“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” Matthew 24:32 We gathered together to bid farewell to the 2018-2019 school year on June 18, as the Board of Trustees held its last meeting of the year. The packed agenda included the approval of the 2019-2020 District budget, the District’s submission for the ASBA Innovation and Excellence Award and the appointment of a Chair and Vice-Chair for the upcoming school year amongst other things. The Board of Trustees wishes all of our Edmonton Catholic School family a beautiful summer and thanks each and every one of you for a successful school year! Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education Recognition: Tonya Byrne The Board of Trustees welcomed Tonya Byrne of St. Monica Elementary School and recognized her for receiving a Certificate of Achievement for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Recipients of these awards are honoured for their leadership, exemplary early childhood practices and their commitment to help build the foundation children need to make the best possible start in life. Congratulations, Tonya! We recognize and celebrate this tremendous achievement! Ward 71 TERRY HARRIS Cell: 780 937-8268 [email protected]Ward 72 • (Vice-Chair) SANDRA PALAZZO Cell: 780 965-6083 [email protected]Ward 73 CARLA SMILEY Home: 587 408-3589 [email protected]Ward 74 DEBBIE ENGEL Cell: 780 970-7160 [email protected]Ward 75 ALENE MUTALA Cell: 780 242-5926 [email protected]Ward 76 LISA TURCHANSKY Cell: 780 903-2033 [email protected]Ward 77 • (Chair) LAURA THIBERT Cell: 780 231-6312 [email protected]
Transcript
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.”
Matthew 24:32
We gathered together to bid farewell to the 2018-2019 school year on June 18, as the Board of Trustees held its last meeting of the year. The packed agenda included the approval of the 2019-2020 District budget, the District’s submission for the ASBA Innovation and Excellence Award and the appointment of a Chair and Vice-Chair for the upcoming school year amongst other things.
The Board of Trustees wishes all of our Edmonton Catholic School family a beautiful summer and thanks each and every one of you for a successful school year!
Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education Recognition: Tonya Byrne
The Board of Trustees welcomed Tonya Byrne of St. Monica Elementary School and recognized her for receiving a Certificate of Achievement for the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Recipients of these awards are honoured for their leadership, exemplary early childhood practices and their commitment to help build the foundation children need to make the best possible start in life.
Congratulations, Tonya! We recognize and celebrate this tremendous achievement!
Walking Together in God’s Love: Juanita Bowman & the Father Michael Mireau Story
For the final tribute to our school year theme of “Walking Together in God’s Love,” the Board recognized former Edmonton Catholic School employee and current volunteer at Father Michael Mireau School, Juanita Bowman.
Since the opening of Father Michael Mireau School in September 2017, Juanita has made significant contributions to the school community. Every Wednesday Juanita volunteers her time to work one-on-one with students to support the development of their literacy and numeracy skills. The students truly feel her genuine care and love for them as she helps build their confidence. They even save schoolwork from the week to show her! Juanita has also been instrumental in the setup and organization of the school-leveled literacy intervention kits.
Furthermore, Juanita has demonstrated commitment to the overall success of the school by volunteering countless hours at numerous school events such as school council meetings, fundraising association meetings, book fairs, Glow Dance, Father Michael Mireau Spirit Day, Terry Fox Run, bottle drive collection and many more.
Juanita is reliable, dedicated, flexible and open-minded in her willingness to take on any task that is presented to her. She truly lives Edmonton Catholic Schools’ core values through her generosity, stewardship and commitment to a high-quality Catholic education.
Thank you to Juanita and all of our “Walking Together in God’s Love” tributes this year. We are so thankful for all your servant leadership in our school communities.
District Operating Budget 2019-2020
The Board of Trustees approved a District Budget for 2019/20 forecasting revenues of $526.2 million and expenditures of $527.8 million resulting in a $1.6 million operating deficit. District Accumulated Surplus funds were used to achieve an overall balanced budget of $527.8 million. A total of 78% of this budget goes to supporting students in the classroom.
The following are a few details from the 2019-2020 budget:
• Bus pass fees will increase by 5% but bus fees for yellow buses only will not be charged for students attending their designated school if the distance is 2.4 km or more. There are fees for Edmonton Transit passes. Click here for the 2019 – 2020 Bus Pass Fees Schedule • The budget allocates $27.3 million to support inclusive needs, resulting in a 7% shortage in funding • The District will add an additional $20.5 million to the funding provided by Alberta Education for Inclusive Education. This will allow schools to continue providing specialized supports
for students with unique needs.
The District continues to focus on finding efficiencies and regulating costs.
ECSD Submits Assistive Technology – Augmentative & Alternative Communication Strategy for ASBA Innovation & Excellence Award
The Board of Trustees supported the motion to submit the ECSD Assistive Technology – Augmentative and Alternative Communication Strategy for the ASBA 2019 School Board Innovation and Excellence Award. The award celebrates the value of trusteeship and recognizes the contributions of school boards to the quality of children’s learning experiences in Alberta.
The Assistive Technology – Augmentative and Alternative Communication Strategy is an excellent example of the transformative impact that can occur in a child’s life with the addition of assistive technology and augmentative and alternative communication when human resources are strategically deployed to build capacity in educational communities and to access externals supports for students.
The Board was joined by members of ECSD’s Learning Services Innovation department who presented to Trustees on the learning opportunities and importance of professional learning for all ECSD staff. The report reflects all departments representing professional learning opportunities that are made available to all employee groups.
With a focus on stewardship of learning, the District’s professional learning planning and programming seeks to place students at the forefront of our service. Professional learning extends far beyond sessions and in-servicing and is a commitment to refinement of practice, collegial conversation, ongoing research and implementation of promising practices.
Organizational Meeting
Following the regular meeting of the Board on Tuesday, an organizational meeting was held to determine the Chair and Vice-Chair for the 2019-2020 school year.
Both Trustee Laura Thibert, Ward 77, and Trustee Sandra Palazzo, Ward 72, were acclaimed in role of Board Chair and Vice-Chair respectively and will remain in their positions for the upcoming year.
Both Trustee Thibert and Palazzo look forward to representing ECSD in their roles again in the upcoming school year!
The next meeting of the Board will be held on September 24, 2019. This edition of The Messenger is from the June 18, 2019 meeting.
The Messenger: Notable News from the Board is published following the public Board meeting and is an opportunity for the ECSD Board of Trustees to communicate the accomplishments and pay tribute to the wonderful initiatives that our District undertakes. If you would like to view the latest Board meeting, here is a link to the webcast: https://www.ecsd.net/BoardofTrustees/Reports-and-Resources/public_board_meeting/Pages/Default.aspx
