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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

and emergency response requirements for the Board became the primary focus. The Pandemic Committee was established and utilized to vet safety protocols and processes to support the safe reopening of schools during this unprecedented time. The Board maintained it’s monthly commitment to site inspections and ensuring safe learning and working environments for all in-person and remote learning periods. Additional COVID-19 processes and protocols were established in consultation with the Ministry of Education, Public Health Ontario and Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

Pandemic Committee

The Pandemic Committee was called into effect in March, 2020. The objective of the Pandemic Committee was to ensure clear communication, preparedness, effective problem solving and to support learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee works with all of our emergency response partners to mitigate the impacts on the school system including taking direction from the Medical Officer of Health and the Ministry of Education. The Pandemic Committee had frequent meetings throughout the 2020-21 school year in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with focus on measures for preparedness, safety, response and imminent recovery. The Board’s priority continues to be the health and safety of all students and staff. As a Catholic board, we embrace our moral imperative to ensure that our processes to achieve this responsibility meet best practice standards during the pandemic.

Ensuring Board Governance and a Balanced Budget

We continually implement and verify that we are in compliance with new Ministry directives and legislation. Together, our Board supports the work of our Trustees in the development and review of policies and procedural by-laws and through professional development sessions. Together, with the Senior Team, we implement the recommendations of the Operational Review, the internal and external audit committees, and Risk Management feedback in a timely manner.

Special Education

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. The Special Education 3 yr Plan includes the following priorities: Tiered Early Intervention including Structured Literacy and Math Interventions, Consistency in the monitoring and accountability of IEP development and implementation and the IPRC process and, implementation of Essential Skills programming at senior elementary and second level within special education programs.

The following actions were initiated in the 2020-2021 school year: Sound Skills PD to Kindergarten and Special Education teachers, K and Grade 1 Brigance and Sound Skills Screening and Assessment followed by the development of intervention plans for students identified at-risk, as well as a Math Pilot Intervention Plan that included various schools and grades and included intervention training for Student Support Persons. y in the monitoring and accountability of IEP development and implementation and the IPRC process and, implementation of Essential Skills programming at senior elementary and second level within special education programs.

The following actions were initiated in the 2020-2021 school year: Sound Skills PD to Kindergarten and Special Education teachers, K and Grade 1 Brigance and Sound Skills Screening and Assessment followed by the development of intervention plans for students identified at-risk, as well as a Math Pilot Intervention Plan that included various schools and grades and included intervention training for Student Support Persons.

Intake and Assessment, Early Years

This year our Board was funded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Children and Youth Services to Several methods of assessment are used in the early years, identifying next steps, further assessment, specialized intervention or ongoing monitoring. Ages and Stages Screening Tool, Sounds Skills Screener, Brigance screens and the updated, revised Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT- III), are some of the tools used to help identify academic strengths and weaknesses of a student, which helps to inform decisions regarding eligibility for educational services. During the school closure, Special Education teachers contacted each newly registered family and completed a condensed version of the ASQ to ensure that we were still prepared to meet the needs of our incoming students.

Students with Autism

This year our Board was funded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Children and Youth Services, to support the Ontario Autism Program. Much of the funding was used to support the training and professional development of staff, as well as the transitions of students from school to school. The funds also supported a Board Autism Consultant position and a School Based Behaviour Lead whom we contracted from a partner agency. This Lead was able to work with students with challenging behaviours, mentor board staff, and work directly with families to support in the home. Unfortunately due to a lack of supply staff, courses through the Geneva Center were cancelled and deferred to the 2021-2022 school year.

Communication and the Pandemic

Communication, especially throughout a global pandemic, remained a priority for our Board. Ensuring staff, students and families were aware of the changing situation was imperative. Positive communication continues to be of great importance. Utilizing various social media platforms, our website and SchoolMessenger, we continue to send informative messages and good news stories across our system.

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