DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT
training in new special education software, assessments, and intervention programs. Supporting students with special education needs is a priority. We ensure fairness and inclusivity, creating a sense of belonging, where students are motivated to meet their greatest potential. Support for struggling learners follows a ‘Response to Intervention’ approach which applies the appropriate Tier level of 1, 2, or 3. This is accomplished by having a process in place for in-school special education teams to monitor and assess student progress and make next step referrals to board level support and then to more focussed interventions provided by special Board programs, or agency partnerships. An area of great attention and focus this year has been on the OHRC Right to Read Inquiry and the benefit of a Structured Literacy approach to instruction. As we follow it closely we have begun the process of developing a 3 year early identification and intervention plan that will be initiated in the 2021-22 school year. Ensuring Continuous Renewal of Facilities The past year has been a very busy one for the Plant department as many projects were started that had been deferred from the previous year. Some of the larger projects included a complete retrofit of St. Patrick High School auxiliary gym, St. Ignatius High School front entrance and exterior retrofit and partial roof replacements at St. Paul, St. Bernard and St. Ignatius schools. There were many other updates including bathroom renovations, door replacements, front entrance improvements and classroom updates to various schools. A culture room at St. Ann School was completed with plans to add culture rooms to Bishop Gallagher and St. Jude schools in the next coming year. The Board received COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream (CVRIS) funding from the federal and provincial government. This one time funding was used to change the heating system at St. Jude School and to purchase water bottle filling stations for all schools. There was also an allocation of one time funding from the Climate Action Incentive Fund (CAIF) that allowed the Board to update boilers at St. Bernard and St. Pius schools. Ensuring Quality Technology Remote learning and the virtual school put an increased demand for student devices. As a result the Board had to purchase additional student devices to meet the demand for at home learning. An additional 680 devices were purchased so that the Board could ensure that all students had a device to learn from home. The Ministry of Education provided additional funding to help support the cost of the additional devices.The Board successfully completed the secondary school teacher device refresh as planned in year 4 of the Information Technology Plan. Permanent secondary teachers were issued an Acer Spin 713 Chromebook in return for end of life Macbooks. 120 Chromebooks were purchased to ensure all permanent SSPs had a device. Elementary teacher devices will be replaced with new Chromebooks in the 2021-22 school year. Administration is currently working on an updated 5 Year Information Technology Plan to present to the Board of Trustees in early 2022. Increasing Environmental Friendliness Schools continued to develop their gardens and bottle filling stations were added to reduce waste and highlight how an individual’s actions can make an impact on the environment. Health and Safety Performance Improvement Our Board values the health and safety of our students, staff and guests. In order to remain safe, and prevent injuries. With the onset of the global pandemic in March, 2020, the health and safety needs
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