December School Board meeting hears of seismic risk for Conrad School, disappointing results on proposed teacher training

After conducting a seismic study, SD52 has asked the province to add
Conrad Elementary School to the list of schools for their
Seismic Mitigation program

The Board of Education held their final Board meeting for 2019 last week, with trustees making note of a number of items for discussion and further follow up in the New Year.

Among some of the themes that came from the meeting, included a review of the recent assessment of Conrad Street School making use of the most current seismic standards, and from that assessment, the School District has determined that the all four blocks of the east side school have a high seismic risk. As a result of their study, the School District has now asked the Ministry of Education to add Conrad Elementary to their Seismic Mitigation program list.

The District's  plans for Teacher Training will be deferred just a bit, with Superintendent Irene LaPierre advising the Board that the program operated by Simon Fraser University did not have enough students to proceed with the Professional Linking program for Teacher training in January 2020. SFU is working with the district to have the program commence in September of 2020.

They had a bit more success with the Education Assistant Training program,  which the Superintendent noted will move forward through Coast Mountain College in the fall of 2020. The program will allow existing employees to upgrade their skills and will allow other community member to obtain the skills needed to fill vacancies for Education Assistant positions.

The unveiling of new Conrad mural will take place this week, with the school to host the celebration of the new artwork on Thursday, December 19 at 2PM.  The Board paid tribute to the work of Kelli Clifton and the many student helpers for their work on the new artwork for the school.

Work is complete on the new mural for Conrad Elementary
with the big reveal set for this Thursday afternoon
(Photo SD52)

Wheelchair Basketball was a theme for a presentation to the Board from James Wintle, the District's Occupational Therapist, who spoke about the Wheelchair Basketball Program that has been brought to the District by the Northern Adapted Sports Association (NASA).  He outlined how students and staff were challenged to participate in the sport, which levels the playing field for all participants. The activity was described as an excellent example of the use of Universal Design for Learning, one of the key strategies used in the District to ensure education is inclusive for all learners.

Board Chair James Horne observed on some of the experiences of those who participated in the program.

"Trustees shared the stories they heard of engaged and enthusiastic students who participated in wheelchair basketball. The board thanks Mr. Wintle for responding to the invitation from NASA and supporting the program in our district schools.”

The School District also set the course ahead for the Annual Budget Consultation process, which will feature a few changes from last year.

Included as part of the revised approach, will see the Board have individual partner groups making their presentations in a public setting.

The Board will also defer the third meeting to ensure that Ministry funding has been approved and all proposed spending or budget cuts can be announced in public prior to the Board's Budget debate.

The process will run from early February through to mid April on the following schedule.

As the month winds down the final day classes prior to the Christmas break will take place on December 20, with a return to classes set for January 6th.

You can review the full account of the December Board meeting here.

For more items of note on education in the region see our archive page here.