Come September, Diamond Willow Middle School staff will either have moved to Ponoka Composite High School, Ponoka Elementary School, or another one altogether.
“We’re in the process of transitioning our staff,” said assistant superintendent Jayson Lovell.
In the fall, grades 7 and 8 will move to the high school and Grade 6 to the elementary school.
With the transition, some teaching and support staff have requested re-assignment, including being moved to schools outside of Ponoka, closer to their homes. “Two staff members we’ve already been able to move to other positions,” said Lovell.
However, he says a key point of the transition process is no final decisions will be made before April. “What we hope to see as the year unfolds and moving up to April is a smooth transition.
By June, Lovell says the teachers moving to the new schools will be in touch with resources and other staff members at the school, who’ll act as mentors, to make the move easier.
Another concern is making the move as undisruptive as possible for the students of the middle school.
“I think the move will be advantageous to the students,” said Huff, so requested a preliminary plan for what the programming in the high school will look like once the move is complete.
Approximately 130 to 140 students will move to the high school, resulting in the need for five to six new, full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers. Between 60 and 70 students will go to Ponoka Elementary School, leading to three FTE teachers.
Also, Lovell says discussions are underway to decide which support staff will go to which school to aid special needs students.
Blackfalds education discussions continue
The Red Deer Catholic School board has been invited to a meeting hosted by the Wolf Creek Public School (WCPS) board to discuss the need of another school and other mutual concerns.
Trustee Trudy Bratland believes a new school for Blackfalds is sitting around fourth place on the school board’s list of priorities.
The meeting is tentatively set for March 11, 12 or 14, 2013.
Extended retreat
A template strategy, presented Lovell, was accepted by the school board as information on Dec. 18 for their extended retreat planning.
The board’s first retreat wasn’t long enough for trustees to cover every topic they wanted to and the second retreat is in the early planning stages. “What we’re talking about is the purpose of the retreat,” explained trustee Barb Walker.
Trustee Karin Engen wanted to know if the template had to be incorporated into the board’s retreat and how it had to be implemented; if each item they talked about had to be managed through the strategy.
The template is a two-part strategy that begins with solidifying what information is needed for the future of public education, followed by small discussions from each superintendent past concerns and future directions.
Part 2 revolves around group discussions about how to effectively move into the future, action activities for the board. Based on part 1 the board would decide how to employ their decisions and realize what resources are needed.
Managerial processes need to be put in place and directions for working with other levels of education.
However, the board was told this template is for their consideration and nothing is set in stone.
“It’s my understanding that this is a template that could be used. This is a sample of how the retreat could unfold,” said trustee Bob Huff.
Eckville council created
After several years of operating without one, Eckville Junior Senior High has put together a school council.
“They have it off the ground. I look forward to seeing something going there,” said Engen, who’s attended one of their meeting. She’ll attend another meeting in January.
Maintenance report
Within the school division many projects to improve schools are underway.
At Lacombe Composite High School the installation of a Eco Grower in the students gathering area is underway. And at the upper elementary, painting of the classrooms is in progress.
Solar panels are being installed on the roof Ponoka Composite High School.
At Rimbey Junior/Senior High School, the gym is being painted.
Backstops at Eckville
Elementary were vandalized, resulting in $1,020 in estimated damages.
A motion sensor at the Clive School was damaged, leading to an estimated $110 in damages and $440 of an exterior mural cover was broken at JS McCormick in Lacombe. A window at the Rimbey Junior/Senior High School was broken, resulting in approximately $400 worth of damages.