HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL DIVISION

THE NEXT HOLY TRINITY BOARD MEETING IS MONDAY, JUNE 19.

Teachers now have new ways to access personal leave. They can submit their requests to their school administrator similarly to other special leave requests, or they can submit their requests directly to the education director or designate by selecting “confidentiality required” on the leave application form.

Meanwhile, the division will grant leave with pay for up to 20 days per school year to the HTTA executive to attend related business. HTTA members may also access these days to attend similar business upon approval from the union executive.

The new agreement also includes leave for teachers to attend truth and reconciliation-related events. After applying, members may use one of their allocated pressing personal days each year to attend Aboriginal spiritual, cultural or ceremonial events.

While the division will make every effort to grant the leave, the superintendent of human resources must approve to ensure the requested absence is operationally feasible and compliant with administrative procedures, the report added.

Holy Trinity’s latest reno plan commits nearly $2M to fixing schools

Moose Jaw’s Catholic school division plans to spend nearly $2 million on renovations to school buildings from 2024 to 2027, including continued upgrades to École St. Margaret School.

The Ministry of Education requires all 27 school divisions — including Holy Trinity Catholic School Division — to submit a three-year preventative maintenance and renewal (PMR) plan annually by June 30.

Since the provincial program’s inception in 2012-13, Holy Trinity has received $4,618,769 in PMR funding.

During the recent board of education meeting, division administration presented the three-year, $1,798,065 PMR plan covering the 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, including $350,000 for improvements to St. Margaret. However, administration noted it will have to modify funding for this $4.5-million project because it is experiencing a shortfall of roughly $1.5 million.

2024-25

Holy Trinity plans to spend $685,166 during the 2024-25 school year, including $26,266 at St. Agnes, $350,000 at St. Margaret, $10,769 at St. Mary, $145,135 at St. Michael, and $68,219 at Vanier.

Proposed work includes replacing the carpet at St. Mary; updating classrooms at St. Agnes, St. Michael and Vanier with new paint, whiteboards, bulletin boards, LED

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

lighting and ceiling tiles; adding exterior metal cladding at St. Margaret; replacing the floor in Sion Hall at Vanier; and addressing deteriorating cinder brick walls at St. Michael.

Abatement of asbestos and upgrades to IT equipment will also occur at all schools.

2025-26

The division expects to spend $545,647 during the 2025-26 school year, including $26,922 at St. Agnes, $237,047 at St. Michael, and $163,457 at Vanier.

Proposed work includes replacing three roof-top units and repaving the staff and student parking lots at Vanier, updating classrooms at St. Agnes, Vanier, and St. Michael, and landscaping around St. Michael.

Abatement of asbestos and upgrades to IT equipment will also occur at all schools.

2026-27

Holy Trinity plans to spend $567,252 during the 2026-27 school year, including $27,595 at St. Agnes, $27,595 at St. Michael, and $235,284 at Vanier.

Proposed projects include replacing a roof section at Vanier, updating classrooms at St. Agnes, Vanier, and St. Michael, and repairing deteriorating cinder brick walls. Abatement of asbestos and upgrades to IT equipment will also occur at all schools.

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

To prevent high school students who struggle educationally from falling through the cracks, Prairie South School Division is starting a new school that lets students complete work at their own pace.

Pathways School will be fully operational starting this September. It will be a storefront school for students in grades 10 to 12 who cannot achieve success in a traditional school setting. A storefront school is a non-traditional learning environment that uses space in a building typically meant for retail.

Prairie South’s new learning space will be located at 109 Ominica Street West, adjacent to the Sherwin-Wil liams paint store.

This new learning centre came about after admin istrators from the three high schools spoke to the board earlier this year to say they were seeing some students fail to succeed in the traditional learning environment, explained Derrick Huschi, superintendent of school op erations.

“We want all our students to do well and we under stand that students learn in different ways, so … we just thought it would be a good idea to create a totally different environment that doesn’t work within the semesterized system — and created our Pathways School,” he said.

High schools can generally accommodate youths who somewhat fall behind in their work, but administrators were noticing that they were losing students who were frustrated and refusing to attend, Huschi continued. Therefore, this new program targets youths who should be in school but are not.

Division administration expects to see 30 to 40 students attend Pathways School this fall.

According to PSSD, the new school is designed to help students succeed by focusing on their strengths, interests and goals and creating more flexibility and free-

Updated 2023-24 PMR plan

During the board meeting, division administration also presented an updated PMR plan for the 2023-24 school year after identifying other needs and deficiencies during the past couple of years.

The board had originally approved the 2023-24 PMR plan during the May 2022 board meeting.

The amended PMR plan for next year shows Holy Trinity plans to spend $1,027,588 to upgrade schools. This includes:

· $351,754 at St. Margaret to install a new roof-top unit, update an exterior stucco wall, replace windows in portables with energy-efficient models, and install new carpet throughout the building

· $293,146 at Vanier to renovate the library/resource centre, update classrooms, upgrade elevator controls, and replace a section of the roof

· $163,802 at St. Agnes to update classrooms, move the administrative office to the lower level where the library is and transform the present admin area into the new library, and update a roof section

· $65,625 at St. Michael to update classrooms and replace forced air furnaces

· $$65,625 to abate asbestos in all buildings and upgrade IT gear nizations will help students build success through a sense of belonging.

The next PSSD board meeting is TUESDAY, JUNE 6.

Students who attend this program will also learn at a pace that works for them while they will focus on employability and attaining outcomes for courses toward graduation.

Teachers will hold students accountable for completing their work while they will still follow the Saskatchewan curriculum for that grade, said Huschi. However, the new program gives youths more time to finish that material versus having to complete it during a specific semester.

“We’re trying to meet students where they are. Students come in with varying strengths and needs, and instead of being restricted to the confinements of the way a typical school runs,” he added, “we’re going to achieve the outcomes slightly different.”

By Patricia Hanbidge