WEYBURN - A “Journey Together” will proceed between the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division and their respective parishes in their communities, by engaging students in providing feedback to Rome.
The “Journey Together” (Synod) was a call from Pope Francis to help Catholics and their parishes to encourage dialogue at the local level, and learn more about some of the hesitations for those who do not attend church services.
The goal of the Holy Family School Division is to get the voice of their students, who represent the future. During their monthly meeting on March 16, the Holy Family board learned that a “Journey Together” discussion would be introduced during religion class, to encourage feedback from the students.
It was noted that it was important to the board to encourage feedback from the students, and learn more about what would encourage youth to attend church services, and be active members in their parishes.
There was an update of the status of the Regina Archdiocese work in relation to gender and sexual diversity. It was noted that there were various elements that the school board would have to consider, and it was a journey of going deeper. The focus was to encourage support of 2SLGBTQ+ students in faith-based education.
There was discussion on general insurance plan risk control strategy offered by SSBA that was supported by the Board.
There was also discussion on the Ministry of Education working to create policies for online learning. Education director Gwen Keith noted that during the COVID-19 restrictions there was an appreciation of a blended approach, between online learning and in-person learning.
The board discussed the SSBA’s request for feedback on the Curriculum Advisory Committee with the following requirements: Digital citizenship is very important and should be profiled and tracked, not profiled at the level of broad areas of learning. Board members said they do not support "additional math minutes" added to the curriculum at this time. Adding "more minutes to math" does not guarantee more success in math as success in math is impacted by other variables.
Holy Family’s Safe School Plan currently promotes that all of the facilities in Holy Family are mask friendly, they still have hand hygiene stations and they disinfect classrooms and buses frequently.
It was noted that the schools and teaching staff have been remarkable with the adjustments that were made by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the provincial government.
Holy Family schools are adjusting to the new Ministry requirements relative to COVID safety. There are less absences and anxiety experienced in the schools. Each school plan might look a little different, but there is currently a comfortable tone with the principals.
Special upcoming dates include the annual Staff Service Awards night, which will be held at McKenna Hall on Friday, April 29.
