Christa runs her own business which I
[1:05:08] have seen kids I've had students who've
[1:05:10] gone through that program and they came
[1:05:11] out changed. first took one of my prote.
[1:05:17] [laughter]
[1:05:20] » Well, yeah, I prefer cows. Um
[1:05:24] but
[1:05:26] um we also have a really important
[1:05:28] resource in the local humane societies
[1:05:30] and the volunteer programs that they
[1:05:32] offer. So combining these two things
[1:05:34] into a course is such an important way
[1:05:38] of of using the resources we have in the
[1:05:41] community to help the kids who need it.
[1:05:44] Um you know students at ACP obviously
[1:05:46] they come from in many case many places
[1:05:49] very troubled lives. We deal with
[1:05:53] cross-sections of the community that
[1:05:54] includes high mental health, addiction,
[1:05:57] gang involvement, street entrenchment,
[1:05:59] lots of things like that. And giving
[1:06:01] them these opportunities they would
[1:06:02] never have in any other situation is is
[1:06:05] powerful. Like it it's something that
[1:06:07] they would never be able to do
[1:06:08] otherwise. And it allows them to learn
[1:06:10] skills that are so that are going to
[1:06:12] carry them through for the rest of their
[1:06:14] life because there's skills involved
[1:06:17] with working with the animals. But we
[1:06:19] also make sure as a major point to
[1:06:21] relate everything back to how this can
[1:06:22] work in your daily life. Working with
[1:06:24] people, working with yourself, how these
[1:06:27] skills transfer to all those aspects of
[1:06:30] your life.
[1:06:36] with me. So, I kind of already went into
[1:06:40] this a little bit on the previous slide,
[1:06:42] but why this course matters, as I
[1:06:43] already mentioned, has to do with how
[1:06:45] important these skills are when it comes
[1:06:47] to building up our students in our
[1:06:50] community. And one thing that we have
[1:06:53] found, and I'm sure everyone who's
[1:06:55] worked in schools has has made similar
[1:06:57] observations, is we do notice a decline
[1:07:00] in a lot of social skills in our
[1:07:02] students coming in. some our older
[1:07:04] students often have more than our newer
[1:07:07] ones coming in and a few years ago it
[1:07:08] was even higher than it was now. We we
[1:07:10] tend to see this and I've definitely
[1:07:12] heard a lot of people talking about it
[1:07:13] and it was something we thought this is
[1:07:15] a way to help combat that because one of
[1:07:18] the reasons so many students are
[1:07:20] struggling with these social skills is
[1:07:21] they've never learned body language,
[1:07:24] social cues, how to be confident enough
[1:07:26] to ask a question or to stick their neck
[1:07:28] out in a conversation or anything like
[1:07:30] that. and they they're afraid to step
[1:07:32] out of their comfort zone. And so giving
[1:07:33] them an opportunity where they can learn
[1:07:35] all those skills in a very safe way, in
[1:07:38] a very non-judgmental way in the sense
[1:07:40] that a a horse will never judge you in
[1:07:42] the same way a person will. Uh gives
[1:07:45] them so so much practice. They're able
[1:07:47] to take that and then apply it in their
[1:07:49] life and become much more productive
[1:07:52] members of the community afterwards.
[1:07:58] » Okay. Um so equin assisted learning uh
[1:08:02] the program that I took is has a
[1:08:05] trademark called building block
[1:08:06] curriculum and every session has
[1:08:09] objective. So we start off with um
[1:08:12] safety number one. My biggest priority
[1:08:14] when it comes to horses is kids learning
[1:08:16] safety, learning how to be safe around
[1:08:19] them, how to walk around them. Um and
[1:08:21] then they have to learn the skills. So
[1:08:23] they go into relationship building um
[1:08:27] skill development and then we get in
[1:08:28] different forms of communication and
[1:08:31] also includes like problem solving and
[1:08:34] um negotiation focus those are all
[1:08:37] objectives that we have in our program
[1:08:39] and there's 12 of them and then at the
[1:08:41] very end which Chris will talk about a
[1:08:43] little bit more is they actually become
[1:08:45] the facilitator to the other group and
[1:08:47] facilitate their own course. So, a
[1:08:50] little bit about the program. They come
[1:08:53] um we debrief on whatever the objective
[1:08:55] is going to be for the day and usually
[1:08:57] takes about 10 15 minutes and then they
[1:09:00] go and work with the horse for about 45
[1:09:02] to 50 minutes. And it's all kind of like
[1:09:05] exercises or obstacles that they have to
[1:09:07] work together and work as a team, step
[1:09:10] up and be a leader to. And they have to
[1:09:13] work of course is part of their team as
[1:09:15] well. And so then I step in if I see
[1:09:18] anything that's like unsafe or any kind
[1:09:20] of learning moments. That's my job. And
[1:09:23] then we come back at the end, we debrief
[1:09:26] about it, reflect it to everyday um
[1:09:29] learning like how they can use those
[1:09:30] skills and and um then they do a a
[1:09:33] journal at the end talking about what
[1:09:35] the horse taught them. And then we they
[1:09:37] pick a word. So we have a word board.
[1:09:40] They pick a word. We talk about why that
[1:09:41] word mattered to them for the day.
[1:09:43] [clears throat] So that's every day
[1:09:44] looks the same. It's very structured so
[1:09:46] the kids get to learn and feel
[1:09:48] comfortable and safe. Uh we make it very
[1:09:51] safe place and I also have a a
[1:09:54] partnership with my work equestrian
[1:09:56] center that one of the girls there is
[1:09:58] always there horses getting them ready
[1:10:01] um and and helps me with making sure the
[1:10:03] horses are safe because we can't do this
[1:10:06] program unless the horses are looked
[1:10:07] after properly, their mental health,
[1:10:09] physical health and that somebody is
[1:10:11] always looking out for their safety. So
[1:10:13] that's kind of how it works. And with
[1:10:16] the humane society, um, basically the
[1:10:21] kind of it's similar. We go there, we
[1:10:23] find out what we're going to do for the
[1:10:24] day, and we make sure that everybody
[1:10:26] kind of knows their job and has a job
[1:10:28] and we go over safety and kind of what
[1:10:31] that job looks like. So even when
[1:10:33] they're working with the animals,
[1:10:34] usually happens at towards the end of
[1:10:35] the day. if there's new kids that
[1:10:37] haven't been there before, we kind of go
[1:10:38] in with them, make sure that they're
[1:10:40] comfortable and and uh kind of
[1:10:42] understand like how dogs and cats work.
[1:10:45] So, yeah, I'll let you go over the rest
[1:10:47] of that.
[1:10:49] >> Oh, thank you.
[1:10:51] » Oh, thank you.
[1:10:51] >> Um,
[1:10:54] » Um,
[1:10:54] as you can see, if I I I can very easily
[1:10:56] go into every one of these aspects in
[1:10:58] detail. uh out of respect for everyone's
[1:11:00] time and evening, I I will leave. If you
[1:11:03] have any of these aspects you'd like to
[1:11:05] ask me more about, please do during the
[1:11:06] question session, um I I hope everyone
[1:11:10] will be able to actually leave this
[1:11:11] place this evening and not listen to me
[1:11:13] talk for an an hour. But suffice to say
[1:11:16] just to touch kind of expend on what
[1:11:17] Christa was saying as well. um when it
[1:11:20] comes to the when it comes to the humane
[1:11:21] society side of things because how how
[1:11:23] our course is currently structured is on
[1:11:26] Tuesday afternoons students go down to
[1:11:28] the myth equestrian center and work with
[1:11:29] the horses on Thursdays they go to to
[1:11:32] the humane society and then there's
[1:11:34] another group of students who don't want
[1:11:36] to work with the horses and only do the
[1:11:37] humane society and they will often go on
[1:11:39] Thursdays and Fridays
[1:11:40] >> it's not a
[1:11:41] » it's not a
[1:11:41] >> it's not part of the same program like
[1:11:42] » it's not part of the same program like
[1:11:42] there it's a sort of a separate a
[1:11:44] separate existing program that T had
[1:11:46] started in previous years that we kind
[1:11:47] of grafted this together to make a whole
[1:11:49] thing out of. Um, but one thing that,
[1:11:52] and you'll see this when we come to the
[1:11:53] pictures as well, is kind of said, is
[1:11:56] it's not just playing with cats and
[1:11:58] dogs. They work. They come in, they do
[1:12:00] laundry, they do dishes, they have
[1:12:03] scraped frozen dog poop off of concrete
[1:12:06] for an hour. And some days they don't
[1:12:08] even get a chance to actually spend time
[1:12:09] with the animals. And they're still
[1:12:10] happy to be there because they know
[1:12:12] they're helping those animals lives by
[1:12:14] doing all the cleaning and sorting and
[1:12:16] organizing. And and I got I've never
[1:12:18] seen teenagers clean so well as when
[1:12:21] they are washing and drying all the
[1:12:23] stuff that belongs to all the dogs cuz
[1:12:25] they suddenly care about it a lot more.
[1:12:28] But all these different skills, all
[1:12:31] different content, these are things that
[1:12:32] we go through every day, whether it's
[1:12:34] working with the horses or working with
[1:12:35] the cats and dogs. Um,
[1:12:39] and they're all, as I said before, all
[1:12:40] things that we try to relate back to
[1:12:42] their everyday life. Like if you once
[1:12:44] you learn how to how to fold a dog's
[1:12:46] sheet, you know how to fold your own
[1:12:47] sheets, too. So you don't have to rely
[1:12:49] on your mom to fold your sheets for you
[1:12:50] at home anymore, for example.
