
I want to begin This Week in Horizon with the hope that everyone
had a relaxing February break. As we were travelling from school to school the
last week before the holiday, I heard a number of staff members discussing an
impending “trip down south” and a much needed break from the frigid
temperatures we had been experiencing. There is something about escaping to the
warmth that seems to put people in a very positive frame of mind. I suppose
that seems quite obvious. However, research has shown that simply having time
to reframe our purpose by getting out of our “normal” routines, is often all
that is necessary to recharge. I’m sure a sandy beach in a warm tropical area doesn’t
hurt either! Regardless of whether you were in the warmth of the south or the
warmth of your home, I trust your travel plans worked well and you are feeling
refreshed and ready for our students tomorrow morning.
I really felt the break came at an opportune time for all of us,
families and staff alike. I am grateful for the Board’s vision in selecting a
calendar that will continue to honour this break. I spent the majority of the break
in meetings getting caught up on a number of items which included continuing
the planning on our new office project, discussing the potential of
international students, and building the agenda for a “mathematics outcome
sharing day” for the province. Of course, I ended this past week engaging in a professional
development session along with a number of Horizon staff members, as we
participated in the inaugural Google Summit Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. I was
only able to attend the Friday session but I truly felt I learned more about
Google in those few hours than I knew from my last five years of working with
the product. Saturday and Sunday involved over 50 Horizon staff members who
were part of a contingent of 140 educators and IT staff from across the country
who were engaged in learning about Google. I can’t say enough about the Summit
and the work that the Teacher Efficacy and Workload Intensification committee
did to bring the experience to Saskatchewan. I want to thank teacher leaders, Erin
Richard, Rob Lissinna, Verna Lynn Gorrill, Jim Swan, Nadine Jennison, Colleen
Whitford, and Sean Pratchler, who were part of the committee along with the
Board members, Albert Pinacie, Cheryl Vertefeuille, and Mark Fedak. Also as
part of the committee, Deputy Director, Randy MacLEAN worked with his entire HR
staff, to ensure that the vision of the committee around having a first ever
Google Summit in Saskatchewan, would be realized. A special shout out also goes
to admin assistant, Nicole Fitzpatrick, who did a great deal to support Randy
and the committee. It is obvious that Google will make things more efficient
and effective for teachers, staff, and students across Horizon School Division.
The next steps required for Horizon to “Go Google” will be taken in order that
we take aim toward full implementation by the fall. “Google” times ahead for
our system!
As we headed into the February break, it was not without a heavy
heart. I know you continue to join with me in extending our thoughts and/or
prayers to the students, educators, and families in Parkland, Florida, who
continue to deal with loss and grief after the senseless tragedy in Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School. I feel that I have had to write a similar message
to this one, far too frequently in the last four years as Director. It will
always be my hope that proactivity and preventative protocols obviates future
tragedies such as Parkland. Arthur Golden put it this way in his book, Memoires
of a Geisha, “At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved
into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You
cannot read loss, only feel it”.
As I mentioned, I spent the past week on the road with
Superintendent of Learning Services, Crandall Hrynkiw, and Superintendent of
Student Services, Darrell Paproski, visiting schools to review Learning
Improvement Plans (LIPs) with principals. The LIP review meetings are a
critical part of the strategic planning process for our schools and are an
opportunity for Darrell, Crandall, and me to listen deeply to the work that is
continuing to dramatically improve the learning conditions for our children. I
believe that the planning and the commitment to the collective plan in the
school continues to produce real and lasting improvements for students.
During my meetings, I took time out to have a teleconference with
Bolt FM in order to discuss the recent provincial funding announcement and the
potential of international student recruitment. I also participated in a meeting
that discussed the final vendor for the Universal Student Information System
(USIS) that was being explored for the education sector. As you may know,
school divisions across Saskatchewan use a number of different student
information systems (in Horizon, we currently use Maplewood) and the sector
established a committee to explore the potential efficiencies and cost savings
that could be found through using a single system for the whole province. A
final decision has been made and a system has been selected. Therefore, by the
2019-20 school year, all school divisions in the province, along with the
Ministry of Education, will be using one system to support all aspects of
student information. I recognize the challenges that lie before including
training and support for our school and system-level staff. However, I also see
significant advantages to our sector and ultimately our families and students.
I also took time to travel to Melfort for a meeting with Don Rempel, Director
of Education for North East School Division. Cory Popoff, principal of HCI
joined me for the meeting as it was an opportunity for Horizon to share the
work we have done in developing common assessments in the number strand for use
by teachers in our system and to plan a sharing day for the entire sector. I look
forward to sharing more about this upcoming day.
If you have passed through Humboldt while on your holiday this
past week, you may have seen that the walls are starting to go up on our new
administration building. It is exciting to see the months and years of planning
taking shape in the space that will be our new central office home for Horizon.
I want to once again thank our Board for their support of this work, our
Facility Services Team for keeping the planning and development on schedule,
and the insights from our staff and stakeholders. This much-needed building
will be a great benefit for our entire system and I am excited to watch with
eagerness toward an anticipated completion date of December 1, 2018.
Have a great week back, everyone!
- KevinKevin C. Garinger, B.Ed, M.A.EdDirector of Education/CEOHorizon School Division No. 205Kevin.garinger@horizonsd.ca