NNDSB Re-Elect Chair and Vice-Chair

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December 4, 2019–Last evening at theAnnual Organizational Meetingof the (NNDSB),Trustee Jay Aspinwasre-electedas Chairand Trustee John Cochrane wasacclaimedas Vice-Chair.

Chair Aspin expressed his gratitude to fellow Trusteesfor thesignificant timeand effort that has been spentworking together over the past year to move forward a number of Board initiatives.In addition to the decision to proceed with the closure ofWiddifield, the Board of Trustees havebegun moving forward with a new Multi-Year Plan,areview oftheorganizational structure, andrecruitmentof a new Director of Education.

Vice-Chair John Cochraneis confident in the commitment of his fellow Trustees andishopeful thatthe Board will be successful in moving the Parry Sound project forward.

“We have turned the corner – We are entering our 2nd year of significant reformation towards regaining the public trust and reputation of the.While, there is a significant amount of work to becompleted, this Board of Trustees have proven their abilityto move forward and makeinformeddecisions based on the bestinterests of our students and communities.”Jay Aspin, Chair

For more information, please contact:

MairghreadKnought
Information/Communication Officer

(705) 472-8170, extension 5010
Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

NNDSB to Hold Public Meeting and Re-Vote on Secondary School Consolidation

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August 14, 2019– The has begun implementing the recommendations contained in the Ombudsman’s Final Report.In addition toa number ofrecommendations for improved process and governance, the following recommendation was identified with respect to the Secondary School Consolidation:

“The should prepare a new final staff report that explains the additional information received in the summer of 2017 and that was discussed in private in September 2017. It should present the report to trustees as part of a public meeting, afford community members an opportunity to comment on it, and then take a new vote on the secondary school consolidation.”

The new final staff report and attached documentation will be presented to the Board of Trustees at a Special Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, August 19, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Following this meeting the report and attached documentation will be posted to the NNDSB website in order to provide the public with an opportunity to review and provide comments. Any received comments will be compiled and presented to the Board of Trustees at the September 10, 2019 Committee of the Whole beginning at 6:00 p.m. Parties who wish to speak to the secondaryschoolconsolidation will need to register with the Board Office by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, September 6, 2019.

The Board of Trustees will re-vote on thesecondaryschoolconsolidation at the September 24, 2019 Regular Board Meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m.

For more information, please contact: 

Mairghread Knought 
Information/Communication Officer 
 
(705) 472-8170, extension 5010 
 Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca 

Northern Secondary School New Logo

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June 24, 2019 – The Northern Secondary School NNDSB ‘Logo’ committee is pleased to share the new school logo of “The Stars”. “The Stars,” which appears in the middle of our logo represents the idea that we can all be stars, all be shining lights in the night, that we can reach for the stars to achieve our maximum potential. We are stars who will light the paths of others and fuel the imaginations of those who seek inspiration.

Both staff and students are extremely grateful to the members of the committee for their hard work and dedication to this project. The process of choosing a new name and logo took place over two y

ears, with a consultation process that has included students, staff, and community and alumni partners. Brandon Harvey, a graduating student, designed what we now call “The Stars” which consists of our school colours of red and silver and the spirit of our new name and school.

Stars are always a welcome sight in the sky, shining bright. That is how we all see our future here at Northern Secondary,bright, inspirational, and welcoming! It’s our time to shine, GO STARS!

For more information, please contact:

Laurent Paquette
Principal
Northern Secondary School
(705)-472-5322
Laurent.Paquette@nearnorthschools.ca

NNDSB Clarification on Redundancy Notices

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April24, 2019–It was necessary for The Near North District School Board to provide notification of potential redundancies to our Teacher Union partners on April 15, 2019 in accordance with the terms, conditions and inherent timelines of our collective agreements and established communication protocols.   