[1:12:58] [clears throat]
[1:13:01] So as I said, uh we off this currently
[1:13:03] at ACP twice a week. We are currently
[1:13:06] offering students credits towards their
[1:13:07] PE or active living courses. Um, we've
[1:13:11] also sometimes counted the the time at
[1:13:13] the at the Humane Society towards
[1:13:14] volunteer hours for things like CLC12
[1:13:17] and work experience and other volunteer
[1:13:19] hours that they need for courses.
[1:13:22] The hope would be once if we can get
[1:13:24] this approved to make a more formalized
[1:13:27] course.
[1:13:29] And while this is currently only
[1:13:31] available at ACP, there are options to
[1:13:33] expand this to other schools. The
[1:13:35] considerations I have for you is you
[1:13:36] have to have someone like Christa who is
[1:13:39] an ecoin like a trained ecoin assisted
[1:13:42] learning facilitator. You have to have
[1:13:45] access to horses obviously. Um
[1:13:48] transportation safety have a teacher
[1:13:50] involved for assessment any other
[1:13:53] supports that are required for things
[1:13:55] like emergency transportation or
[1:13:57] classroom management. If one student has
[1:13:59] some kind of problem, whether it be a
[1:14:02] medical problem or they have some kind
[1:14:04] of breakdown, we'll make sure that we
[1:14:06] have supports set to keep that student
[1:14:07] safe without also compromising the
[1:14:09] learning of everyone else in the in the
[1:14:11] arena. For instance, um when it comes to
[1:14:14] Humane Society, they accept volunteers
[1:14:16] from all over. I'm sure any school would
[1:14:18] be happy to have a group that could go.
[1:14:20] The only thing, if I could make a
[1:14:22] suggestion, would be if there was some
[1:14:24] kind of like district-wide signup board
[1:14:26] for some simple reason that they get
[1:14:28] overwhelmed if there's more than say 10
[1:14:31] or more volunteers at once. And also,
[1:14:33] yes, there would have to be adults there
[1:14:34] to help supervise, transport, and once
[1:14:36] again manage because it's not fair to
[1:14:39] the Humane Society staff if they are now
[1:14:41] having to, you know, tell the kids what
[1:14:44] to do and stop them from messing around
[1:14:45] or anything like that. We want to make
[1:14:47] sure they're being productive and we're
[1:14:48] not interrupting their actual jobs there
[1:14:51] because they have their own work that
[1:14:52] they have to do as well. So all the
[1:14:54] these all these things could be
[1:14:56] absolutely applied to other schools. It
[1:14:57] would require some resources like I said
[1:15:00] uh most importantly perhaps a ecoin
[1:15:02] assistant facilitator but they are all
[1:15:05] very possible within other schools.
[1:15:10] » All right. So here's a couple of well
[1:15:12] few pictures of some of our kids. Um, I
[1:15:15] have seen or we have seen some major
[1:15:18] transformation.
[1:15:20] I can't even tell you how shocked I am.
[1:15:23] We've had kids that have had like
[1:15:25] selective mutism that wouldn't even talk
[1:15:27] to us at school and we've convinced them
[1:15:30] to come there and they end up having a
[1:15:32] voice for the horse. I've seen kids with
[1:15:35] pretty complex mental health that'll be
[1:15:38] able to gain some skills and start using
[1:15:41] them within the school setting and just
[1:15:44] smiles on face. Like sometimes we have
[1:15:46] kids that are pretty depressed or you
[1:15:48] don't see them with smiles on their face
[1:15:49] very often. Have another kid that's I
[1:15:53] don't I wouldn't say he has a like a
[1:15:55] tough guy. He's pretty uh I don't know
[1:15:58] how how to explain him. He's I wouldn't
[1:16:00] say that he's like a gang member, but
[1:16:02] he's kind of like has that hard shell
[1:16:04] around him and pretty hard to approach
[1:16:08] and seeing him with animals is he has he
[1:16:11] has a huge heart. It just blew my mind
[1:16:13] actually. I wasn't sure about bringing
[1:16:15] him there to begin with and what was
[1:16:16] that was going to look like and yeah
[1:16:19] it's so lots of good qualities um come
[1:16:23] out of some of these kids that just blow
[1:16:24] you away and just uh how they start
[1:16:28] being leaders in the school and with
[1:16:31] some of these kids. So yeah, I I have
[1:16:33] tons of stories. I could talk about it
[1:16:35] for a long long time, but it's uh
[1:16:37] definitely really rewarding. And being
[1:16:40] able to
[1:16:42] offer this is just something that has
[1:16:46] really I guess made my career at the um
[1:16:50] school district like something that I
[1:16:53] love. Yeah.
[1:17:04] The last just said questions, the rest
[1:17:05] was blank. So questions for anyone. Yes,
[1:17:09] please. Um, just before we do that, I'm
[1:17:11] going to put the motion on the floor and
[1:17:12] then we'll talk about it behind. So that
[1:17:14] recommend a motion that Aquin assisted
[1:17:16] learning and animal care 12 be approved
[1:17:18] as a board authorized course. Moved by
[1:17:21] Trusty Holland, seconded by Trusty
[1:17:23] Weber. And now questions or discussions?
[1:17:25] Trustees?
[1:17:27] Uh, Trusty Weber, please.
[1:17:32] » Hi. I just want to thank you so much for
[1:17:34] having the courage to create a course
[1:17:35] like this. Um, it can be challenging at
[1:17:38] times. Um, but the passion that I'm
[1:17:40] hearing from you and and the desire to
[1:17:42] help kids in a way that isn't inside the
[1:17:45] school walls um is really super
[1:17:48] encouraging. Um, I have read your uh
[1:17:52] framework for your course very thorough,
[1:17:55] very well laid out. Um, I am so excited
[1:17:58] about this. You 100% have my backing on
[1:18:01] this. Um, I would like to see the
[1:18:04] schools in McKenzie come out and work
[1:18:05] with you if that's an opportunity. Um,
[1:18:09] yeah, I just wish there would be more
[1:18:11] opportunities for things like this, more
[1:18:12] hands-on, and I think the local SPCAS
[1:18:15] will really appreciate you. The extra
[1:18:17] hands is always encouraging. Um, so
[1:18:19] thank you. Well done. This is very good.
[1:18:21] >> Thank you very much,
[1:18:23] » Thank you very much,
[1:18:23] >> Trusty.
[1:18:25] » Trusty.
[1:18:25] >> Yeah, thanks very much. That was
[1:18:28] » Yeah, thanks very much. That was
[1:18:28] perfectly said. I I knew nothing about
[1:18:31] horses and and just this summer I was I
[1:18:33] was fortunate enough to go on some rides
[1:18:35] at a place El Shadai and and an owner
[1:18:39] Sean and and just his description of how
[1:18:42] much he loved horses matches this and
[1:18:45] just the different personalities of each
[1:18:47] horse and how as we know every student
[1:18:50] has a different personality and just
[1:18:51] seeing those combinations and coming
[1:18:53] together was was is magic. So for myself
[1:18:56] who knew nothing about horses and going
[1:18:59] out there and being on it, it did change
[1:19:01] my life and my family's life going on an
[1:19:03] hourong horse ride. So I can't imagine
[1:19:06] how much you can impact children's
[1:19:09] lives, students lives at a at a younger
[1:19:11] age by by building those uh
[1:19:14] relationships between the horses and
[1:19:15] them. And and so I it's amazing. So,
[1:19:19] thank you very much and I hope the
[1:19:20] program in the future expands further to
[1:19:23] support not just students around Prince
[1:19:26] George but but further and so well done
[1:19:28] and thank you and I really appreciate
[1:19:31] all your passion.
[1:19:32] >> Thank you. Thank you very much. I just
[1:19:34] » Thank you. Thank you very much. I just
[1:19:34] want to say that I encourage any one of
[1:19:36] you guys to come out and check it out.
[1:19:39] And usually by like day three or session
[1:19:42] three or four like I it's really where
[1:19:45] you see the value and the benefits of
[1:19:47] the program. But we also do pro days.
[1:19:50] I've done spring bling for six years now
[1:19:52] and sometimes we do the mental health
[1:19:54] symposium. But yeah, if you guys want to
[1:19:56] come out and do a program, we do team
[1:19:58] building program. So I'd be up for it.
[1:20:02] So thank you uh Chris and Christa and
[1:20:04] again this is ACP alternate community
[1:20:07] programs.
[1:20:07] >> Yes,
[1:20:08] » Yes,
[1:20:08] >> I mean this is very well brought those
[1:20:11] » I mean this is very well brought those
[1:20:11] words to life. So trustees before they
[1:20:13] go I think it might be important for us
[1:20:15] to do a vote. So all
[1:20:19] >> congratulations.
[1:20:20] » congratulations.
[1:20:20] Thank you.
[1:20:22] >> Um if I just one final thing just to
[1:20:24] » Um if I just one final thing just to
[1:20:24] make sure it's absolutely clear to
[1:20:26] everyone. Uh there is no horse riding in
[1:20:28] this [laughter] particular horse. Okay,
[1:20:32] >> everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.
[1:20:34] » everyone under 18 has to wear a helmet.
