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Often described by participants as “the feel-good night of the year,” the 2016 Yes I Can! Awards proved deserving of the description, just as the award recipients were shown to be deserving of the honours they received.
The Yes I Can! Awards, held by the Manitoba Council for Exceptional Children (MCEC), acknowledge the achievements of children and youth with disabilities, and encourage them to seek their highest potential.
River East Transcona made a great showing at the annual ceremony on Feb. 18. Awards were presented to A.J. Sigurdson of Arthur Day Middle School for self-advocacy and a student from Dr. F.W.L. Hamilton School for academics. As well, Sydney Harder, an honour roll student at Kildonan-East Collegiate, was chosen for a 2016 MCEC Academic Scholarship.
“Seeing the look of sheer delight on the students’ faces when being introduced and hearing the comments from
their parents reinforces that we’re making the correct decisions for our students,” says trustee Eva Prysizney.
The RETSD Board of Trustees received a Certificate of Recognition for being champions in providing the programs and supports needed so all children and youth can achieve success at school.
Ms. Prysizney and fellow trustee John Toews appreciate the challenges these children face, as they both grew up with family members with disabilities.
“It puts everything into perspective,” says Mr. Toews.
RETSD staff members were also honoured for their commitment to students who are differently abled. A Certificate of Recognition—for excellence in assisting children and youth with special needs—was presented to Jeff Kula, music teacher at River East Collegiate. And Renee Fletcher from Emerson Elementary School was recognized as Educational Assistant of the Year.
Your trusteesWard 1 Colleen Carswell (chair) [email protected]
Ward 1 Jerry Sodomlak [email protected]
Ward 2 John Toews [email protected]
Ward 2 Rod Giesbrecht [email protected]
Ward 3 Eva Prysizney [email protected]
Ward 4 Brian Olynik (vice-chair) [email protected]
Ward 4 Peter Kotyk [email protected]
Ward 5 Michael West [email protected]
Board and students receive special honours
MCEC president Todd Long (left) and members of the RETSD Board of Trustees (left to right): Jerry Sodomlak, Colleen Carswell (board chair), John Toews, Eva Prysizney, Rod Giesbrecht and Michael West
In this issueBoard and students
receive special honours
Message from the Board Chair
Newcomers, refugees find support in RETSD
Volunteer Spotlight
River East student honoured by MSBA
RETSD connects with social media
Murdoch students ‘Spread the Word’
torchthe
April 2016 • www.retsd.mb.ca
You’ve uprooted and moved to a country where they don’t speak your language. You’re starting over from scratch.
You must find schools, housing, employment, and a family doctor. You must learn a new language, fill out paperwork and make your way around, all while dealing with communication barriers and an unfamiliar culture.
This is something that has been or is being experienced by many newcomer Canadians, some of whom have moved to the River East Transcona area.
RETSD eases these challenging transitions by offering supports and services through its River East Transcona Immigrant Services (RETIS). Newcomers needn’t have children to access these services.
RETIS provides settlement services, English as an Additional Language classes for adults (some with childcare), children
and youth activities, special family events and parenting workshops. Settlement workers can also arrange for home visits to complete a needs assessment. This is done in collaboration with outside agencies and funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Several Syrian refugee families have moved into the division and have made use of RETIS. Of the city’s school divisions, RETSD is proud to have received the second-largest number of refugee students, with 34 now attending our schools, says trustee Jerry Sodomlak.
“We’re confident our settlement team will be able to support them as they make the transition,” says Mr. Sodomlak. “As a division, we value and respect diversity and welcome these newcomer families to our community, where they’ll be able to enjoy the freedoms we’re fortunate to have in Canada.”
Newcomers, refugees find support in RETSDChildren play in the childcare room at Lord Wolseley School while their parents are in an EAL class.
Message from the board chairThe Torch is one of our communication links that provides the opportunity for a glimpse into River East Transcona School Division.
We have heard that much is unknown about what takes place at the board level and, for that matter, in education as a whole. This is our opportunity to provide you with some of that information.
The board is committed to improving communication with all of the stakeholders in education—those who have children in school or those who do not.
And as a stakeholder, you should ask “Are we providing the best education and being fiscally responsible at the same time?”
Your trustees will continue to put forth their best efforts to address both educational and financial issues. This will provide the children of our division with the skills necessary to thrive after graduation. The trustees are committed to their role as advocates for parents, taxpayers, staff and above all, the children of River East Transcona School Division.
