Divisions welcome new teachers, programs
- Details
- Published on Thursday, September 17, 2015
By Kira Paterson
The Neepawa Banner
There are a lot of changes in the school divisions throughout the area as the 2015-16 school year gets underway.
At Turtle River School Division (TRSD), they have an entirely new facility being built. Last spring, TRSD received a grant for up to $1.1 million to put towards the new building. It will be at Ste. Rose School and will be used for their new Vocational Program in Electrical Construction. The program will be for Grade 9 to 12 students and will provide training for in-demand trades. The division is very excited that they will be able to offer this program to the students in the schools and communities in the area.
Bev Szymesko, superintendent of TRSD, says that the enrolment has remained steady compared to last year. The predicted numbers were between 730 and 740 students, and they are right in that range.
Although they haven’t had a spike in the number of students, they have hired 12 new teachers and one new social worker. Szymesko says that a few teachers have retired and others have moved to different divisions, so these new teachers will be filling those positions.
Szymesko says that TRSD continues to focus on building literacy, providing quality education and giving the staff and students a positive and safe environment where they can work and learn.
There is a new superintendent at Rolling River School Division (RRSD); Reg Klassen retired last year and Mary-Anne Ploshynsky has taken the position. They also have 15 new teachers and have welcomed Westview Colony School to RRSD.
Onanole Elementary School is close to finishing a project they started three years ago. They are developing a natural playground, which is a new concept to the school division. It will include a hill with embedded slides, climbing boulders, a leaning tree, a sand pit and an amphitheatre with a garden and raised plant beds. Ploshynsky says that they anticipate the project to be completed by the last week of September.
As of right now, the enrolment at RRSD is 1,696, which is about 30 less students than last year.
Ploshynsky says that RRSD is committed to supporting students in reaching their full potential. They continue to work on literacy and numeracy skills so that their students have the skills to think critically and communicate, so they can positively influence their world.