[1:20:34] >> Yeah,
[1:20:35] » Yeah,
[1:20:35] >> they don't like it, but they have to.
[1:20:37] » they don't like it, but they have to.
[1:20:37] >> Thanks very much.
[1:20:38] » Thanks very much.
[1:20:38] >> Thank you.
[1:20:40] » Thank you.
[1:20:40] >> So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard
[1:20:43] » So, we're going to go on. Um, very hard
[1:20:43] to follow that uh 9.2 statement of
[1:20:46] financial information, the SOFI report.
[1:20:49] Secretary Treasur,
[1:20:54] » thank you. Attached to your agenda is
[1:20:57] the statement of financial information
[1:20:59] which is a requirement under the
[1:21:00] financial information act. And as you
[1:21:02] can see in the agenda, there's a number
[1:21:04] of attachments including the June 30th,
[1:21:07] 2025 audit financial statements, the
[1:21:10] schedule of remuneration and expense for
[1:21:12] trustees and employees with all trustees
[1:21:15] and those employees with salaries
[1:21:17] exceeding 75,000. schedule of payments
[1:21:20] to suppliers of goods and services for
[1:21:23] suppliers that are paid in excess of
[1:21:25] $25,000 and then an explanation of the
[1:21:27] difference differences between the
[1:21:29] report and the financial statements.
[1:21:32] >> Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes
[1:21:34] » Thank you, Secretary Treasur. Trustes
[1:21:34] recommended motion is that the statement
[1:21:35] of financial information for the fiscal
[1:21:37] year and the June 30th, 2025 be approved
[1:21:40] as the presented. Could I have a mover,
[1:21:42] please? Trustee Weber, the seconder,
[1:21:46] Vice Chair Mlean. And any questions or
[1:21:48] discussion for Secretary Treasure?
[1:21:49] Trusty Holland, please.
[1:21:52] >> You didn't see my hand go up before if
[1:21:54] » You didn't see my hand go up before if
[1:21:54] you said Trusty Holland.
[1:21:57] Um, a a question then for the secretary
[1:22:00] treasure and
[1:22:03] you know the uh the only thing that I uh
[1:22:06] have an issue with in this report is
[1:22:09] that $75,000 is the threshold and has
[1:22:12] been the threshold since what it 2002
[1:22:15] thereabouts. So if in $22 the threshold
[1:22:19] would have been $120,000 roughly for
[1:22:22] salaries and uh so originally it was
[1:22:25] above the average amount of teacher
[1:22:27] salary in BC and now it's quite a bit
[1:22:29] below that average amount. So this is an
[1:22:32] increase in paperwork for this district
[1:22:34] for all districts for all public
[1:22:36] employers and a decrease in privacy for
[1:22:38] our employees. Do you see any sign that
[1:22:41] this might change and and that it be
[1:22:43] indexed to inflation in the future?
[1:22:46] I have not I know this is a discussion
[1:22:48] that has occurred in the last several
[1:22:50] years because the $75,000 as you'd say
[1:22:53] has been unchanged and I haven't seen
[1:22:54] any indication or seen any communication
[1:22:57] of any potential change.
[1:23:00] >> Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing
[1:23:02] » Thank you Trusty Holland. And seeing
[1:23:02] nothing further all in favor
[1:23:05] and that is unanimous. Thank you very
[1:23:06] much secretary treasure. 9.3 trustees is
[1:23:11] a cla a class size report and coming in
[1:23:13] and helping out today I believe is uh
[1:23:15] associate superintendent.
[1:23:17] >> Yes. So in front of you you have the
[1:23:18] » Yes. So in front of you you have the
[1:23:18] class size report. Um on the one column
[1:23:21] is the um the max numbers per
[1:23:24] kindergarten primary um intermediate and
[1:23:27] then secondary and then the other is the
[1:23:29] average for the 2025 2026 school year uh
[1:23:32] for the district. Um you can see that
[1:23:34] we've met all of our enrolling ratios or
[1:23:36] in the process of meeting them um as
[1:23:38] outlined in the collective agreement and
[1:23:40] we are below all of the the class size
[1:23:42] sort of limits um that we want to be
[1:23:44] there. So the report is very
[1:23:46] self-explanatory.
[1:23:48] >> Thank you very much. So the recommended
[1:23:49] » Thank you very much. So the recommended
[1:23:49] motion is that the class size report be
[1:23:51] received as presented. Can I get a mover
[1:23:53] please? Trusty Holland seconded. Vice
[1:23:56] Chair Mlean and any discussions or
[1:23:58] questions?
[1:24:00] Seeing none, all in favor
[1:24:03] and that is unanimous. Thank you very
[1:24:05] much. Associate Superintendent Men.
[1:24:08] Number 9.5 everyone. 2627 annual budget
[1:24:12] process and timeline. And this is back
[1:24:13] to our secretary treasurer minaria.
[1:24:16] Please number 9.4.
[1:24:19] >> Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it
[1:24:21] » Did I go by it already? Oh, I did it
[1:24:21] again. Hannah, I can't believe I
[1:24:23] [clears throat] did that.
[1:24:31] 9.4
[1:24:33] US financial December 382 director of
[1:24:37] finance Hannah Brown and
[1:24:38] >> a I'm state sorry
[1:24:43] » a I'm state sorry
[1:24:43] in your agenda package you'll find uh
[1:24:45] the operating fund results for quarter
[1:24:47] one uh which show an operating fund
[1:24:49] deficit of $2.5 million. An operating
[1:24:53] deficit in quarter one is typical for
[1:24:54] school districts mainly because of the
[1:24:56] timing of how we receive grants from the
[1:24:58] ministry. For example, the September
[1:25:00] operating grant revenue was 9.3 million
[1:25:03] compared to 17 million in October in
[1:25:06] spite of the fact that we have a full
[1:25:07] schoolbased payroll in September.
[1:25:11] The operating grant revenue is based on
[1:25:13] spring enrollment estimates until
[1:25:14] December when the ministry will
[1:25:16] recalculate the operating grant based on
[1:25:19] actual enrollments and the actual number
[1:25:21] of students designated with special
[1:25:23] needs and an amended budget for the year
[1:25:25] will be presented in February. Overall,
[1:25:28] we estimate the operating grant will
[1:25:29] decrease about $660,000
[1:25:32] compared to the original budget and
[1:25:34] staffing levels have been adjusted in
[1:25:36] response to uh enrollment variances and
[1:25:39] we don't expect that any significant
[1:25:41] reductions to other operating expenses
[1:25:43] will be required in response to the
[1:25:45] reduced revenue.
[1:25:47] When we look at our operating expenses
[1:25:49] for the first quarter for salaries
[1:25:51] costs, we would expect most school-based
[1:25:53] costs to be about 10% of budget at the
[1:25:56] end of September and 12 month employee
[1:25:59] salaries to be approximately 25% of
[1:26:01] budget. And for quarter 1, salary costs
[1:26:04] for all employee groups are in alignment
[1:26:05] with those expectations.
[1:26:08] Services and supplies expenses include
[1:26:10] costs for 12 month departments as well
[1:26:12] as 10-month schools and are comparable
[1:26:15] to prior year September year to date as
[1:26:18] a percent.
[1:26:20] Uh there is also a summary of governance
[1:26:22] costs included in your agenda package
[1:26:26] and uh that's all.
[1:26:29] >> Okay,
[1:26:31] » Okay,
[1:26:31] thank you very much. So the uh
[1:26:33] recommended motion is that the attached
[1:26:35] 2526 operating fund report and
[1:26:38] governance expenses for the year to date
[1:26:39] to September 30th, 2025 be received. Can
[1:26:43] I get that moved, please? Vice Chair
[1:26:45] Main seconded. Trusty Holland or sorry,
[1:26:48] Trusty Weber, any discussion or
[1:26:50] questions? Go ahead, Vice Chair.
[1:26:54] And I'm not sure if this question might
[1:26:56] be appropriate for um yourself or uh
[1:26:59] perhaps our secretary treasure, but just
[1:27:02] looking at the decrease in student
[1:27:04] enrollment, but an increase in inclusive
[1:27:06] ed um anecdotally, is this something you
[1:27:10] think can or we will see more of in the
[1:27:14] future? Just anecdotally, recognizing
[1:27:16] that that may not be um that information
[1:27:19] may not be handy.
[1:27:22] Uh gen generally our enrollment
[1:27:24] estimates are pretty flat maybe slightly
[1:27:27] decreasing. I really can't speak to
[1:27:30] future number of designated students but
[1:27:33] in recent years we have seen an increase
[1:27:38] >> anyone else. Okay seeing none other all
[1:27:41] » anyone else. Okay seeing none other all
[1:27:41] in favor
[1:27:44] it's unanimous. Thank you.
[1:27:47] Next time guaranteed.
[1:27:53] I don't I don't have any report. uh 9.5
[1:27:56] 202627 annual budget process and
[1:27:59] timeline or secretary treasurer mberry I
[1:28:01] got right
[1:28:03] >> information is attached to the agenda on
[1:28:05] » information is attached to the agenda on
[1:28:05] the proposed um budget development
[1:28:07] timeline for the 26 27th school year and
[1:28:11] we have considered what we the board's
[1:28:15] process in prior years and then tried to
[1:28:17] sort of take what we heard through
[1:28:19] feedback from um participants in the
[1:28:22] budget process. We are still
[1:28:24] recommending an earlier meeting in the
[1:28:27] budget process for presentation of
[1:28:30] projected enrollments and preliminary
[1:28:31] budget estimates in February along with
[1:28:34] an opportunity for rights holders,
[1:28:35] unions, partner groups, and the public
[1:28:37] on budget priorities.