Colleen Carswell RETSD Board Chair
Trustee Michael West demonstrated a special talent for the circus club at Sun Valley School during I Love to Read Month. After reading them the Dr. Seuss book If I Ran the Circus, Mr. West stayed to juggle for the kids, and even juggled three apples while eating them at the same time. The circus club is run by phys-ed teacher Perry Rubenfeld. Mr. West shared that he had Mr. Rubenfeld as a teacher when he was in elementary school and that he had been a member of his school juggling club.
torchthewww.retsd.mb.ca
Humanitarian causes have grown in popularity in RETSD
schools over the past decade with students starting up a
wide variety of charitable and environmental clubs.
Some students take it one step further, showing such
dedication to social responsibility that they turn heads.
Rashawna Blair, a Grade 12 student at River East Collegiate,
is one such student and she’s been honoured for her
commitment by the Manitoba School Boards Association
(MSBA) with both a regional Student Citizenship Award and
the prestigious George Harbottle Memorial Award.
Rashawna does community volunteer and fundraising
work with the Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitoba,
Folklorama and the St. Boniface Hospital. She’s also
involved in her school’s Justice Club, Students Without
Borders, We Day activities and peer tutoring.
“She really exemplifies the leadership skills and
compassion that our schools do their best to nurture,”
says Brian Olynik, vice-chair of the RETSD board. The
board nominated her for the MSBA award.
Rashawna is also starting to establish a Healthy Eating
Program through her work with the Key Club at REC. She’ll
implement selling, ordering, purchasing and distribution
processes.
“She is a truly exceptional young woman, a devoted and
tireless example to all,” says trustee Peter Kotyk. “We’re
honoured that our paths have crossed on her life’s journey.”
River East student honoured by MSBA
Volunteer spotlightIf a volunteer is needed for an event at Angus McKay School, Kimberly Craig is always the first to offer to chip in. Ms. Craig is a member of the Community School Association and helps with every fundraiser. She is also a member of the Lunch Program Committee and has done all of this while attending school and being a single parent. Impressive! For more about volunteering in RETSD, visit: www.retsd.mb.ca/Community/Volunteer
We want to hear from you!This is the second issue of our newly redesigned newsletter, The Torch, and we hope you enjoy it. We’ve given The Torch a facelift and created content to satisfy people’s curiosity about what takes place at the board level. We’d like to hear what you think of the newsletter’s new look and focus, so drop us a line at [email protected].
RETSD held its Elementary Schools’ Tumbling Rallies over four evenings in March, and trustee Rod Giesbrecht was there to kick off the March 15 rally. This annual event provides an opportunity for students from grades 3–6 to showcase the gymnastics skills they learned through phys-ed classes and gymnastics clubs.
Scottie the service dog lies at the feet of his owner Signey Little, for whom he’s a helpful companion. Signey and Scottie attend Wayoata Elementary School. Teacher Jenna Johnson (left) and educational assistant Jackie Bauer (right) are helping Scottie get used to the school and helping the students learn how to act around him.
torchthewww.retsd.mb.ca
According to the old children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” But
we know how untrue that is.
And so do the students at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate who,
on March 3, held a campaign at their school to “Spread
the Word to End the Word.” The word they’re talking
about is “retard” or “retarded,” which can be hurtful and
cruel, whether or not that’s the intention, and is a form of
bullying.
The Spread the Word campaign is part of a national day
of awareness started in 2009 by the Special Olympics
Global Youth Activation Summit. The students working
on this campaign are part of the school’s chapter of Best
Buddies, a national charitable organization that helps
provide meaningful friendships for people with intellectual
disabilities.
Through Best Buddies, students and people with
intellectual disabilities are matched in one-to-one
friendships and enjoy spending time together. The Best
Buddies want people to realize that thoughtless use of
hateful words affects attitudes, which in turn affects
people’s actions.
They asked students to sign a banner as a pledge to no
longer use the “R word” and the banner will hang in the
school as a reminder to be kind and inclusive.
Murdoch students ‘Spread the Word’
RETSD connects with social mediaRiver East Transcona has some exciting news—we’re now on Facebook and Twitter! When you get a chance, visit us and take a peek.
We look forward to making use of this technology as an additional way to reach out to those in the division and beyond, and to keep people informed. Among other things, we’ll be using it to share student successes, upcoming events, what’s happening in our schools, and important alerts.
“A significant percentage of Canadians spend time on social media, so it makes sense for us to use it to connect with parents, students and others in our community,” says RETSD board chair Colleen Carswell.
While you’re there, we would love it if you’d “Like” our Facebook page and “Follow” our Twitter feed. You can be a big part of helping us to build a fan base and get the word out about the great things happening in RETSD. Please share our posts and retweet!
Trustee Peter Kotyk makes a point of visiting Donwood Elementary School every February for I Love to Read Month, and this year was no exception with Grade 1 students being the lucky audience. Mr. Kotyk dropped by their classroom on Feb. 26 and read them A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. I Love to Read Month is an annual celebration held to encourage reading, writing and sharing in the joy of literacy.
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