DG Report December 2023

This is the time of year when we present our results for the last academic year. We are pleased to share the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s annual report for 2022-23 with our community. Our vision of excellence is rooted in a mission to provide rich learning and socialization experiences for students. We know that in an ever-changing world, students of all ages and stages need high quality teaching, guidance, and support to develop skills and uncover knowledge. Achievement, wellness, and engagement have been our main areas of focus for the last several years, and we take pride in our progress towards these goals.

With respect to achievement, we know that success comes in many forms. We are proud that our students benefit from learning in both English and French. Our offer of bilingual, French Immersion, and Français Plus programs provides parents with choices for their child’s language of instruction. We have one of the highest graduation and qualification rates in the province; 90.2% of our students leave our system with a secondary diploma in hand. Long before COVID, we were promoting technology as a driver for teaching and learning, and this has only accelerated with the emergence of learning management platforms and communication tools that better support all students. For our learners with diverse needs, we provide multiple pathways towards success and we plan for the transition beyond the secondary years.

In the areas of wellness and engagement, we continue to offer programs and services to our students to enhance belonging, foster safe and caring learning environments, and address barriers that marginalize and disenfranchise students. Providing quality professional development, accessing culturally responsive curriculum materials, drafting and revising relevant policies, and ensuring accessibility are some of the ways we are elevating diversity, addressing inequity, and becoming truly inclusive.

It is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff and the support of our families that our students continue to shine. The last few school years have been marked with several challenges, many of these unforeseen, but what has never wavered is the passion and commitment we see reflected in our schools and centres. As a system, we have learned how to embrace challenges and change and view them as opportunities for growth. As we embark on our latest commitment to success plan and set new goals to enhance the teaching and learning for the years to come at Lester B. Pearson School Board, I know that we will continue to innovate and create, all in the pursuit of excellence.

In my monthly reports, I try to illustrate some of the many ways we seek to go above and beyond and celebrate the successes of our students and staff. There is always so much to choose from; I have selected to highlight two schools and salute them for extending learning beyond the classroom walls. The first mention goes to Pierrefonds Community High School for once again this year holding their school-wide assembly and activity on gender-based violence which took place on Dec. 7th. This award-winning event has been running for many years and continues to build on the main objectives to denounce gender-based violence and emphasize the importance of healthy relationships. Always held in the days surrounding the anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique shooting of Dec. 6, 1989, it is a poignant and powerful tribute to lives lost to violence and the ways that we as a community can take steps to prevent gender-based aggression. Students play an active role in animating the assembly and pledge to take action against violence. This year a small delegation of students and staff from Westwood Sr. HS attended this assembly to learn more and see how they can bring this work to their school as well.

The second mention of the night goes to St. John Fisher Elementary who were first-place winners of this year’s CBC Music Class Challenge in the primary vocal category. This is an annual national competition that salutes music education. Their rendition of the song Turning the Tide was one of 10 national finalists in the Kindergarten to grade 3 category, and they ended up taking the top prize for their stellar performance. As first place finishers, St. John Fisher Elementary will receive $3000 worth of new musical instruments. St. John Fisher also placed in the top 10 for their instrumental performance of the Carly Rae Jepsen song “Call me Maybe” in the grade 4-6 category. Both performances can be found on YouTube, and I guarantee that watching these students perform will bring a smile to your face!

So, as we prepare to bid 2023 adieu and usher in a new year, may the coming winter break be an opportunity to spend time with loved ones, engage in self-care, and do good unto others. To those who recently celebrated Diwali and Hanukkah and those preparing for Christmas and Kwanzaa, I offer the warmest of holiday greetings. Our world is currently in short supply of love, peace, and kindness, so let us take the time to spread cheer and goodwill as points of light to counter this cold and dark December.