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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Creighton Community School students will spend a bit more time in class starting this fall. That's when the school will add five minutes of daily instruction to comply with incoming provincial rules. 'As student achievement is linked to time on task and hours of instruction, and the overall quality of instruction, over time we should see an increase in student achievement as long as the other variables involved remain constant,' said Bob Smith, director of education for the Creighton School Division. Creighton Community School classes now start at 8:55 a.m. and run until 3:35 p.m., with two 15-minute recesses and a one-hour lunch period included. The school board has yet to finalize whether to add the five minutes by starting classes earlier, making them go later or shortening the lunch hour. Beginning in 2013-14, the Saskatchewan government will require all school divisions in the province to have at least 950 hours of instruction for students, excluding kindergartners, throughout the year. Creighton will exceed that minimum requirement by five hours, increasing to 955 hours from the current 930 hours. As well as adding five minutes to the school day, Smith said there will likely be 'some slight changes' in the number of professional development and administration days available to teachers. Creighton will maintain the week-long February break that is common, but not compulsory, among school divisions across Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan does not currently mandate a specific number of instruction hours, only the number of days that teachers work. 'Therefore there (is) considerable variance between school divisions with respect to the hours of instruction for students,' Smith said. Changes to the school schedule were among the items discussed at the school board's latest meeting, held Feb. 27. Other highlights: Ryan Biberdorf, the practical and applied arts (PAA) coordinator at Creighton Community School, presented an overview of the PAA program. Students in grades 7-9 can take woodworking, drafting and food studies. Grade 10 students take a survey course that includes a variety of PAA courses, and when a student is in Grade 11/12 they can choose a single course such as welding, automotive or woodworking. During the past two years, the school has purchased some new industry-standard equipment, including two metal lathes and a milling machine. The addition of this equipment has allowed students to get a taste of machining as a career choice. The PAA program also includes a cosmetology program. With all of these opportunities available, many students are considering apprenticeship programs in their post-secondary plans. This is reflected in the fact that about 20 students are currently enrolled in the Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship program, and when they graduate from this program they will receive 300 hours toward their apprenticeship program. Trustees adopted a new set of governance policies. For the past several months, the board has been reviewing these polices. As part of this review, trustees have examined governance policies in several school other divisions.