[1:28:39] Um the preliminary budget or the draft
[1:28:42] 2627 annual budget will be provided to
[1:28:44] the board at the April public meeting.
[1:28:47] uh then an opportunity for public input
[1:28:50] will be provided so that people can
[1:28:51] provide input to you on um what they see
[1:28:54] that has been presented to them through
[1:28:56] the draft budget. There'll be um
[1:28:58] increased opportunities or an additional
[1:29:00] opportunity for the district student
[1:29:01] advisory council as long as they have
[1:29:04] time for us in their schedule. um the
[1:29:07] indigenous education council
[1:29:09] and then following the feedback period
[1:29:11] of uh committee the whole meeting will
[1:29:13] be held where we will provide um the
[1:29:16] summarized [clears throat] feedback that
[1:29:18] has been received through the process
[1:29:20] and we are also going to be mindful of
[1:29:23] the process or the feedback that is
[1:29:25] received and where we potentially see
[1:29:27] that reflected in the draft budget. um
[1:29:30] if necessary a budget discussion with
[1:29:32] the board through a workshop process in
[1:29:34] on April the 28th and then ideally the
[1:29:38] and hopefully their presentation and
[1:29:40] approval of the 26 27 annual budget by
[1:29:43] May 12th. We do have until the end of
[1:29:45] June, you know, if there's any um
[1:29:47] additional meetings that are required or
[1:29:50] anything unusual that occurs during that
[1:29:52] process. There is some additional time
[1:29:55] but um hopefully that will be concluded
[1:29:58] by May 12th.
[1:30:00] So the recommended motion is the board
[1:30:01] of education approve the 2627 annual
[1:30:04] budget development process and timeline.
[1:30:06] Can I get that moved? Trustee Weber or
[1:30:08] second it trustee Antrum. And any
[1:30:11] discussion or questions? Trusty McCory,
[1:30:14] please.
[1:30:16] Just looking at the proposed schedule.
[1:30:19] Um, is it in alignment with what we did
[1:30:21] the the year prior? Because I'm just
[1:30:24] wondering if the presentation of the
[1:30:27] budget happens in February, the amended
[1:30:30] budget, and we send it out to our
[1:30:32] partners and rights holders, is that
[1:30:34] enough time for them to provide
[1:30:36] feedback?
[1:30:39] >> Normally, like is the amended budget?
[1:30:41] » Normally, like is the amended budget?
[1:30:41] >> Yes.
[1:30:42] » Yes.
[1:30:42] >> I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on
[1:30:44] » I'm sorry, I probably wasn't clear. on
[1:30:44] February 10th. That is when the board
[1:30:46] approves the amended annual budget for
[1:30:48] this current school year.
[1:30:49] >> Oh, thank you.
[1:30:49] » Oh, thank you.
[1:30:49] >> Sort of closing that process. Take the
[1:30:52] » Sort of closing that process. Take the
[1:30:52] estimates that we have um we have
[1:30:55] received or incurred through the year
[1:30:57] and that sort of includes sort of
[1:30:59] concludes the 2526 annual budget
[1:31:01] process.
[1:31:01] >> Okay.
[1:31:02] » Okay.
[1:31:02] >> And then we go into the 2026 27 process
[1:31:05] » And then we go into the 2026 27 process
[1:31:05] as of February 2.
[1:31:08] >> Okay. And then so that's presented
[1:31:10] » Okay. And then so that's presented
[1:31:10] February 24th. Okay. to everybody.
[1:31:14] >> Yes.
[1:31:14] » Yes.
[1:31:14] >> Got it. Thanks,
[1:31:16] » Got it. Thanks,
[1:31:16] >> Trusty Hollow, please.
[1:31:19] » Trusty Hollow, please.
[1:31:19] >> Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]
[1:31:22] » Oh, sorry. You trust. [clears throat]
[1:31:22] >> Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a
[1:31:24] » Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to take a
[1:31:24] moment to uh just a comment to remind um
[1:31:27] and really invite folks from community.
[1:31:30] I know certainly in my role as a trustee
[1:31:32] this past year have um heard that
[1:31:35] question of like where can we put input
[1:31:36] or where can we have voice on these
[1:31:38] things and and rightfully so that's an
[1:31:40] important question to ask. So really
[1:31:42] drawing attention to these timelines and
[1:31:44] really hopefully you know wanting to
[1:31:46] share that with community that come on
[1:31:48] out we want to hear those voices.
[1:31:53] » Yes. Two questions. Uh one is I seem to
[1:31:55] recall some sort of discussion at the
[1:31:57] end of the budget process last year
[1:31:59] about potentially having you know the
[1:32:02] opportunity for trustees to to go a
[1:32:03] little bit some trustees to go a bit
[1:32:05] deeper into the numbers. I'm wondering
[1:32:07] if that would be part of of this
[1:32:11] response.
[1:32:14] We did recall that conversation and saw
[1:32:16] that as part of the board workshop on
[1:32:18] April the 28th. An opportunity for
[1:32:20] really to go in with a little more
[1:32:22] questions and this is okay. Next
[1:32:25] question. I'm very sad because I'm
[1:32:27] likely not going to be here April the
[1:32:29] 28th given that I have plane tickets um
[1:32:32] for that at 10. I might be occasionally
[1:32:36] then in between flights. But um so my
[1:32:39] question then was for the April 28th um
[1:32:42] committee the whole meeting if that
[1:32:43] would be recorded and um publicly
[1:32:47] available but now I'm very sad about
[1:32:49] board workshop.
[1:32:53] » Okay. Anything else? Go ahead.
[1:32:58] I just wanted to say a huge thank you
[1:33:01] because uh coming into this is something
[1:33:03] that when people when I talk to people
[1:33:05] about in my my job as a trustee and
[1:33:07] speaking to people is something I'm very
[1:33:08] proud of that that I feel our district
[1:33:11] has done really well and turned into a
[1:33:13] positive news story of of being fiscally
[1:33:17] responsible and handling the finances.
[1:33:19] and from somebody that came, I was very
[1:33:21] nervous about learning about this, but
[1:33:24] you all have been very patient with me
[1:33:26] and and uh helping me to to learn as we
[1:33:28] go. And it's something that I'm very
[1:33:30] proud to talk to people about. And so,
[1:33:32] it's really turned into a really
[1:33:34] positive thing uh for us, whether I'm
[1:33:36] speaking to other trustees from other
[1:33:37] districts or people from our community.
[1:33:40] And so, I I'm I'm very confident and
[1:33:42] very happy with everything that's going
[1:33:44] on. So, a big thank you to Hannah and
[1:33:47] yourself and superintendent and
[1:33:49] everybody. So, I I I feel everybody does
[1:33:51] a really good job of handling
[1:33:54] the public's finances in a a very
[1:33:57] professional and and very efficient way.
[1:34:00] So, thank you,
[1:34:02] >> Craig.
[1:34:04] » Craig.
[1:34:04] >> Um, how long did we have last year for
[1:34:08] » Um, how long did we have last year for
[1:34:08] public input? Because I see like if we
[1:34:11] get the presentation on the 14th, it's
[1:34:14] like a week for public input after that
[1:34:16] presentation is public. Is that long
[1:34:19] enough? And did like did that work for
[1:34:22] us before or did we have a longer period
[1:34:24] last year just comparative?
[1:34:28] It's a similar time frame.
[1:34:31] Follow
[1:34:33] >> what do other districts do?
[1:34:36] » what do other districts do?
[1:34:36] Is no
[1:34:39] I think every district has a process
[1:34:41] that works for them. It really is driven
[1:34:43] by the context of each district. So I
[1:34:46] think you could probably depending on
[1:34:49] every district website, you could look
[1:34:50] and see and there would be a slightly
[1:34:52] different process.
[1:34:55] >> Follow
[1:34:56] » Follow
[1:34:56] followup. Yeah.
[1:34:57] >> Do you think that's enough time? Like
[1:34:59] » Do you think that's enough time? Like
[1:34:59] did we get ample like did we get
[1:35:01] feedback a lot and was like do you think
[1:35:05] that's sufficient for people in the
[1:35:07] public to respond?
[1:35:10] >> You know in the first year we had 700
[1:35:12] » You know in the first year we had 700
[1:35:12] responses in a similar time frame. I
[1:35:14] think last year we had about
[1:35:17] 40ish but I know in year one the first
[1:35:20] year here it was very
[1:35:23] there was lots of a catchin. Um last
[1:35:25] year not so much. So there was about
[1:35:28] smaller percentage and I don't even know
[1:35:29] if I remember the 45.
[1:35:32] >> Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do
[1:35:34] » Yeah, I'm sorry. So it wasn't 700. I do
[1:35:34] know that. So I put this we put this
[1:35:38] together as a recommendation. So yes, I
[1:35:40] do support that that time frame is
[1:35:41] sufficient. you know, we're talking
[1:35:43] about budget
[1:35:45] continually and so it's a a pretty
[1:35:48] focused time for people to provide their
[1:35:50] input, but we really only have a very
[1:35:53] structured time to put the budget
[1:35:55] together because the revenue isn't
[1:35:57] announced until in the middle of March.
