Board Meeting Highlights - September 9, 2025
Good News
Welcome to the New School Year!
Communications Manager shared that the first week of school was filled with excitement and smiling faces!! Kudos to our staff for making the first week a positive and memorable experience for students!
A Recap of Summer Activities
Director Graham Shantz shared a number of projects and opportunities that occurred over the summer break. These included:
- $16 million in construction projects across many schools
- The completion of two child care construction projects in Milverton and Listowel
- The cleaning of over 2 million square feet of floors
- Upgrades to operational systems (phones, wiring and IT equipment)
- Several new staff recruitment initiatives resulted in the hiring of over 270 employees
- A mental health support camp
- Dual credits opportunities for secondary students interested in the skilled trades
- Over 500 credits granted to secondary summer school students
- Elementary summer learning opportunities for 86 students
- Adult education students achieved 61 credits despite being the summer slow down
- Indigenous learning opportunities, including cultural activities to deepen self-identified Indigenous students' sense of identity
- x-Labs (a Western University biomedical research opportunity for 11 students, which had them working side by side with professors and graduate students).
School Showcase
Communications Manager Chera Longston highlighted North Easthope Public School, located just outside of Amulree (Perth East - Trustee Julie Moore), which serves approximately 180 students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. While it has no designated feeder school, most students transition to Stratford District SS for secondary education. The current building opened in 1967 and is led by Principal Charles Longston under the supervision of Superintendent Kathy Boyd.
Highlights from North Easthope PS include:
- Focus on literacy and numeracy: North Easthope focuses on literacy efforts that are based on the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI). Staff are also using EQAO results to guide support for students in math.
- Mental health and well-being initiatives: through the examination of recent school climate survey data, staff are focused on bus safety and zones of regulation to help students manage challenging emotions.
- School playground fundraising: the school community successfully raised $85,000 to purchase and install a new playground for junior/intermediate students. Support from the Shakespeare Optimist Club and other local fundraising efforts helped the school reach their goal in just two years!
Student Trustee Update
Student Trustee Julia Havenga shared that their first meeting will be on September 23, but she expects that they will continue with the equity fund project that will ensure students across secondary schools have equitable access to extra-curricular activities.Future Board Meetings
Regular Board Meetings are held in person unless otherwise noted. Links to join the meetings online will be posted on the Board Meeting page the day before the meeting.
- Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 4:45 p.m. (Regular Board Meeting and Committee of the Whole, Closed Session)
- Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 4:45 p.m. (Regular Board Meeting and Committee of the Whole, Closed Session)
Future Meetings/Events with Trustee Representation
- Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL) – September 29, 2025 at 8:30 a.m.