Inside
u NEWS Court ruling could affect Kitimat, P. 2 u SPORTS River Kings in lead, P. 23 u NEWS Battle on to save jobs, P. 3 u CLASSIFIEDS, P. 15-20
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Published by Black Press Ltd. at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, B.C.
FRIDAY, November 27, 2015
Volume 10 Issue 23
Just go to: http://www.terracestandard.com/ holiday_greetings/
TMC 20,200
Aboriginal grad rates improving
Fill your boots …
By Alicia Bridges
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
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THORNHILL – Members of the Thornhill Firefighters’ Association, in conjunction with Thornhill businesses, held their annual boot drive Nov. 20-21 to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Canada. Northern Motor Inn manager Kevin Choi makes a donation to firefighter Graydon Prosser. Nearly $1,500 was raised. The Northern Motor Inn, Thornhill Pub, Copperside Foods and the Thornhill Meat Market were among those businesses combining their efforts with the firefighters.
MORE ABORIGINAL students are graduating from the Coast Mountains School District, revering a downward trend dating back to 2009. The graduation rate for aboriginal students in was 62.2 per cent for the school year ending last June, up from 43.7 in 2013-014. School district superintendent Katherine McIntosh attributed the change to three strategic changes, starting with an increased focus on assessing students’ progress and intervening when needed. It is because of “the fact that we’ve taken an in-depth, renewed focus on figuring out where kids are at with their learning and then designing those interventions,” she said. “We are starting to take a really deep look at it and talk about it, right down at the classroom and school level, not just at the district level, I think that has contributed significantly.” The second involves creating new literacy and numeracy strategies, which are being prepared by teachers from within the school district. The third phase relates to engaging aboriginal students and ensuring their curriculum is relevant. To do that, the school district is working with University of Victoria indigenous education professor Lorna Williams. “[Williams] is working with us to understand who our aboriginal learners are
and what we need to do to ensure that they are successful,” said McIntosh. She said other measures to improve aboriginal graduation rates included helping teachers incorporate indigenous learning principles and developing shared goals in agreements with First Nations communities. School district principal of aboriginal education Agnes Casgrain said the school was also improving the teaching of aboriginal issues to all students. She is working with teachers to implement the new indian residential schools curriculum, which was a recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee report released in June. The curriculum developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee is currently being tested in Grade 5 classes. Next year it will be mandatory in Grade 5 classes and introduced in Grades 10, 11 and 12. Casgrain said the content is aligned with the ministry’s new curriculum for students in kindergarten to Grade 9, which includes First Nations education in every grade. “That’s been a real shift for us,” she said. “It has been taught before but it’s nice to have it in a very structured, strategic way.” B.C. auditor general Carol Bellringer has recommended the ministry collaborate with school boards, superintendents and aboriginal leaders to develop a strategy for improveemt.
WINTER 2016 LEISURE GUIDE IS IN TODAY’S PAPER WINTER PROGRAM REGISTRATION STARTS
Saturday, December 5 at 10 am at Riverlodge AND 1 pm at Tamitik
PROGRAMS INCLUDE: Swim Lessons • Preschool • Youth • Special Interest Workshops • Fitness • Lifestyle • Rentals
www.kitimat.ca • For more information call Riverlodge at 250-632-8970 or Tamitik at 250-632-8955