Students and staff participate in an event at a North Battleford school for National Indigenous Peoples Day last June. (Living Sky School Division/Facebook)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

BACK TO SCHOOL

‘Unlocking the School Year’: Staff and students in North Battleford head back to the classroom

Sep 6, 2023 | 3:00 PM

School is back in session in North Battleford and staff are eager to get the new year off to a glowing start.

Students with the Living Sky School Division returned to class on Tuesday after the Labour Day weekend, but staff and teachers were already back for some time.

“We were fortunate enough to have our teachers and staff back last week,” said Deputy Director of Education Tonya Lehman. “We did lots of professional development with our staff across the school division but also building those connections and relationships with the staff before students headed back to school on Tuesday.”

Lehman didn’t have the specific enrolment numbers as those are still being collected but she told battlefordsNOW that the numbers might be higher than their original projections.

While the new year does bring excitement for many students and teachers, there are also clouds of uncertainty hovering above. Just a couple of weeks ago, the province introduced a new policy that required parental consent for name and pronoun changes for students under the age of 16. The policies also allow parents to remove their kids from sexual education classes and ban third-party presenters.

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There’s also ongoing concern about funding for public education with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) recently calling out the Scott Moe government for lack of adequate funding.

The STF launched an ad campaign where they highlighted issues like overcrowded classrooms and budget cuts.

This comes as teachers and the province continue negotiating a new collective agreement.

Regardless, Lehman said they are trying to focus on the here and now and being there for every student and their families.

“A big part of who we are as a school division is looking at the whole child and developing the work that we have alongside their families and their communities.”

Lehman also touched on the theme for 2023-24 which is “Unlocking the School Year”, something that builds on their vision to help each student individually achieve their goals.

“Each kid is an individual and (it’s) important for us to get to know them one-on-one,” she said.

–With files from paNOW

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

@battlefordsNOW