KPDSB Chair and Vice-Chair Acclaimed, Trustee Appointments Announced
Media Release - December 13, 2017
Trustees of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board met at Dryden High School on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, for the inaugural board meeting.
The Board of Trustees acclaimed Trustee Dave Penney as Chair and Trustee Cecile Marcino as Vice-Chair.
The following Trustee appointments were made:
- Trustee Barb Gauthier was appointed to the Executive Committee for the period of December 12, 2017 to April 13, 2018, and Trustee Dave Wilkinson was appointed to the Executive Committee for the period of April 23, 2018 to November 30, 2018.
- Trustees Barb Gauthier, Roger Griffiths and George Seaton were appointed to the Audit and Finance Committees for a one year term.
- Trustees Jennifer Kitowski and Gerald Kleist were appointed to the Indigenous Education Advisory Council (IEAC) for a one year term.
- Trustees Lesley Barnes and Dave Wilkinson were appointed to the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) for a one year term.
- Trustees Cecile Marcino and Barb Gauthier were appointed to the Early Years Advisory Committee (EYAC) for a one year term.
- Trustees Lesley Barnes and Michelle Guitard were appointed to the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) for a one year term.
- Trustee Michelle Guitard was appointed to the Transportation Policy Committee for a one year term.
- Trustee Jennifer Kitowski was appointed to the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) Board of Directors.
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KPSDB Continues to See Enrolment Increases
Media Release - November 15, 2017
The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is pleased to report increased student enrolment for the 2017-2018 school year. The KPDSB for the first time in its history, will no longer be eligible for the “Declining Enrolment Grant” in 2017-2018.
The Board credits several factors for the increase in enrolment including its expansion of innovative student-based programs that increase student engagement and the efforts of front-line school staff to put the needs of students first. Additional acknowledgement must be given to ongoing and exhaustive efforts of administration to work closely with and sign formal agreements with Indigenous partners such as Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO), Seven Generations Education Institute (SGEI), and Lac Seul First Nation (LSFN).
Budgeted enrolment for the 2017-2018 school year was 4,842 students. Current enrolment for the KPDSB is 4,868, 26 students above the projected or budgeted enrolment.
Notable enrolment increases include:
- All Kenora elementary schools: Valleyview, Evergreen, Keewatin, and King George VI Public Schools are above projected and actual 2016-17 enrolments;
- Beaver Brae Grades 7/8 increased enrolment by 17 students;
- Golden Learning Centre in Balmertown is 17 students over budget;
- Sioux Narrows Public School enrolment at historic high; enrolment of 31 students;
- Lillian Berg Public School in Vermilion Bay, increase of 22 students over 2016-17;
- Queen Elizabeth DHS in Sioux Lookout is an additional 20 students higher than historic 2016-17 numbers with a total of 508; up from 396 students in 2013-14;
- Enrolment in Senior Kindergarten was 12 higher than projected at 296 students.
Sean Monteith, Director of Education, said “There are always compelling indicators that clearly and indisputably demonstrate the direction an organization is headed in. The enrolment growth in many of our schools and the enrolment picture across the Board is strong. The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board continues to strengthen and with that so does our responsibility to Northern Ontario children.”
The KPDSB is currently seeking applicants for employment in all positions and will hold Recruitment Fairs in communities across the board area following a successful event in Sioux Lookout on November 8. Upcoming events include:
- Dryden/Ignace/Vermilion Bay areas – December 11, 2017 at Dryden High School from 3:00pm to 8:00pm
- Red Lake/Ear Falls areas – January 10, 2018 at Red Lake District High School from 3:00pm to 8:00pm
- Kenora/Sioux Narrows areas – January 30, 2018 at Manidoo Baawaatig from 3:00pm to 8:00pm
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Open Roads Eats Local!
Our great new salad bar is receiving some attention! To read the full article, click here!
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KPDSB Accepting Applications for the Office of Trustee for Sioux Lookout
Due to a recent resignation, the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board will accept applications for the office of:
TRUSTEE
Representing the interests of ratepayers in:
SIOUX LOOKOUT
Term of Office: September 2017 to November 30, 2018
As per the Education Act, a person is qualified to be elected as a member of the Board if the person is,
- Canadian citizen;
- of the full age of eighteen (18) years;
- a resident within the area of jurisdiction of the Board; and
- a public school elector.
Applications to be submitted to:
Mr. David Penney, Chair of the Board
Keewatin-Patricia District School Board
79 Casimir Avenue
Dryden, Ontario P8N 2Z6
Closing Date for Applications is August 28, 2017
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School Starts on Tuesday, August 29th! Welcome Back from our Director of Education!
Back to School! Classes start on August 29, 2017!
Message from the Director of Education
What a "Back to School” message means depends a great deal on who you are, where you live and if you are around young people; whether that be as parents, grandparents, elders, teachers or community members. In the days ahead, the relaxed atmosphere of the dog days of July and August, transitions into cooler nights, shorter days, and kids with backpacks walking our sidewalks emitting the sounds of laughter. I always think of the parents of first year kindergarten students, and more specifically their emotions, as they send their greatest investment and achievements...their children, off to start school; and in doing so keeping in the back of their minds that 14 years from now they will hopefully graduate from high school.
As the proud Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, I write this annual message while sifting back and forth between looking out over my favorite Northern Ontario lake in Ear Falls, reflecting on the summer's events dominated by fishing and reading, and feeling the energy and invigoration that working in the service of children brings. I recognize I am biased, but in my own opinion there is no greater calling than EDUCATION.
September is almost here, and I welcome all of our students, staff and families back to our schools! Our schools in the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board are sparkling. Much capital work has been completed in Red Lake, Dryden, and Kenora; and work in Sioux Lookout on our new Sioux North High School has begun and is on track! There is a feeling in the air of excitement, enthusiasm, renewed energy and thoughts of the year ahead with all of the promise and hope that public education can bring….education truly is the great leveler of the field. And nowhere in this province of Ontario is education more important than right here in the Northwest.
September marks the beginning of new chapters for many students and families, but also for our staff who eagerly await the arrival of faces of young learners, looking to be inspired and they themselves inspiring those around them with stories of resilience and optimism.
The past year for us in the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board was a powerful reminder of what can be and what hard work and innovation can achieve, when we work together and think outside-of-the-box. I see our hard work and enthusiasm as absolute traits of us Northerners. I also want to take the opportunity to extend best wishes to all in the region for a successful year ahead, and specifically to the students, families and staff of the Kenora Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boreales, and Northwest Catholic District School Board. May we work together in a spirit of cooperation that supports all students in the name of public education, and as always, put their needs first!
As the Director of Education for the KPDSB, I assure all parents and students that our commitment to the needs of Northern Children, your children, remains resolved, determined and assuredly uncompromising.
Best wishes for 2017-2018.
Sean Monteith,
Director of Education
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