The Flin Flon school board may be largely new, but two key positions are going to veteran trustees.
At their inaugural meeting Tuesday, the board elected trustees Trish Sattelberger and Tim Davis as chair and vice-chair respectively.
“I think you have lots to contribute,” Sattelberger told her colleagues.
Sattelberger, a registered nurse, joined the board in 2006, while Davis has been a trustee since 2002.
They were elected to their positions through a secret ballot among the seven trustees. Trustee Murray Skeavington, another 12-year veteran of the board, unsuccessfully sought the chair’s and then the vice-chair’s positions.
The secret ballot came after each trustee was sworn in by Heather Fleming, secretary-treasurer of the school division. Each member affirmed they are eligible to sit on the board and promised to be “faithful and bear true allegiance” to Queen Elizabeth II.
Committees set
Trustees selected the new board sub-committees.
All seven trustees will sit on the Finance, Policy Review, Facilities and Grounds, and Strategic Planning committees.
Joining the Flin Flon Teachers Association negotiating committee are trustees Angela Simpson, Andy Burbidge and Amy Sapergia Green.
United Steelworkers negotiations will be handled by trustees Davis, Skeavington and Leslie Fernandes.
Seven joint committees will have representation from the board, including Sattelberger on the Bursary Committee, Simpson on the Technology Committee and Burbidge on the Suspensions Committee.
Davis will sit on the Workplace Safety and Health Committee, with Simpson on the Voices Committee, which deals with a grant from Brandon University. Skeavington will speak for the board on the City of Flin Flon Traffic Commission.
Trustees decided not to appoint members to an apparently-defunct committee that had considered offering a medical scholarship in exchange for a promise the recipient work in Flin Flon upon graduation.
Skeavington said the committee has not met in two years, while Sattelberger wasn’t sure if it still existed.
Davis’s suggestion of a new French Immersion Committee was put on the agenda for future discussion.
Thoughtful discussion
In his regular report, Superintendent of Schools Blaine Veitch announced a class at École McIsaac School will participate in a police-led anti-bullying initiative.
The McKay Grade 7/8 class is one of six schools or classrooms across Canada that will take part in a video conference discussion through the RCMPTalks program.
Bullying and cyberbullying will be the topic for the Nov. 19 event. In the lead-up, students will work through a curriculum designed to get them thinking about issues around bullying.
“They will develop creative solutions to this global issue and be able to share their insights and ideas with peers around the country,” wrote Veitch in his report. “Students will ultimately create a Charter of Rights that may be used in their classrooms or schools to encourage respectful and bully-free behaviour.”
Better prepared
The sudden cardiac death of a Winnipeg teen has prompted multiple resources to be shared with Flin Flon schools, Veitch told trustees.
Resources include an informational card for sports coaches, educators and the general public, and an assessment form for parents and doctors to evaluate students’ cardiac risks.
Awareness around cardiac death in youth has grown significantly since the 2011 passing of Evan Dupuis, who collapsed during a soccer practice and later passed away. He was 16 and attending a private school in Winnipeg.
