EICS Board Highlights
May 30, 2018
Superintendent's Report
- Shared the Spiritus Proposal that was proposed at the last Alberta Catholic Schools Trustee Association. Spiritus is inspired by Ontario's FACE (Friends & Advocates for Catholic Education), the Alberta proposal is a joint effort between ACSTA, the Alberta Bishops, and CSSA.
The goal of SPIRITUS is to engage our stakeholders through messaging and education in order to share the value and necessity of Catholic education.
The goals of SPIRITUS are:
To unite stakeholders in a common vision and message
To engage parents and grassroots communities around the value of Catholic education
To educate supporters so that they might speak on behalf of Catholic schools
To communicate the message and value of Catholic education
- The EICS Board of Trustees will be working in conjunction with Administration to have members from the Spiritus organization present at a public board meeting.
Inaugural Indigenous Graduation Blessing - Archbishop Jordan Catholic School
The inaugural EICS Indigenous Graduation blessing occurred at ABJ High School on Friday, June 1. This special event began with a smudge to prepare participants for the ceremony. Elder Theresa Strawberry, assisted by her daughter Bernadine Coleman, said a blessing for all of the Indigenous grads. After explaining the significance of eagle feathers in First Nations culture and the protocol for caring for them, Elder Strawberry presented the feathers to the First Nations students. Reanna Savard then presented traditional sashes to Metis graduates and explained how they are to be worn as she placed the sashes around the students. The event culminated in congratulations for all of the students and opportunities for photos.
A special thank you goes to Kristian McGeachy and Sarah Dewhurst for organizing this beautiful first-ever Indigenous Graduation blessing and to trustees Boisvert, Paszek and Szott for attending on behalf of EICS.
Elder Theresa Strawberry
Archbishop Jordan Catholic School
Graduates with Elder Theresa and Reanna Savard
EICS Division Education Plan Priorities 2018-2022
The EICS Division Education Plan is an ongoing roadmap of what the priorities will be for the next four years within our division. This will be updated on a regular basis with real-time data on results and is posted on the main website.
Approval on Board Established Fees
Non-Funded Transportation Services
The Board charges fees to parents of students who:
· Get transportation to a school other than their boundary school (School of Choice)
· Reside less than 2.4 km walk distance from their designated school (Ineligible)
· Do not reside in a Separate School district (Non-Resident)
The administration is recommending a 5% increase to these fees due to the substantial increase to fuel costs, which are anticipated to be 20% higher than previous years.
Field Trip Transportation
Transportation recommends these fees to the Board at a cost recovery rate and trips typically are 20-40% cheaper than the rate of a private bus provider. The administration is recommending these increases due to the following factors:
· Substantial increase to fuel costs, which are anticipated to be 20% higher than previous years.
· Anticipated increase to bus drivers under the current Memorandum of Agreement recently negotiated.
Facility Rental
EICS Facilities recommends these fees at a cost recovery rate to reflect the utilities, administration and staffing to facilitate community facility rentals. EICS Administration is recommending these increases due to the following factors:
· Increase in utility costs due to the carbon levy
· 2% increase to CUPE staff
The Board of Trustees approved the 2018/2019 Board Established Fee Schedule as presented.
EICS Board of Trustees
Michelle Szott - Board Vice-Chair - Sherwood Park: michelles@eics.ab.ca
Ron Baier - Trustee - Camrose: ronb@eics.ab.ca
Ted Paszek - Trustee - Sherwood Park: tedp@eics.ab.ca
Jean Boisvert - Trustee - Sherwood Park: jeanb@eics.ab.ca
Le-Ann Ewaskiw - Trustee - Sherwood Park:
le-ann.ewaskiw@eics.ab.ca
Teresa Makowecki - Trustee - Vegreville: teresa.makowecki@eics.ab.ca
Email: eicstalks@eics.ab.ca
Website: www.eics.ab.ca
Location: 160 Festival Way, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Phone: (780) 467-8896
Facebook: facebook.com/ElkIslandCatholicSchoolDivision
Twitter: @eicstalks