Indigenous

Putting a Wrap on 2023-2024

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

Wrapping Up The Year

I look forward to this time of year because of the events that celebrate our time together and personal milestones. I also become reflective on some of the other events that have made a difference. For my year-end post I’ve organized a short list of things that have made us better. Each of these has personally resonated with me as a significant step forward in our district. I hope that you enjoy them and that they might also resonate with you.

My 2023-24 list of noteworthy events:

  • Year #2 of our Strategic Plan
  • Revitalized School Plans
  • A Commitment to a Better Future
  • Stelly’s Indigenous Cultural Room
  • 84 New Childcare Spaces
  • A Disruptive Technology

Year #2 of our Strategic Plan

We are concluding Year #2 of our five-year strategic plan and we’ve learned a lot. With a crisp focus on 4 key areas (Literacy, Indigenous Learner Success, Mental Health & Wellness, Global Citizenship) we continue to use the Plan to steer priorities, conversations and actions:

  • Meeting agendas, professional development opportunities, presentations to the Board, School Plans, Professional Growth Plans, budget priorities — they are all being shaped by Strategic Plan 2022-2027.

It is exciting to see alignment between so many facets within our district — areas such as Facilities (e.g. Stelly’s Cultural Room), our learning agenda (e.g. Literacy, Indigenous Learner Success, Mental Health & Wellness) as well as budget and staffing priorities — all laser focused on the goal of improving student success.

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‘Tis The Season For Hope – Take 2

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

Almost exactly three years ago to the day, I wrote ‘Tis The Season For Hope. It was December 2020 and we were smack in the middle of the pandemic with no vaccine and dozens of health restrictions all around us.

Times were tense.

Schools had significant changes to their operations — the whole province had restrictions. People were anxious. Emotions were high. I was receiving a ton of email about the pandemic and what we ‘were’ or ‘were not’ doing.

Amongst all of this disruption there was a building sense of calm — of being connected to each other. The Season of Light came to remind us about the many cultural events that begin near the Winter Solstice when November meanders into December — a time when cultures showcase warmth, love and hope with the beauty of light. It was just what we needed as we continued to fight the virus without all of the tools we needed. We needed a break.

Light can do that.

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Being Better

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

“Being better tomorrow than we are today” is something I talk about a lot — in my daily interactions, my blog posts, in all sorts of meetings …

But, what does it mean to be ‘Better’?

I explored this this topic the other day with our school trustees and thought it might also make for an interesting blog post. So, here we are …

When I engage others in conversation about our road to improvement, I reflect on a reminder I have above my desk about the need to move forward:

“It’s OK to be where you are right now. It’s just not OK to stay there.“

These concepts of ‘being better‘ and ‘finding ways to move forward‘ form an important part of my mindset on personal and organizational growth. But, the question still remains … what does BETTER actually mean?

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