Grande Prairie Public School District
September 26, 2017
BOARD HIGHLIGHTS Central Office, 10127 120 Avenue, Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 8H8
The Grande Prairie Public School District is a learning community in which every student succeeds BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD CHAIR John Lehners BOARD VICE-CHAIR JoAnn Cazakoff TRUSTEES Brenda Howard Paulette Kurylo SUPERINTENDENT Alexander McDonald ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT, SECRETARY-TREASURER Jeff Olson ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Nick Radujko ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF PROGRAMS & PLANNING James Robinson ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, STUDENT SERVICES Christina Farquharson
UPCOMING DISTRICT DATES
District Elementary Fun Run
Staffing and enrolments
Superintendent McDonald reported on the annual GPPSD Elementary Cross Country Fun Run for students in K-6 and their families. It was held on Saturday, September 23rd at Muskoseepi Park. Thank you to James Robinson, Assistant Superintendent of Programs and Planning and Douglas Tordoff, teacher at Swanavon School for their coordination of the event during a busy time of the school year. Special thanks also go to the administrators and staff from Swanavon School, Aspen Grove School, Derek Taylor School and Hillside School for their support in making the event a success.
Since the last meeting, Superintendent McDonald noted that our enrolments have held relatively steady, and the increase over the prior year enrolments remains higher than anticipated. In particular, the increase in the number of students new to the District this year, and the number attending Charles Spencer High School for grades 9-12 French Immersion was discussed by Trustees. After our final enrolment figures are submitted on September 30, 2017 to Alberta Education, he will provide a final report on enrolments. To date, GPPSD has added 5.5 teachers at the K-8 level to address class sizes at these grades and 1.0 teacher at the 9-12 level to address class size concerns at the high school level.
Principal’s Meeting
Multi-Grade classrooms in GPPSD
REGULAR BOARD MEETING Tuesday, October 10, 2017 06:00 p.m., Central Office
Superintendent McDonald provided Trustees with an overview of the content discussed at the September principal’s meeting. A review of the school year start-up procedures, and the effective start to the school year across District schools, was discussed. In addition, the work District and school administrators and teachers have done to create common understanding about the implication of the new limits on teacher instructional time and teacher assignable time, which are a result of the provincial collective bargaining process, was shared with Trustees.
Let’s Connect:
GPPSD2357
www.gppsd.ab.ca
Superintendent McDonald provided information for Trustees regarding the use of multi-graded classrooms in GPPSD. Discussion occurred about best practices for structuring classrooms and shared a document with Trustees that outlines the types of considerations and support that factor into creating multi-grade classrooms in the District. Kim Frykas Director of Instruction, collaborated with the administrative staff at I.V. Macklin School to build the document for teachers, administrators and parents on this topic that was shared with Trustees. The Multi Grade Classrooms in GPPSDInformation for Parents document addresses myths and realities about multi-grade classrooms and it will be made available to parents in schools and through the GPPSD website.
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