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May 17, 2013
Horizon School Division has been experiencing a lot of change recently. The purpose of this message is to attempt to summarize some of those changes and provide some perspective on what change is happening and why.
First of all, congratulations to all who participated in the First Annual Student Day hosted by the Horizon School Division Board of Education and held on Monday, May 6th! Highlights of the day, directly from student feedback, included the Student Senate presentation to the Board, Brian Trainor’s presentation on Cyber bullying and the entertainment provided by none other than Codie Prevost, SCMA award-winning artist! Overwhelming consensus – the first annual student day needs to become an annual event! Thank you to everyone involved but most especially the students, Board, Superintendent Hrynkiw for pinch-hitting for me due to my illness, and Ken and Marni Sogge!
We are very excited about the preliminary results from our Literacy Initiative - the students involved in this initiative are making significant gains in their reading scores! Congratulations to staff and administration at Punnichy Elementary School, George Gordon’s Education Center and Wadena Elementary School for their willingness to participate in the initiative and for their dedication and great work with all of these students.
Two evening session SCC workshops were held on April 29th and 30th to provide SCC’s with important information as well as some time to network. Those in attendance provided critical valuable feedback directing us to return to the format of the previous year with multiple concurrent sessions and more time for SCC interaction and networking. I want to reassure participants that your feedback was heard, understood and will be heeded for next year’s workshops!
We sincerely appreciate the efforts that are being undertaken in each school to convert the challenge of the PTR increase into an opportunity. From time to time, we are forced to deal with difficult challenges and this spring is certainly one of those times and an increase in PTR is a major challenge.
Still in the challenges mode, and related to the PTR increase and the unexpected closure of McLellan School in Young, I admit that we did not initially handle some aspects of the staffing challenges related to both of these factors as well as we should have. However, once we became aware of the concerns/ issues, we took the appropriate steps to ensure that dialogue and collaboration were once again the norm of “how we do things in Horizon”. I extend my sincere apologies to all those who were initially adversely affected by our misstep. It is my understanding that the more effective process has enabled a far better resolution for virtually everyone involved. Again I thank all staff for their patience and understanding as we strive to get better.
On Monday, May 13th, Principals, Vice-Principals and Learning Superintendents were fortunate to be able to spend an entire day with Dr. Leroy Sloan, the facilitator and consultant hired by the Horizon School Division Board of Education. Dr. Sloan’s message was dynamic and particularly relevant to the context of our school division. We are poised to take the next steps to move from good to great. In order to do so, we need to be prepared to renew our commitment to confront our brutal facts and get better. The day concluded with the provision of frank but critically important feedback from school administrators for the CEO and Executive Council. We look forward to acting on their feedback and inviting further dialogue as we strive to get better and become most effective and efficient in our
central office support of the great work that takes place in our schools.
Executive Council Review and Renewal is moving into its final phase. Focus Group feedback has been solicited and received and changes at the central office and executive council levels are underway. One major change has recently been announced – namely, the closure of the Wadena Office effective August 23, 2013.
Spring is the season for graduations – we extend to all graduands our congratulations and best wishes, along with our hope for an enjoyable, successful and safe graduation celebration!
Click Here to for a list of graduation dates for all of Horizon’s Schools
Budget development has been ongoing and continues – the Board must submit its budget for the 2013-2014 school year by the end of June. Our newly minted Chief Financial Officer is holding our collective feet to the fire to ensure alignment of expenditures to Board priorities as well as a renewed expectation for effective stewardship of scarce resources.
Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!
Puzzle:
A Memphis group wants the phone number 584-2263 because of the seven-letter phrase that the number spells. Can you figure out the phrase?
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