Board chair Kathy Glasgo and superintendent Dwayne Zarichny at the Medicine Hat Catholic board's first regular meeting of the new school year.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Trustees of Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education heard development plans for a new K-9 school remain on schedule and within budget during its first regular meeting since students returned to class last week.
Drawing plans for Holy Trinity Academy are 90 per cent complete as minor changes have been made to the project, including the removal of main office space to accommodate a large staff room.
Superintendent Dr. Dwayne Zarichny told trustees that the new school is expected to go to tender by the end of the month for a three-month period to find a contractor.
Trustees were also told bathrooms in the new school are being designed as gender neutral and use stalls with floor to ceiling doors. Kindergarten classrooms in the new school will have their own washroom and will not use electronic flushing toilets that can be worrisome to young children.
Construction on Holy Trinity Academy is expected to begin in 2026.
Cellphone ban
The new restriction on personal devices including cellphones, smartphones and smartwatches for students has allowed the division to develop uniform procedures across all its schools.
“So what the procedure does is really just sort of sets the stage for a standard practice across the division,” said Zarichny. “There were minor variations from school to school, now everyone should be on the same page.”
Zarichny told trustees the new restrictions are similar to those imposed by the division before the provincial ban was implemented this school year.
“It really just lays out what will happen if you violate the ministerial of order in this case and sets out expectations for schools.”
Trustees also heard the division uses two separate log-in systems to access internet at school. The log-in used by students does not allow them to navigate to social media sites, however staff do have access to social media when they log onto the internet as the division still wants to utilize social media to connect with the community.
Deferred salary leave plan
Educators and staff working with the division will now have the opinion to bank a portion of their salary that can be used for extended leave from work that is in compliance with the CRA.
All staff will now have the opportunity to take between six months and one year off at an agreed upon time within the new plan.
Funds staff bank into the deferred leave plan will also earn interest for the employee.
St. Mary’s field trip to Montreal
Trustees voted in favour to approve a request to allow Grade 8 and 9 students from St. Mary’s School to travel to Montreal for a week in April for a biennial field trip.
