Northland School Division

Tansi, Edlanat’e, Hello!

It is my great pleasure to welcome everyone back for the 2017-2018 school year. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer break. To our new families and staff, welcome to the Northland School Division (NSD) family. We are a school division that is committed to supporting students to be strong in identity, healthy and successful. To ensure we fulfill our commitment, we have adjusted the organizational structure to better support students and schools with the following division priorities aimed at increasing student success: literacy and numeracy; First Nations, Métis language and culture; student attendance; student and staff wellness; education technology; revamping the way we report how students are progressing through the curriculum; and professional learning for staff.

As illustrated in the organizational chart http://tinyurl.com/y8tfbwxg, schools are now organized into: Area 1 (West), Area 2 (Central) and Area 3 (East). In all three areas, there is an Associate Superintendent, pedagogical and student services supervisors to help schools increase student learning success. As part of our three-year technology plan, we will also focus on educational technology and 21^st century learning.  Division priorities must be supported with quality educators and that is why we are making investments in staff learning and careers.  We are also going to improve staff housing across the jurisdiction. This will help us better recruit and retain staff and support NSD’s focus on staff wellness.

On the administration side, we have simplified the student registration process for families. NSD has revamped the registration form for new students with a fillable form available on the NSD website http://nsd61.ca/download/106563. For returning students, forms are pre-populated and we ask parents to contact their local school to confirm if any changes to previous registration details. In the coming months, we will be introducing a new communication tool called School Messenger Communicate. This notification system will allow schools to send messages via voice (phone), text message and/or email for emergencies, student attendance and upcoming events. More information will become available this fall.

This is a year of great opportunity for parents and community members. With a new Northland School Division Act, there are new ways to participate in the division’s education system. NSD has a new governance structure of eleven wards. I encourage parents and community members to consider running as a school board trustee and most importantly to vote. Nomination Day is September 18^th and Election Day is October 16^th. Visit the NSD website for more information http://nsd61.ca/governance/elections. Another avenue for participating in NSD’s education system is becoming a school council member. Schools will be establishing school councils in September. Please contact your local school for more information.

Thank you in advance for support and involvement in your school division. Your contributions will help make NSD the best education system for our students.