[1:35:59] So, we don't have a really much flex
[1:36:02] timing between there.
[1:36:04] >> Thank you.
[1:36:05] » Thank you.
[1:36:05] >> Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in
[1:36:07] » Thank you very much. Okay. So, all in
[1:36:07] favor?
[1:36:10] Thank you, trustees.
[1:36:12] Uh we're going to go on now to 9.6 draft
[1:36:16] policy 3.81 81 unexpected health
[1:36:18] emergencies and I believe secretary
[1:36:21] minary you're on this for
[1:36:25] » trustees may recall that in the October
[1:36:27] meeting this agenda or this item was on
[1:36:29] your agenda and there was discussion
[1:36:31] about language in the policy at the time
[1:36:33] which trustees wondered if it was more
[1:36:35] appropriate for their procedure because
[1:36:37] it it talked about when the um AED
[1:36:41] equipment should be used and so we did
[1:36:44] review that at the request of the board.
[1:36:46] We have removed it from the draft policy
[1:36:48] and the revised draft is now attached to
[1:36:49] your agend.
[1:36:51] >> Thank you.
[1:36:55] » So trustees, the recommended motion is
[1:36:57] that the board of education approved
[1:36:59] policy 3.81 unexpected health
[1:37:01] emergencies as presented.
[1:37:04] Moved. Seconded. Seconded. And any
[1:37:08] further discussion? All in favor?
[1:37:11] That is unanimous. Thank you.
[1:37:15] And we are on to 9.7 pay transparency
[1:37:19] reporting. And this I believe is for
[1:37:20] secretary treasure.
[1:37:24] Attached to the agenda is the
[1:37:26] information on the pay transparency
[1:37:27] report which is a fairly new requirement
[1:37:30] for school districts. The pay
[1:37:32] transparency act became law in May 2023.
[1:37:36] And so this is the second report. As you
[1:37:38] can see, we don't have a high particip
[1:37:40] participation rate. uh employees may um
[1:37:43] choose to identify and respond to the
[1:37:46] survey about their gender and currently
[1:37:49] we only have about 30% of employees who
[1:37:51] have responded. So the based on the
[1:37:54] employees that have responded you can
[1:37:55] see the report that is attached that
[1:37:57] addresses the uh the uh [snorts] gap in
[1:38:01] pay depending on the gender. So we will
[1:38:04] in continue to encourage employees to
[1:38:07] respond to the request for uh their
[1:38:10] gender identification so that we can um
[1:38:14] really get a more wholesome report but
[1:38:16] currently that is the information that
[1:38:18] is there
[1:38:20] >> and this is the information is
[1:38:22] » and this is the information is
[1:38:22] available. I don't know if there's
[1:38:23] follow-up questions or not. I did not
[1:38:25] think so. Okay. Thank you very much
[1:38:26] secretary treasure. Uh we're going to go
[1:38:28] on to number 10 and uh this is the
[1:38:31] office of the superintendent report and
[1:38:32] I believe it's our associate
[1:38:33] superintendent doing two each. So thank
[1:38:36] you.
[1:38:40] » And we hit the clicker too from big
[1:38:43] night.
[1:38:46] » Good evening everyone. um superintendent
[1:38:49] disease uh is unable to attend so we'll
[1:38:52] uh be able to give some of his reports
[1:38:55] um on some of the highlights that he's
[1:38:58] been part of while um he's away. Uh
[1:39:01] tonight I will be talking about learning
[1:39:04] on behalf of the superintendent and then
[1:39:06] reconciliation and then cap will be
[1:39:08] talking about equity access.
[1:39:11] I do want to before I begin, I just want
[1:39:14] to talk a little bit about the memos
[1:39:17] that are in the agenda package and it is
[1:39:19] so nice to see the professionalism that
[1:39:22] that new logo has on it. And uh it it
[1:39:26] it's nice to see something that that
[1:39:27] you're actually proud of and and I was
[1:39:29] just at a conference in um Vancouver and
[1:39:32] I I have the logo on a badge on my bag
[1:39:34] and I I probably have about three or
[1:39:36] four compliments on. So good work to to
[1:39:40] the district that was able to do that.
[1:39:44] Um I'm doing this my strength. So I'll
[1:39:48] be talking a little bit about learning.
[1:39:50] um Superintendent Aiz and uh four
[1:39:53] principles um went to an outdoor
[1:39:56] learning um conference in BA and um you
[1:39:59] know you you heard that that there were
[1:40:01] some there were some teachers there as
[1:40:03] well and some lead educators and uh what
[1:40:06] he brought back was that um we're
[1:40:08] certainly in the forefront of um outdoor
[1:40:11] learning and uh he has made a commitment
[1:40:14] that he's going to provide some
[1:40:15] resources and some training to uh each
[1:40:18] uh school so that there'll be
[1:40:19] opportunities for kids to get out of saw
[1:40:22] that earlier tonight with the college
[1:40:24] heads family and we'll see it in
[1:40:25] different things
[1:40:28] here as well.
[1:40:30] >> Can you can you use your mic?
[1:40:32] » Can you can you use your mic?
[1:40:32] >> Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.
[1:40:34] » Oh, sorry. Yeah, I can do that too.
[1:40:34] Yeah. Um and Remembrance Day. Um this
[1:40:37] this of course uh um we had these uh
[1:40:40] opportunities. Normally we have it on
[1:40:43] November 10th that we celebrated at
[1:40:45] schools and most of our schools
[1:40:47] celebrated it on the Friday the 7th. And
[1:40:49] so that was a a a nice change. But we've
[1:40:52] also um are really proud of um how how
[1:40:56] much our schools are engaging students
[1:40:59] in it and remembering um this event or
[1:41:02] these this day. And um we've also had
[1:41:04] the opportunity to be able to share uh
[1:41:07] an an indigenous remembrance day um that
[1:41:10] was on November 8th and that's something
[1:41:11] that we are uh be be able to be proud of
[1:41:14] and and all the students and communities
[1:41:16] that are involved in that. Then I will
[1:41:19] move over to truth and reconciliation.
[1:41:22] And th this was um you heard tonight
[1:41:26] about how EOL College Heights has their
[1:41:28] school program and um we had the
[1:41:31] opportunity of of moving one of our
[1:41:33] principles from that school to Harvard
[1:41:36] and um as an inner city school she's
[1:41:38] been really um instrumental in trying to
[1:41:41] make sure that she's
[1:41:44] introducing truth and reconciliation in
[1:41:46] a structured way uh and trying to show
[1:41:48] language and culture there. And you can
[1:41:51] see that every month she's uh or every
[1:41:53] month that she's doing something a
[1:41:54] little bit different and actively
[1:41:56] engaging staff and students on student
[1:41:58] leadership in it. So something really
[1:42:00] fun and exciting um but um really
[1:42:03] important here as well.
[1:42:07] Well, I guess we didn't come across
[1:42:09] either as well, but um Southridge um and
[1:42:14] College Heights Secondary uh did a
[1:42:16] program where they're drum making and
[1:42:20] telling stories on the land. And um
[1:42:23] [clears throat] this is a a work between
[1:42:25] a grade six, seven classroom and the
[1:42:27] leadership class at College Heights
[1:42:29] Secondary. And um it's too bad the
[1:42:32] pictures didn't get to show up. Maybe
[1:42:33] they will show up later. Um but uh um
[1:42:36] what's happening is that kids are
[1:42:38] getting to have a hands-on experience um
[1:42:41] making their own drums and the stories
[1:42:43] behind the drums. And um you can see
[1:42:45] that in reporting on truth and
[1:42:48] reconciliation. There's so much going on
[1:42:50] in our district in regards to truth and
[1:42:52] reconciliation. And it's not just in the
[1:42:53] month of September or on a certain day,
[1:42:56] but but it's um all throughout the year
[1:42:59] and it's being embraced by our staff and
[1:43:01] students. And then you can see uh DB
[1:43:03] Todd um has done some work in their
[1:43:06] grade 8 elective program and they're
[1:43:08] going out on uh monthly field trips uh
[1:43:10] with that and because there's a rotation
[1:43:12] in electives at grade 8 they're being
[1:43:14] able to take all all the groups out on
[1:43:16] the land and they're learning about
[1:43:18] indigenous culture and um it's something
[1:43:20] that's very very positive and you can
[1:43:22] also see up there that
[1:43:30] I missed I missed slide. That's my
[1:43:32] fault. So this is Dutch this is Duchess
[1:43:34] Park and Duchess Park um had a grade
[1:43:37] six7 um camp and they had it uh in the
[1:43:42] month of October and what they did was
[1:43:44] they invited their foundation uh schools
[1:43:45] and we've kind of seen this at a couple
[1:43:47] of different places around and what
[1:43:49] they're doing is that they're teaching
[1:43:50] indigenous knowledge um to kids in kind
[1:43:54] of like a kind of like a almost like a
[1:43:56] sports day thing where they go around to
[1:43:57] different stations and learn about and
[1:43:59] this is of course supported by our
[1:44:01] indigenous ed um staff, but as well as
[1:44:04] the school staff as well. And here is
[1:44:06] the DB Todd one. And I I talked about
[1:44:09] the field trips out there, but I also
[1:44:11] get to uh talk about one of our uh local
[1:44:14] leaders in Leona Prince. And Leona
[1:44:17] Prince um was, you know, honored uh
[1:44:20] through a DBT experience where they um
[1:44:23] where they where they um
[1:44:26] what did they do? We did some artwork
[1:44:27] with her and then she was so impressed
[1:44:29] with it that she came out and she
[1:44:31] presented to the kids. And so these are
[1:44:33] some of the things that DP Todd has and
[1:44:35] this is just a random sample like we
[1:44:37] could ask um we could ask any of our our
[1:44:40] schools to be able to present and they
[1:44:42] would be more than willing to share this
[1:44:44] information. Um and so it is exciting to
[1:44:47] see truth and reconciliation happening
[1:44:49] on a daily and weekly basis in our
[1:44:51] schools.