In the absence of GSN (Grants for Student Needs) announcements, the accompanying technical paper, various memos that confirm funding for the upcoming 2019/2020 from the Ministry of Education and in order to meet collective agreement  timelines, this notice of redundancy was estimated based on planning assumptions and factual information and data on hand at time of declaration.  Given the early date of needing to provide notification, the Attrition Protection funding to be provided in the GSN by the Ministry of Education is to protect staff impacted by proposed changes to class sizes has not yet been factored into the estimated declaration of redundancy.  

It is anticipated that confirmation of funding for the 2019/2020 school year is to be released from the Ministry of Education, by the end of the month.  This funding information and documentation is central to the work of Senior Administration, when determining precise budget and staffing implications for the year ahead. Once this information is available, the required analysis will be completed.    

We are hopeful that once the Ministry of Education releases the information and documentation necessary for our next steps, these numbers of redundancy will be modified.     

The Board remains committed to high quality programming opportunities for the students of the District.  

For more information, please contact:

MairghreadKnought
Information/Communications Officer

Tel: 705-472-8170 ext. 5010
Email:Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

NNDSB Offers Free Tech Connect Sessions for Parents

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April 23, 2019 – The Inclusive Education Technology Systems Teachers will be presentingTech Connect; An Evening of Learning for Parents, Supporting the Success of ALL Students.

Tech Connect will give parents the opportunityto learn about assistive educationaltechnology available and supported in the , including technology that can support their child’s success. Parents of students with a learning disability may be particularlyinterested in the evening.

Sessions will be offered throughout the district on the following dates:

West Region

Tuesday April 30th, 2019 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Parry Sound Public School, 21 Beatty Street, Parry Sound

East Region

Tuesday May 7th, 2019, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Almaguin Highlands Secondary School. 21 Mountainview, South River

North Region

TuesdayMay 14th, 2019, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Widdifield Secondary School, 320 Ski Club Rd, North Bay

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Rogers
Inclusive Technology Teacher

Phone: 705-571-1610
Email: Lisa.Rogers@nearnorthschools.ca

 

Board Expected to Approve W.J. Fricker Grade 8’s to Widdifield

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At its January 22, 2019 Regular Board Meeting the will consider a motion keeping Widdifield Secondary School and W. J. Fricker open for the 2019/2020 school year as well as transitioning the graduating Grade 8 students from W.J. Fricker to Widdifield Secondary School as in past years. This proposed motion was unanimously agreed to at the board’s Committee of the Whole meeting last night.

“The Board had a comprehensive discussion on the issue and were fully in agreement with the staff recommendation. It is in the best interest of our students to maintain quality programming in all schools while the Board awaits information from the Ministry and the Ombudsman’s report regarding the 3:2 consolidation. We were cognizant of the timelines for course selection and the need to have information communicated to students and parents in a timely manner.” Jay Aspin, Chair.

The temporary closure of W.J. Fricker to accommodate the construction of the new building will be delayed. Although the funding has been approved by the Ministry of Education, there are a number of procedural requirements relating to procurement’s and cost consultants that must be completed and approved by the Ministry before the project can proceed. Considering the current status of this project the initial time line is no longer attainable.

For more information, please contact:

Mairghread Knought
Information/Communication Officer

P. (705) 472-8170, extension 5010
E. Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

New Chair and Vice-Chair for NNDSB

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November 5, 2018 – Last evening at theInauguralMeeting of the (NNDSB),Trustee Jay Aspinwas acclaimed as Chairand Trustee John Cochrane was elected as Vice-Chair. Both Trustees bring a wealthof knowledgeand experience to their new roles.

Mr.Aspinserved as a Trusteefor the NNDSBon two separate occasions forseventermsandCouncilor on North Bay City Council for eight terms. Recently he served as the federal Member of Parliament for Nipissing-Timiskaming region. His extensive experience has prompted leadership roles as the President of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM),President of the Northern Ontario School Trustees Association (NOSTA), Chair of the and Chair of the Aerospace Caucus in the federal parliament of Canada.

