It’s been a month chock-full of activity for the Board. On top of that, due to February already being a short month and Spring Break coming up, we have needed to compress all our meetings and activities into the first two weeks of March. Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be anymore snow on our horizon.
Mid-February snowstorms and icy roads led to school snow days; it was unclear until the very last minute whether we would even have our February board meeting, as the roads were still in question. As it stood, we were all able to make it, and the roads were cleared and ready for schools to open again the next day. Of course, the snow began again on Thursday evening and along with it, another Weather Alert. Luckily for the students, it was already a Pro-D Day.
The SCTA, however, had a spectacular District Day event lined up starting first thing Friday morning. As trustees had also been invited to this event, we all waited to see what awaited us the next morning. The snow was bearable and the District Day Pro-D event went forward, and it was wonderful! The Keynote Presenter, Shelley Moore, was both entertaining and informative. In addition to the keynote, Shelley Moore facilitated additional workshops on classroom planning strategies. Other workshops throughout the day included topics such as Maker Mindset, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Fun Teaching French, Teaching and Coaching Ultimate Frisbee and STEM. Dr. Evelyn Zellerer also spoke to the attendees on Conversations. The school trustees who were able to attend enjoyed the day immensely and we thank the SCTA for the invitation. It was a great opportunity to bring together knowledge and ideas for all.
On the 21st and 22nd of February, I attended the BCSTA Board Chairs Meeting and the Annual Partner Liaison Meeting. Both were very worthwhile events. The Chairs Meeting had speakers present on such topics as how boards can contribute to student achievement through policies and setting your board up for success. There were many break-out sessions, encouraging districts to learn from and share with each other. The Partner Liaison Meeting was a joint workshop with each district’s Superintendent, Secretary Treasurer and Board Chair. Each district was given assigned seating to make our table partnerships more diverse. We had the Hon. Rob Fleming, the Minister of Education, speak to us on the BC 2019 Budget and how education fits on the list. We had speakers on the Funding Model Review, Equity Challenges, Tripartite Agreement, and Bargaining. Each speaker held break-out sessions for table-talk. I am grateful for Superintendent Bocking and Secretary Treasurer Weswick’s presence, as they were monumental in my learning!
Lastly, many of the trustees and myself had the honour of attending Fiddler on the Roof at Chatelech Secondary over the last few weeks. There were a total of 66 students from grades 6 to 12, (56 on stage, 4 backstage and 6 in the band) in six performances over-all. I cannot even begin on how amazed I was by the performance! I know how hard these students (and of course the teachers behind the scenes!) have worked and have nothing but praise and adulation for their efforts! Bravo!