[1:44:54] » There you go.
[1:44:55] >> Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to
[1:44:58] » Thank you. Um thank you. So um over to
[1:44:58] well all well this is fine and so is um
[1:45:00] equity um equity of access or equity um
[1:45:03] actually want to go back one. So I know
[1:45:05] that you've all um heard about you know
[1:45:08] you know about the feeding futures
[1:45:10] program and the importance of ensuring
[1:45:11] that we have um food available for kids
[1:45:13] and nutrition just to prepare for the
[1:45:15] day. So I thought I'd just give a quick
[1:45:16] quick summary of sort of what we're
[1:45:18] doing with that program. um our our
[1:45:22] service delivery for food to students.
[1:45:24] It sort of has a three-pronged approach.
[1:45:25] One, we have school-based lunches.
[1:45:27] School-based lunches are those that
[1:45:29] schools can prepare at on their own.
[1:45:31] They have the, you know, the facilities
[1:45:32] that they can prepare them for their
[1:45:34] kids themselves. We have the centralized
[1:45:36] lunch program and that's the one that's
[1:45:38] out of PGS where um we have meals
[1:45:40] workers that make centralized lunches
[1:45:42] and then we deliver it to schools for
[1:45:44] those schools that don't have the
[1:45:45] ability to make their own lunches. And
[1:45:47] then there's a hybrid model where
[1:45:49] there's a centralized lunch program, but
[1:45:51] trying to get breakfast also served um
[1:45:54] to students or breakfast is a
[1:45:56] combination of breakfast or some kind of
[1:45:57] a snack or something to eat in the
[1:45:59] morning. Um you heard earlier about long
[1:46:01] bus rides and that kind of thing. Um we
[1:46:04] do have um some some zones in our city.
[1:46:07] We're a we're a pretty expansive I think
[1:46:09] we traveled over 10,000 kilometers a day
[1:46:11] in buses um when it comes to the kids
[1:46:14] that we we deliver. So, um, imagine a
[1:46:17] child that has to get up at 5:30 in the
[1:46:18] morning to get to the bus stop by 7 to
[1:46:22] take an hour a long bus to, you know, to
[1:46:24] be here by 8:00. Well, that's a long
[1:46:26] time in the morning. So, we're trying to
[1:46:28] provide equity-free, stigmafree kind of
[1:46:32] food to kids. If you're hungry, just go
[1:46:33] eat, right? And make it accessible. So,
[1:46:36] um, and we call that the grab and go
[1:46:38] program. So, here are some numbers. So
[1:46:41] the 1,10
[1:46:43] number, that number represents the
[1:46:46] school-based lunches served daily. The
[1:46:49] 2,367
[1:46:51] number are the breakfasts, the grab and
[1:46:53] goes. And the 620 lunches are roughly
[1:46:56] the centralized lunch program that we
[1:46:58] deliver every day. Now, those aren't
[1:47:00] exact numbers, but it kind of gives you
[1:47:01] an idea. They're pretty close um as to
[1:47:04] how many kids that we're serving and and
[1:47:05] feeding every single day. And it's um it
[1:47:08] warms your heart because you think
[1:47:10] before we were doing this maybe kids
[1:47:11] were going hungry and it's just nice to
[1:47:13] know that that their nutrition um needs
[1:47:15] are being met in schools. Um here is a
[1:47:19] picture of some of the grab and goes. So
[1:47:21] the first one is over at Glen View. Um
[1:47:24] the middle one is at Springwood and the
[1:47:25] last one over there. But basically just
[1:47:28] putting out cards, putting out food,
[1:47:30] kids can come by and just grab things.
[1:47:32] They're hungry and and they can eat
[1:47:33] before they go to class. Um, we really
[1:47:36] want to make food delivery barrierfree.
[1:47:38] Um, sometimes there are wonky systems in
[1:47:40] schools where um, in order to get
[1:47:42] something, you got to go to this person
[1:47:43] and then to that person. Well, kids
[1:47:44] don't want to do that and that creates
[1:47:46] stigma. So, how do we just simply
[1:47:48] deliver kids to, you know, kids that are
[1:47:49] hungry. Um, and that's sort of what
[1:47:51] we're trying to do in that feeding in
[1:47:53] that feeding futures program. Um the
[1:47:56] next part is wellness and I I had I had
[1:48:00] TJ said um can you provide sort of some
[1:48:02] of the wellness stuff that you're doing
[1:48:04] at your school. Um and he sent a few um
[1:48:07] slides around community wellness like uh
[1:48:10] student wellness and family wellness
[1:48:12] kind of some of the stuff that they're
[1:48:13] focusing on. Here's the picture of his
[1:48:15] youthare workers who run just groups and
[1:48:18] individual sort of sessions for
[1:48:19] students. Um of course youth care
[1:48:21] workers can't do the work that
[1:48:22] counselors do. counselors are the deeper
[1:48:24] dive um sort of you know social
[1:48:27] emotional therapeutic realm but the the
[1:48:29] youth care workers have an important
[1:48:31] role in supporting kids. Um he's got a a
[1:48:34] section of nutritional wellness where
[1:48:35] IWS teach students how to grow different
[1:48:38] food and the nutritional value of
[1:48:39] different food. Um the students harvest
[1:48:42] it and the chef uses it in their
[1:48:43] lunches. NO is one of those places that
[1:48:45] can do 150 160 lunches daily because
[1:48:48] their kitchen is set up to do so. Um,
[1:48:52] they have a cultural wellness here where
[1:48:54] the IWS hosted an engagement and this is
[1:48:57] cool. I missed this cuz I was in
[1:48:58] meetings, but they have they were
[1:48:59] processing and smoking and cooking moose
[1:49:01] uh moose meat. The families received a
[1:49:03] portion and then they did the same thing
[1:49:05] in September with salmon, but you can
[1:49:07] see some of the pictures here in their
[1:49:08] smokehouse and and you know the families
[1:49:10] that are coming in to learn how to
[1:49:12] prepare and harvest moose meat. Um and
[1:49:15] then the last one is just a picture of
[1:49:16] their of their um family room where
[1:49:18] families can gather. A nurse
[1:49:20] practitioner is available one day a week
[1:49:22] to support families with health care
[1:49:23] needs and carers county. I thought this
[1:49:25] was you know I didn't expect it but car
[1:49:27] uses the room to support families with
[1:49:29] their taxes and other needs. So um just
[1:49:32] trying to provide as much support for
[1:49:33] families in that inner city that that
[1:49:34] that they can. So all part of the the
[1:49:37] wellness that they own. um for equity.
[1:49:41] Um this was cool cuz I I I was out at NO
[1:49:44] Lake and started just chatting with kids
[1:49:46] and they started talking about this
[1:49:48] their job and I thought what do you mean
[1:49:50] their job? Like there were about six or
[1:49:52] seven kids talking um well they want to
[1:49:54] raise money to go to some camp the grade
[1:49:56] seven trip at the end of the year. So
[1:49:58] the grade sevens um have formed this you
[1:50:00] know with a parent volunteer have formed
[1:50:02] this little group where the community
[1:50:04] hires them. So, they go out, the
[1:50:06] community hires them to do jobs, and
[1:50:08] they've raised I think about $800 so
[1:50:11] far, but this is from um the parent
[1:50:13] volunteer that helps organize this. So,
[1:50:15] please find the next pictures of some of
[1:50:17] our grade sevens working towards um
[1:50:20] their grad fundraiser.
[1:50:22] I'm so proud of how these kids have been
[1:50:24] getting together and working so hard. It
[1:50:26] is rewarding to watch them see each
[1:50:27] other in different environment and have
[1:50:29] them work out their interpersonal
[1:50:31] challenges and start seeing the value
[1:50:33] everyone brings to the table in their
[1:50:35] own way. Looking at each other in a new
[1:50:37] light and working towards a common goal
[1:50:39] has been building mutual respect and
[1:50:41] acceptance between the group. The
[1:50:43] leadership and collaboration skills they
[1:50:45] have been displaying is wonderful to
[1:50:46] watch. some skills they have been
[1:50:48] working on. Proper etiquette on
[1:50:50] handshakes and introductions to a new
[1:50:52] employer as well as proper goodbyes.
