(File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Horizon update

Busy year in the works for Horizon School Division

Sep 4, 2024 | 2:24 PM

The school year has begun in the Horizon School Division and the Director of Education is eager to get things underway.

Kevin Garinger told northeastNOW teachers, staff, and administration seek to focus on the unique needs of every learner.

“Our teachers have been back for a week prior to our children returning on Tuesday and so they’re well positioned…lots of great things around collaboration and around learning and learning supports,” Garinger explained.

The provincial government’s cellphone mandate is a challenge for all school divisions this year, and Garinger said their goal is to ensure student learning is front of mind.

“We’ve sent out information to our families and obviously to our staff and have had some discussion with staff at our opening collaborative learning day,” Garinger said. “I think, generally speaking, schools are positioned very well to manage that.”

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Garinger said it’s exciting to have the students back in classrooms, and there have been many changes in Horizon administration with several new principals and vice-principals across the division due to retirements and other shuffling.

The division is also the first in Saskatchewan to adopt the Project 11 initiative. The program was started by the Winnipeg Jets and owner Mark Chipman in support of Rick Rypien, the former NHL player who suffered from depression and took his own life over a decade ago. Garinger said the initiative is well-aligned to curriculum and supports mental well-being for youth.

Garinger said Horizon also has a new initiative with the company behind the STOPit app that allows students or parents to connect with professionals in times of need.

Meanwhile, Wakaw School is now offering Michif programming and Garinger said it evolved thanks to a partnership with the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.

“We’re supporting early learners with the Michif language,” Garinger explained. “We actually have a teacher who is Métis and has a Michif-French background, and so is incorporating that language into our kindergarten program initially.”

Garinger said the Michif initiative has been received very well and expects it to continue to grow as interest in the language increases. The goal is to establish the program in Wakaw before expanding to other locations.

Several capital projects are well underway. Work continues at the new K-12 facility in Lanigan, as the school will replace the current elementary and high schools. Garinger said they anticipate students will be in the new facility by the end of the school year. The Kelvington school consolidation project is also underway, and Garinger said the front of the facility has already undergone changes. That project should be complete by the start of the 2025-26 school year.

While enrollment numbers have not been finalized, several communities have seen an increase in student enrollment, including Humboldt, Lanigan, and Wakaw.

“It’s exciting to have our children back and exciting to get the school year underway.”

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK