After a relaxing and enjoyable summer vacation, I want to welcome everyone back for another exciting and educational school year.
To all the new staff, students and families who are joining our schools in South East Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD), I want to particularly extend a welcome to you as you begin your educational journey with us.
The 2011-12 school year will see a continuation of many of the initiatives and priorities that were established last year. The overall goal of all these initiatives is to better assess and educate our students and prepare them for the future.
We will be continuing with our Three Priorities of Assessment, Math and Early Learning, as well as our Response to Intervention (RtI) model. With Assessment, work will continue on reporting more subjects based on outcomes as the curriculum changes. Those subjects will include: Math 10 and 20; ELA 10; Welding 10, 20 and 30; and Communications Media 10, 20 and 30.
Kindergarten will be piloting a report document and portfolio. Grades 1-5 will be fully implementing outcome-based reporting. We have developed folders for Grades 1-9 for their report cards, while the cover page has changed to reflect the feedback we have received.
We will be implementing Universal Screening in Grades 1-3 for reading to better assess where students are at in their reading ability.
All three strands of the new Math 20 curriculum will be implemented. Those strands include Foundations of Math, Pre-Calculus and Workplace and Apprenticeship. Each area is reflective of the necessary math skills required for a particular discipline, area of study and work area needed for post-secondary institutions and business and industry sectors.
A huge area for us this year is Early Learning and Care. South East Cornerstone will be assuming the role of Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP), which is a program that serves developmentally challenged children aged six and under in the SECPSD area.
Along with taking on this role, new Pre-K programs will be starting up in Arcola and Oxbow. We will also be working with a provincial committee on community engagement for early learning and preparedness of children.
It is definitely going to be an exciting and engaging year for us in South East Cornerstone Public School Division. I look forward to a successful and rewarding year for our students, staff and families across the southeast. Good luck to everyone!
Dr. Marc Casavant
Director of Education