[1:50:55] Listening and taking directions from an
[1:50:56] employer, time management and job
[1:50:59] prioritization. The employer gives them
[1:51:01] several jobs and is up to the kids to
[1:51:03] manage their time and build teams or
[1:51:05] work alone depending on the needs of the
[1:51:07] task. Cleaning up after themselves,
[1:51:09] putting tools away and performing their
[1:51:11] work safely and efficiently. Um, so in
[1:51:14] the pictures, you know, they were
[1:51:15] cleaning out horse stables, they were
[1:51:16] pulling carrots out here, u working with
[1:51:19] animals, just a variety of things that
[1:51:21] the new goal community is hiding hiring
[1:51:23] these kids to do, which is just pretty
[1:51:24] cool. Um,
[1:51:27] they're also, um, running a lot of
[1:51:29] accessibility work there. Um, and some
[1:51:32] of the things that they're doing to
[1:51:34] facilitate equity and accessibility, um,
[1:51:37] they're on a two-year cycle of
[1:51:38] instruction around a home alone course
[1:51:41] and a babysitting course. So, all their
[1:51:42] kids in grade four and five get the home
[1:51:44] alone course and then in grades six and
[1:51:46] seven they do the babysitting course. Um
[1:51:48] there's a year they get swim lessons uh
[1:51:50] for two classes. In grades two to five
[1:51:53] uh with a regional district grant and
[1:51:54] some pack funds. They're offering the
[1:51:56] core curriculum. Um they're they're
[1:51:58] playing adaptive sports, wheelchair
[1:52:00] basketball, seated volleyball, heart
[1:52:02] judo, um physical health as part of
[1:52:04] their curriculum. Um they're part of the
[1:52:06] Blue Jays Career Foundation, girls at
[1:52:08] bat and rookies at bat. and they try to
[1:52:10] include all their strong start families
[1:52:12] in their school. So they don't want
[1:52:14] strong start to feel independent, right?
[1:52:16] It's not K to 7, it's actually preK to,
[1:52:19] you know, leaving Nougal [clears throat]
[1:52:21] Lake. So um just the way that they're
[1:52:22] trying to get people involved to do to
[1:52:25] be equitable there and have all these
[1:52:27] different experiences in a small rural
[1:52:28] school. Um
[1:52:31] the last uh the last school example I
[1:52:33] have um in this section [snorts] is um
[1:52:35] Hixit's intermediate classes grades four
[1:52:37] to seven went to camp trapping um and
[1:52:40] there were both indigenous and
[1:52:41] non-indigenous kids participated in the
[1:52:44] services that camp trapping had to offer
[1:52:45] and you guys may know that Clay Tate
[1:52:47] took over grant camping and and they
[1:52:49] sort of allowed our kids to access it
[1:52:51] and do some of the stuff um out there
[1:52:52] for land-based learning. The experience
[1:52:54] honored indigenous knowledge,
[1:52:56] perspectives, and land-based learning,
[1:52:57] and provided students with access to
[1:52:59] meaningful cultural opportunities they
[1:53:01] might not otherwise receive. Students
[1:53:03] engaged in activities such as archery,
[1:53:05] observing rabbit skinning, learning
[1:53:07] together in culturally authentic
[1:53:08] environment. All students were fully
[1:53:10] engaged and excited upon returning to
[1:53:11] the school. So, that's just some
[1:53:12] comments from the principal. And lastly,
[1:53:16] um I I thought this was really neat. So
[1:53:18] I could sit is another small school, 30
[1:53:20] kids. And um you know, you can see this
[1:53:23] closer, but one of the things that
[1:53:25] schools are also trying to get away from
[1:53:27] is just sandwiches like a a piece of
[1:53:29] bread with cheese and piece of baloney
[1:53:31] in the middle of turkey or something.
[1:53:32] How can we offer maybe some quality or
[1:53:34] some hot lunches or some so Hixon has
[1:53:37] been able to do that and I was blown
[1:53:39] away by their menu so I thought I'd
[1:53:40] share it. So, chili, grilled cheese
[1:53:42] sandwiches, egg and sandwiches, turkey,
[1:53:44] mashed potatoes, chicken quesadillas,
[1:53:46] chicken Caesar wraps, spaghetti and meat
[1:53:47] sauce, taco [snorts] salad. So, he's got
[1:53:49] this was the October menu for the kids.
[1:53:51] Um, what they're eating every day. So,
[1:53:53] they're getting quality hot food in the
[1:53:55] small rural place. Um, I just thought it
[1:53:57] was neat and kudos to that community out
[1:53:59] there. And that ends my portion of the
[1:54:02] presentation. Thanks. Thanks to the
[1:54:05] associate superintendents for the
[1:54:07] presentations. We appreciate it very
[1:54:08] much. Trustees, we're going to move on
[1:54:10] with uh number 11, 11.1 BC uh school
[1:54:14] trustee association. Trusty McCory,
[1:54:16] please.
[1:54:17] >> Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple
[1:54:20] » Thank you. Uh I'll there's a couple
[1:54:20] things I want to mention and maybe one
[1:54:22] should have been in school reports but
[1:54:24] myself and prestige Antrram in October
[1:54:28] were able to attend our BCSTA branch
[1:54:33] meeting which was a combination of
[1:54:36] Northern Interior Branch and Northwest
[1:54:38] Branch trustees gathering and we did
[1:54:41] that in Terrace um hosted by school
[1:54:44] district 82. Uh the actual
[1:54:48] uh weekend was great. We got Trustee
[1:54:52] Antrram. You did the school tour. I did
[1:54:55] not do the school tour because I used to
[1:54:56] be a trustee there. But um the other
[1:54:59] things that happened were there was a
[1:55:01] there was a superintendent panel and it
[1:55:03] was really informative about the
[1:55:04] different uh districts and what they're
[1:55:07] doing.
[1:55:08] There was a bunch of like mini
[1:55:11] presentations on recruitment and
[1:55:12] retention with the highlight being
[1:55:14] Katherine Whan who's a professor from
[1:55:16] UNMBC speaking about trends in the
[1:55:19] north. So that was really useful
[1:55:22] information that I will share out with
[1:55:23] the rest of the trustees. And um I'd
[1:55:26] just like to thank the host which was
[1:55:29] the chair of the Northwest branch who is
[1:55:33] Ed Harrison and Helen Gilbert who is our
[1:55:36] president of our branch for hosting us.
[1:55:38] It was a really good um event. Next,
[1:55:43] several of us at the end of the month
[1:55:45] will be going to the fall academy for
[1:55:47] the BCSTA in Vancouver and the agenda
[1:55:51] looks really good for that. So, I think
[1:55:54] there's four of us that are able to
[1:55:56] attend and I think we all look forward
[1:55:58] to that as well as superintendent will
[1:56:01] be joining us and that's all for me.
[1:56:04] Thank you.
[1:56:05] >> We're three
[1:56:13] You want me to make a motion?
[1:56:15] >> Yes, please.
[1:56:17] » Yes, please.
[1:56:17] >> May I put a motion forward, chair, to
[1:56:19] » May I put a motion forward, chair, to
[1:56:20] extend the meeting for half an hour?
[1:56:23] >> Second. And all in favor? We are
[1:56:26] » Second. And all in favor? We are
[1:56:26] extended till 8:30. Thank you. Uh we're
[1:56:29] going to move on to 11.2 District Parent
[1:56:31] Advisory Council. This is Trusty
[1:56:32] Holland, please.
[1:56:34] >> Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great
[1:56:36] » Yes, thank you. Uh there was a great
[1:56:36] presentation about um feeding good in
[1:56:39] schools by Harmon Kle.
[1:56:42] Thank you. Um they also had Sheldon
[1:56:45] Claire MLA speaking about parent
[1:56:46] advocacy uh by by Zoom or team I think
[1:56:50] this um he also noted that some of the
[1:56:52] schools in our district need to be
[1:56:53] upgraded. Uh but he said that the
[1:56:55] biggest thing parents can do is being
[1:56:57] involved, helping out, volunteering,
[1:56:58] showing up. There were some questions
[1:57:00] from parents about advocacy methods. He
[1:57:03] noted that nicely written me letters in
[1:57:05] the mail tend to get better responses.
[1:57:08] Um, it sounds like his office doesn't
[1:57:10] even look at templated emails. And he
[1:57:12] noted that rallies can be a double-edged
[1:57:14] sword. Um, you need to know what you
[1:57:17] want so that you can articulate it
[1:57:19] effectively and have very clear goals in
[1:57:22] mind. It was terrific to see all the
[1:57:24] representatives there both in person and
[1:57:26] many online. I spoke briefly about
[1:57:28] policy revisions and how we wanted to
[1:57:30] get these done by the end of the term
[1:57:32] which is coming up with our elections in
[1:57:33] October. And then after the media I also
[1:57:36] found out that I first met one of the
[1:57:38] DAC reps when she was a baby which was a
[1:57:42] surprise. So thank you.
[1:57:45] >> Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District
[1:57:48] » Thanks Trusty Holland. Uh 11.3 District
[1:57:48] Student Advisory Council Trusty Andrew
[1:57:50] please.
[1:57:51] >> Yes I attended the last uh district
[1:57:53] » Yes I attended the last uh district
[1:57:54] student advisory council meeting. I
[1:57:56] won't go over anything that was that the
[1:57:58] presenter did really well today
[1:58:00] articulating what they're working on,
[1:58:01] but as an observer of watching
[1:58:05] administration, staff and students and
[1:58:09] just my main comment is how well they
[1:58:12] work together, how well respectful
[1:58:15] students are, how respectful staff is.
[1:58:18] I see what I'm witnessing is
[1:58:21] staff and administration really trying
[1:58:23] to put more responsibility towards
[1:58:26] students and seeing them grasp that and
[1:58:29] take on more of a role and as much as
[1:58:32] staff can and and uh superintendent
[1:58:36] stepping back slowly and and seeing the
[1:58:39] students stepping forward. And so that's
[1:58:42] that that's really fantastic to see and
[1:58:44] and through the just the short years
[1:58:47] I've been here watching that I witness
[1:58:50] the growth and feel it and it's amazing
[1:58:52] for seeing those future leaders really
[1:58:56] taking that opportunity. So thank you to
[1:58:58] staff, thank you to the students and and
[1:59:00] really really neat and I'm looking
[1:59:02] forward to see where this goes.
[1:59:04] >> Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh
[1:59:06] » Thank you Trusty Hera. Appreciate it. Uh
[1:59:06] trustes go on to number 12
[1:59:08] correspondence. Uh you have a memo in
[1:59:10] your package. Uh the background is the
[1:59:12] attached correspondence been received or
[1:59:14] sent since the last public board
[1:59:15] meeting. There are two uh letter 251031
[1:59:19] teachers of the coral college Heights
[1:59:20] Elementary School. That one's been
[1:59:21] referred to the committee of the whole
[1:59:23] catchment and capacity. And the second
[1:59:25] one was 25102 email from Jess Kimon that
[1:59:28] was referred to district staff for
[1:59:30] action. So the recommended motion is
[1:59:31] that the board of education receive the
[1:59:33] open correspondence received and/or sent
[1:59:35] since the October 14th 2025 board
[1:59:38] meeting. and blueber trusty. Thank you.
[1:59:40] Seconded trustee Holland is all in favor
[1:59:44] and that is unanimous.
[1:59:47] >> Yeah, go ahead. Trusty
[1:59:48] » Yeah, go ahead. Trusty
[1:59:48] >> just to check we do have a date and time
[1:59:50] » just to check we do have a date and time
[1:59:50] for the committee of the whole catchment
[1:59:52] capacity. Uh how will that be sent out
[1:59:55] to the the partners that
[1:59:57] >> yes we will publish that for sure. Thank
[1:59:58] » yes we will publish that for sure. Thank
[1:59:58] you.
[2:00:00] >> Okay, we're going to go on in your
[2:00:02] » Okay, we're going to go on in your
[2:00:02] program to number 13. So I would take
[2:00:05] this ceremonial and then pass this
[2:00:07] twice.
[2:00:13] » The board policy on board operations uh
[2:00:15] states that annual elections must be
[2:00:17] held at positions of chair, vice chair
[2:00:19] and other provincial representation. So
[2:00:22] as the current chair has vacated the
[2:00:24] chair um staff will now call for
[2:00:26] nominations for the board chair. I'll do
[2:00:29] that in the absence of the
[2:00:30] superintendent. So I'd like to call for
[2:00:32] the uh first time for the position
[2:00:34] nomination for the position of board
[2:00:36] chair
[2:00:42] » like to nominate Craig Breny
[2:00:45] Bren. Do you accept the nomination?
[2:00:47] >> I do.
[2:00:49] » I do.
[2:00:49] I'm going to call a second time for
[2:00:51] nominations for the positions of board
[2:00:53] chair
[2:00:56] and a third time or nominations for
[2:00:58] position.
[2:01:00] See none, I declare trust colle.
[2:01:10] » Thank you. Thank you very much trustes.
[2:01:12] appreciate your support and I promise to
[2:01:14] try to do my very best and a special
[2:01:16] promise to Hannah
[2:01:18] next. [laughter]
[2:01:21] So trustees, we're going to go on then
[2:01:23] with the rest of our agenda. So we'll be
[2:01:24] moving to uh 14 election of the vice
[2:01:27] chair. So I'll now call for nominations
[2:01:29] for position for the position of vice
[2:01:32] chair.
[2:01:34] Trusty Andrum. Uh I'd like to nominate
[2:01:37] Erica.
[2:01:39] >> Trusty Mlean, do you accept the
[2:01:40] » Trusty Mlean, do you accept the
[2:01:40] nomination? Yes. Thank you. I'll call
[2:01:44] for a second time for nominations for
[2:01:45] the position of vice chair.
[2:01:50] I'll call for a third time for
[2:01:52] nominations for the position of vice
[2:01:53] chair.
[2:01:56] Seeing none, I will declare that trustee
[2:01:59] MLAN is acclaimed by acclamation as vice
[2:02:02] chair of the board of education, school
[2:02:03] district number 57, Prince George.
[2:02:05] Congratulations,
[2:02:10] trustees. We're going to go on to number
[2:02:12] 15. So this is the BCSTA Provincial
[2:02:17] Council. So I'll now call for
[2:02:19] nominations for the position of BCSTA
[2:02:22] Provincial Council.
[2:02:26] Uh Trusty,
[2:02:29] sorry. Vice Chair Mc
[2:02:31] >> like to nominate Char McCroy.
[2:02:33] » like to nominate Char McCroy.
[2:02:33] >> Trusty McCory, do you accept the
[2:02:35] » Trusty McCory, do you accept the
[2:02:35] nomination?
[2:02:36] >> Yes, I do.
[2:02:37] » Yes, I do.
[2:02:37] >> Thank you. I'll call for a second time
[2:02:39] » Thank you. I'll call for a second time
[2:02:39] for the nominations for the position of
[2:02:41] BCSTA Provincial Council.
[2:02:46] I'll call for a third time for
[2:02:48] nominations for the position of BCSTA
[2:02:50] Provincial Council.
[2:02:54] Seeing none, I declare that Trusty
[2:02:56] McCory is elected by acclamation as
[2:02:58] ECSTA provincial council of the board of
[2:03:01] education of school district number 57,
[2:03:03] Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee
[2:03:05] McCory.
[2:03:09] We're going to move on now to the
[2:03:11] election of the BCSTA Provincial Council
[2:03:15] Alternate.
[2:03:17] I now call for nominations for the
[2:03:19] position of BCSTA Provincial Council
[2:03:22] Alternate. Trusty McCory.
[2:03:25] >> I nominate Trusty Andrum.
[2:03:27] » I nominate Trusty Andrum.
[2:03:28] >> Trusty Andram, do you accept?
[2:03:30] » Trusty Andram, do you accept?
[2:03:30] >> Yes.
[2:03:31] » Yes.
[2:03:31] Thank you. I call for a second time for
[2:03:34] nominations for position of DCSTA
[2:03:36] provincial council alternate.
[2:03:41] I'll call for a third time for
[2:03:42] nominations for a position of BCSTA
[2:03:45] provincial council alternate.
[2:03:49] Seeing none, I declare that Trustee
[2:03:52] Entrum is collected by acclamation as
[2:03:55] BCSDA provincial council alternate of
[2:03:57] the board of education of school
[2:03:58] district number 57 Prince George.
[2:04:00] Congratulations, Trustee Andrew.
[2:04:10] » We'll go on to the next one. I believe
[2:04:11] is number 17. This is the BCPC
[2:04:14] representative. I'll now call for
[2:04:16] position nominations for the position of
[2:04:18] the BCPSA
[2:04:20] or BCPC representative.
[2:04:24] Nominations.
[2:04:25] Trust McCory.
[2:04:27] >> I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty
[2:04:29] » I'll nominate Trustee Holland. Trusty
[2:04:30] Holland, do you accept?
[2:04:32] >> Yes, I do.
[2:04:33] » Yes, I do.
[2:04:33] >> I'll call a second time for nominations
[2:04:35] » I'll call a second time for nominations
[2:04:35] for position of BCPC representative.
[2:04:42] » I'll call the third time for nominations
[2:04:43] for the position of BCPC representative.
[2:04:49] Seeing none, I declare that Trustee
[2:04:51] Holland is acclaimed by acclamation as
[2:04:55] BCPC representative of the board of
[2:04:57] education of school district number 57,
[2:04:59] Prince George. Congratulations, Trustee
[2:05:01] Holland.
[2:05:04] And last one is number 18. This is BCTC
[2:05:10] Representative Alternate. I'll now call
[2:05:12] for nominations for position of BCPC
[2:05:15] representative alternate.
[2:05:21] I think I see trusty Holland.
[2:05:25] >> I believe I will nominate Trusty Andrew.
[2:05:31] And you accept the nomination.
[2:05:34] >> Yes. [laughter]
[2:05:38] » I'll call the second time for the
[2:05:39] nominations. The position of BCPC
[2:05:41] representative alternate.
[2:05:46] I'll [clears throat] call for a third
[2:05:47] time for nominations for position of
[2:05:49] BCPC representative alternate.
[2:05:54] Seeing none, I declare the trustee
[2:05:56] Antrram selected by acclamation as the
[2:05:58] BCPC representative alternate of the
[2:06:00] board of education and school district
[2:06:02] number 57, Prince George.
[2:06:03] Congratulations, Trusty Antrum.
[2:06:09] » That concludes our election portion. So,
[2:06:13] we're going to move on to number 19. Uh
[2:06:15] everyone are we do not have a December
[2:06:17] regular public board meeting. The next
[2:06:19] regular public board meeting will be
[2:06:21] January 13, 2026.
[2:06:25] So that's a ways away. Um just mark that
[2:06:27] in your calendars. And I don't see
[2:06:30] anything else. So I will ask for a
[2:06:34] motion the meeting be adjourned at 8:06
[2:06:37] p.m. Could I get that loop? Trusty
[2:06:39] Holland. Thank you. Seconded Vice Chair
[2:06:41] Mane. And all in favor
[2:06:44] we are adjourned. Thanks everybody for
[2:06:46] your time sir.