Mr. Cochranehasvolunteered in a variety of positions in the educational sector for many years. More recently, this summer marks the end ofhistwelveyears as a governor on the Cambrian College Board of Governors, on whichhefulfilled a variety of roles including governor, Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and a term as Chair of the Board.

For more information, please contact:

Mairghread Knought
Information/Communication Officer

(705) 472-8170, extension 5010
Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

NNDSB Trustee Candidates Meet and Greet

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The Parent Advisory Councils for the North Bay Secondary , with the support of the , have organized a School Board Trustee Candidate Meet and Greet. This event will occur on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the West Ferris Secondary School Auditorium located at 60 Marshall Park Drive. The candidates will each have five minutes to address the audience as a whole to outline key issues and their reasons for running. Afterwards there will be an opportunity to speak with the candidates to ask questions of your own. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

For more information, please contact:

Mairghread Knought
Information/Communications Officer

Tel: 705-472-8170 ext. 5010
Email: Mairghread.Knought@nearnorthschools.ca

West Ferris Intermediate Secondary School High Altitude Balloon Launch

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The students in the Grade 11 University Physics Class at West Ferris Intermediate Secondary School in North Bay, Ontario will be launching a weather balloon into Earth’s Stratosphere with a payload of camera-toting mini computers and radio tracking equipment. The launch procedure is weather dependent, and so the exact launch date has not been confirmed. However, it is anticipated that the launch will take place between October 9th and October 31st from the football field at West Ferris Secondary School. Once the launch date is finalized information confirmed the exact launch date and time be issued 72 to 48 hours prior to the event.

The purpose of the mission is to observe and record the journey to near space using in-flight radio transmissions of GPS location, data, video, and images. The balloon is expected to explode at an altitude of just over 30km, at which point a parachute will deploy and the payload will descend back to Earth. The flight is expected to take a total of about 3 hours. Data from the flight will provide experimental results and serve as an anchor activity providing authentic context to course materials.

The students of the Grade 11 University Physics class will track the balloon’s flight path in chase cars, with reception assistance provided by the North Bay Amateur Radio Club. The goal is to retrieve the payload post-flight, along with its cache of data, video and images. This activity is called High Altitude Ballooning (HAB).

For more information, please contact:

Kelly Shulman (VE3KLX)
West Ferris Intermediate Secondary School

P. 705-475-2333
E. kelly.shulman@nearnorthschools.ca

Director of Education Response to Candidate Media Release

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Earlier this week articles were published in local media sources based on a media releaseissued bya candidate for the Board of Trustees. The media release contained a number of statements with respect to the current and future employment of the Director of Education with the . This information contained below is in response to those articles and is being issued for clarification purposes.

Mr. O’Hagan contacted Ms. Young this summer and requested a meeting to discuss issues and priorities for the . However, as Mr. O’Hagan was and is currently a candidate for Trustee, his request for a meeting was declined. During the election campaign period employees of the Board, including the Director of Education, must remain non-partisan in order to ensure the integrity of the election process and our residents democratic rights. Requests for meetings from other candidates and for information that is not readily and/or publicly available have also been declined.

The Director of Education and Board staff are looking forward to working with all elected Trustees to ensure that the Board remains accountable to students, parents and community partners. Openness and transparency are at the core of public government and Ms. Young is supportive of all initiatives that uphold these values.

“We have a large number of schools with talented students, excellent teaching staff and leading-edge technology and programming. Our focus at the administrative level is, and has always been, ensuring that we provide our students with the education, opportunities, resources and supports they need. Any review of our office and our efforts either externally or internally is, and always, has been welcome.”– Jackie Young

Ms. Young was contacted by media sources for comment on Mr. O’Hagan’s media release but unfortunately could not address the timelines offered in time for publication.

For more information, please contact:

Mairghread Knought
Information/Communication Officer

(705) 472-8170, extension 5010
Mairghread.knought@nearnorthschools.ca

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"We acknowledge in a good way, the original people of the land here"
We value the cultures, histories and relationships with the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America)

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