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Photo Credit: Stefania Galluccio @mystoo
645 - 11/29/2019 9:18:59 AM  

Board Meeting Highlights for November 2019
The November meeting of the Upper Grand District School Board was held on November 26, 2019. The following provides highlights from the meeting

For Immediate Release - November 27, 2019

2019-20 Energy Team Action Plan
Staff from the UGDSB’s Energy Management Team presented their Action Plan for 2019-20. The Energy Management Team is dedicated to managing and reducing energy and water use in the board.

The goal of the team is to promote efficient use of energy in order to maximize dollars available to classrooms by reducing energy costs, increase public confidence in the board’s ability to efficiently operate its schools, and demonstrate leadership in the area of environmental stewardship and reduce the board’s carbon footprint.

The Energy Management Team Action Plan for 2019-20 focuses on seven key areas:

• Energy audits
• Tracking and reporting board energy use
• Supporting the building renewal program
• Generating savings to the board
• Improving Building Automation Systems
• Encouraging behavioural change
• Fostering professional development.

A small sample of the work that will be done this year includes conducting walk-through energy audits of several schools to assess energy use and implement corrective measures, assisting with LED lighting projects and high efficiency boiler upgrades, installing water monitoring devices in schools, and piloting an electrical demand reduction program at three schools. 

2019-20 Annual French Review Background Report
Staff presented the 2019-20 Annual French Review Background Report, which reviews the experiences of the 2019-20 Junior Kindergarten French Immersion (JK FI) application process, enrolment, retention, staffing and cap related information.

Staff presented trustees with an overview of:

• Information from the 2019/20 JK FI application process
• Enrolment projections and projected space in schools
• Availability of French Qualified (FQ) teachers
• Feasibility of new FI program(s)
• Review of the JK FI application, selection and waitlist process
• Review of JK FI enrolment caps

Following the presentation, the Board of Trustees approved recommendations that no new FI programs be established in 2020-21 and that school-based JK FI enrolment caps remain as is for the 2020-21 school year. The on-time window for the 2020-21 JK FI application process will be from Tuesday Jan. 7 to Friday Jan. 17, 2020.

To read the full report, visit www.ugdsb.ca/jkfi.

Pathways Planning at UGDSB
Student Success staff presented information on pathways planning for UGDSB students. Career/Life Planning work within the board is based on three core beliefs: that all students can be successful, that success comes in many forms, and that there are many pathways to success.

In Creating Pathways to Success, the Ministry of Education outlines a four-step inquiry process that is relevant to all students at any age or stage of development. The four questions in the framework are: Who am I? What are my opportunities? Who do I want to become? And, What is my plan for achieving my goal?

In the UGDSB, students are guided through this inquiry process in a variety of ways. Students regularly return to these questions during their pathway planning on the board’s comprehensive planning tool myBlueprint and through conversations with teachers and guidance counsellors.

Other ways that the board supports pathways planning is through regular meetings of the board’s Pathways Committee, school-based Pathways Committees in secondary schools, and working closely with partners in the community including the Career Education Council, Workforce Planning Board, employment agencies and more. Staff actively build community connections and partnerships to enrich the experiences of UGDSB students. In addition, students in elementary school are supported in their pathways exploration through the new Grade 7/8 guidance counsellor program started last year at the UGDSB.   

Elementary P/VP Transfer and Appointments
The following Elementary Principal and Vice-Principal transfers and appointments are effective January 6, 2020.

Principal Transfer
Chris Popofski from Gateway Drive PS to Jean Little PS

Principal Appointment
Chad Reay from VP at John McCrae PS to Principal at Gateway Drive PS

Vice-Principal Appointments
Lynn-Michelle Fortier from teacher at John McCrae PS to VP at John McCrae PS
Carol-Anne Sloan from temporary VP at Princess Elizabeth PS to VP at Princess Elizabeth PS
Kyla Lightfoot from temporary VP at Island Lake PS to VP at Island Lake PS

Audited Financial Statements
Trustees approved the board’s 2018-19 Audited Financial Statements and the 2018-19 Audited Financial Statements of the UGDSB Trust Funds, prepared by KPMG. The financial statements are unqualified, which means they are clean. The board and the auditor thanked the Finance Department for their diligent work in financial reporting. The audited statements will be posted on the board’s website.

Trustee Honoraria
From December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2020, trustee honoraria will be set at the following:

• Chair – $18,594
• Vice Chair – $15,239
• Other Trustees: $11,884

The honoraria are set by base amounts plus an enrolment amount based on the Average Daily Enrolment (ADE) from the budget for the previous year.

Trustee Expenses
Trustee expenses for the 2018-19 financial year were received by the board. The expenses, totaling $38,087, include trustee spending on professional development, travel, office supplies and meeting expenses. The expenses are posted on the Finance section of the board website.

Policy Updates
Trustees approved the following revised board policy: Policy 203 Video Surveillance.

Trustees received the following board protocol: P.14 HPE Curriculum Exemption Protocol.

To view all UGDSB policies and procedures, and to provide feedback on draft policies, visit www.ugdsb.ca/policy.

The next regular monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday Dec. 17, 2019, at the Guelph Board Office, 500 Victoria Road North. Everyone is welcome to attend. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

About the Upper Grand District School Board
The Upper Grand District School Board serves approximately 35,000 students through 65 elementary schools and 11 secondary schools in the City of Guelph, County of Wellington and County of Dufferin. The UGDSB covers the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Six Nations of the Grand River, and Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territories. Student success is the goal of over 4,000 dedicated teaching and support staff who are aided by the contributions of caring volunteers and community partners.

Learn, Lead, Inspire…Together

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