September, 2024
September 2-6, 2024
Welcome Back!
Good morning, Horizon, and welcome to the most wonderful time of the year! I hope you had an amazing summer and found time to rest and relax surrounded by family and friends. I spent the first few weeks of July working but wearing my Canadian Association of School System Administrators (CASSA) and The School Superintendents Association (AASA) hats. It was great to be surrounded by my colleagues from across Canada and the USA, but I certainly enjoyed getting my camper out to Manitou for some relaxation of my own. I have been finalizing my dissertation with my university committee members and am still waiting to see if I have any further revisions or additions required. It has been a long haul, but I am beginning to see the light that will bring this learning experience to a level of closure.
I am always interested to hear how your summer went, so please don’t hesitate to reach out via email and let me know. You can also stop me in the hallway when I am in your school and share your experience. I know some of you were either starting or completing your own higher learning while others spent time doing “course corrections” using a ball and clubs. Others of you travelled the world or enjoyed a beach or fishing boat, while others just stayed at home tending to your gardens. Whatever your experience, I hope it provided you with what you need to do the most energy-laden job in the world: working for our students!
Making an Impact
Honestly, this first week of the academic calendar is my favourite time of the year! Our schools are teeming with the excitement only our profession can elicit. I hope the first few school days with our children were smooth and filled with anticipation for the year ahead. We're so happy to have all of you back, and we can't wait to see what amazing things you'll accomplish this year with our students!
We are excited to welcome several new principals and vice principals to our Directors’ Leadership Team. Although I know it would be somewhat overwhelming with the expectations dump they received, I know they were glad to have spent a day of collaborative learning together in August. At our DLT meeting, I challenged administrators to think deeply about the children in our classrooms or schools who appear on the outside to be okay but may be struggling with many things on the inside. These challenges can range from food security to trauma-related experiences, to learning difficulties, to mental health concerns. This list is far from exhaustive; I am confident you can add many additional challenges and needs to a list that our children experience. However, what it does is speak to the work ahead of us to meet the needs of every child…to look beyond a potential facade and speak and act into the heart of those who may not be able or willing to articulate their struggles. And so, this is my challenge to each of us…to “Make an Impact” for every child in our care. It is not good enough to impact most of our children; we must shoot for perfection. Every child needs us, and if there was ever a team of 1500 adults who could do it, it would be here in Horizon.
Horizon Focuses
I know the week before school, we benefited from hearing Cadmus Delorme speak about Truth and Reconciliation, an excellent note to begin our school year. Cadmus shares his story in such a way as never to lay blame but to ensure a clear expectation for the future. We are all part of that journey! Each of you was involved in Leading to Learn, which focuses on ensuring anti-oppressive, anti-racist environments for our students. I trust that it was a good beginning looking at Sign Post 1, and it reaffirmed many of the practices you are already focused on in your work. I also took the time to share some administrative pieces for the new school year, including two new mental wellness programs with which we will be involved this year. We are excited to bring the Project 11 initiative to Horizon. It was founded by the Winnipeg Jets and owner Mark Chipman in support of Rick Rypien, the former NHL player who suffered from depression and died by suicide more than a decade ago. This initiative is well-aligned to our Saskatchewan curriculum and is a great support tool for the mental well-being of youth. We are also implementing the STOPit organization to bring the HelpMe app to our schools, allowing students and parents to connect with professionals in times of need for many of the issues I referenced earlier. As the year continues, I look forward to sharing the details of this excellent tool with families throughout our school division.
Board Meeting
Our Board had a busy start to the school year, already engaging in their first meeting for 2024-25. You can read about their August meeting in the From the Board report. This month’s report includes pictures of each school’s Student Recognition Award winner from the 2023-24 school year and an update on the school projects in Lanigan and Kelvington.
Personal Electronic Devices
As you all know, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a new “cell phone” policy this summer, so we have spent time working on the administrative procedure and messaging to share with families. Although the mandate is new, limiting cell phones during class time is “old hat” for many, and I think that our teachers and schools are well-positioned to continue managing the needs in our classrooms.
Michif Program
We are fortunate to offer a Michif program out of Wakaw School, with support from the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan. Last year, we began the journey, and this school year will mark the beginning of a fully integrated kindergarten program directed at learning Michif. We look forward to seeing the results of this important program as the year unfolds.
Senior Leadership Team
Our SLT spent this past week doing some final critical planning while examining how best to support the needs of our ever-changing classrooms and schools. This work also included preparing the Directors’ Leadership Team professional development plans for the rest of the school year and discussing how we will ensure our schools’ Learning Improvement Plans align with our Board of Education's goals.
When I wasn’t in meetings, I had the opportunity this past week to spend some time in schools, connecting with administrators, staff, and students as they worked through the first few days of the school year. I have always believed the work in our schools is pivotal, and being with some of you these past few days has been inspiring. I look forward to upholding much of the same this upcoming week, barring meetings that keep me in my office.
I hope you enjoyed the warm temperatures this weekend and are ready to tackle week two with our kiddos!
Have a great week, everyone. #MAKEADIFFERENCE
-Kevin
Kevin C. Garinger B.Ed., M.A.Ed., Ed.D. (Candidate)
Director of Education/CEO
Horizon School Division No. 205