WEYBURN – The schools in the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division will be moving over to the Edsby platform for use by classroom teachers and administrators by this fall.
Other school divisions already use the system, including the Southeast Cornerstone School Division, and users note that it’s easy to use for communications between school and home.
Terry Jordens, superintendent of student services and assessment, told the board that there will be a day of training for staff in May.
She noted teachers will be using it for everything from attendance and report cards, to showing portfolio items from their students to their parents, or letting parents know about events at school or in the class.
Asked if it’s simpler than what they use now, Jordens said, “Yes, especially between parents and school. As a communication tool, it’s top-notch.”
She noted the platform even has translation tools for newcomer families, and as a Cornerstone parent, she said she loves it for its ease of use.
• In other board business, the school division was asked for a response by the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) about the issue of whether to ban the use of cell phones or technology in schools.
The trustees were told by superintendent Chad Fingler that Holy Family has a policy in place for cell phone use.
“We don’t band cell phones, however, students need parents permission and supervision. They’re primarily used as education tools when they are used in class,” said Fingler, noting in some cases, phones are quicker and easier to use than other technology, like desktop computers.
“It’s not open access by any means. I don’t think we want to move in that direction – but we teach them how to use technology properly,” he said.
Mostly students who use these are in Grades 6-9, but there are some students as young as Grade 4 who use them also.
Board chair Bruno Tuchscherer commented he wasn’t sure why this even came up from the SSBA, other than some member boards may have been considering banning technology.
He said cell phones and iPads and related technology are becoming a necessity, and if a division bans cell phones, they would have to ban the technological cousins like iPads and notepads as well.
• Upcoming for the Holy Family board is a teacher liaison meeting set for April 17, and the staff awards banquet on May 10, with a long list of staff members to receive long-service awards or be recognized as they retire.
It was noted that either or both of these events could be disrupted or postponed due to STF job action, but it’s too early to know if that will happen or not.
