The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer An anti-bullying movie made by a Grade 4 class at Ruth Betts Community School has had an impact on the students. Presented to the Flin Flon School Board Tuesday night, the movie is based on the book Don't Laugh At Me as interpreted by the students' own experiences. Bullied about the things they wear, how they sing, who their friends and family are, what they look like and how they talk, the students passed on the message that it's perfect to be who they are. The students in Kali Naylor's class were able to use one of the school's three iPads, which are being introduced as possible learning tools. Using the iMovie application, the students and Naylor created the movie. After watching, trustees asked if the movie had made a difference in the bullying at Ruth Betts. Three students who joined Naylor at Tuesday's meeting told the board that they think there is less bullying now. 'Good job. You're a part of that,' Trustee Glenn Smith told the students. During the filming of the movie, students wrote various ways they had been bullied on a white board. Naylor told the board she was shocked at all the messages left. 'But it's great they felt they were able to share,' said the Grade 4 teacher. The Don't Laugh At Me video will be shown to various classes throughout the school year. In another matter, Naylor, Ruth Betts principal John Clark and teacher Amber Kubat made a presentation on the school's Leadership Team. The group presented a video on core values. Each class was represented in the PowerPoint presentation to discuss values at the school, such as respect. The presentation informed trustees of what the students had learned about values and why they are important to have. Website concern As well, a concerned parent voiced her opinion of Hapnot Collegiate's school website. 'I wish or hope that Hapnot Collegiate would have better communication with parents,' said the mother. She said she started a simple search of whether her daughter had school on a specific day but spent an hour and a half looking for the up-to-date calendar. Unable to find anything, she was able to locate next year's calendar as well as information from 2008. Trustees agreed that something needed to change and said a message would be left with those responsible for the web page. A note was made that the 2011-12 school calendar was on the website, but was accidentally removed when the 2012-13 calendar was added to the site. 'That's good to know as it helps us out,' said Trustee Murray Skeavington, board chair. Queen's Park Meanwhile, Skeavington told the board that site work will begin in June at Queen's Park for the Flin Flon Skatepark. The retaining wall will need to be reinforced, and pre-fill for the ramps will be needed. The concrete work will be done in July and August, he said, with the anticipated completion date being mid-August. Other highlights from the board meeting: New speed limits for school zones were introduced. In the fall, school zones will have posted limits of 30 kilometres an hour. A meeting for Leadership for Student Learning was set for June 13 with a follow-up on June 19.
