The entire 2016-17 staff of Victoria School in Kamsack is the recipient of the Good Spirit School Division’s Sea Star award.
During a special assembly at the school on Friday, Mark Forsythe, superintendent of schools for the division’s north area, presented long-service awards to four members of the staff, and then presented the Sea Star plaque to Karie Thomas, the principal, and Sea Star pins to each of the 33 staff members and to three volunteers.
The Victoria School team is making a marked difference, Forsythe said. “The board recognizes the amazing work employees are doing and acknowledges it is the acts of kindness and the extra special personal touch that make sour division extraordinary.
“All Good Spirit School Division employees are eligible to be presented this very special award (the Sea Stars Award),” he said.
“Last September (in 2016), the Victoria School team was given the book The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon,” he said. “This book speaks to the growth mindset that pople bring with them to work, the difference they can make in someone’s day and the importance of having positive caring interactions with the people around them.
“The staff embraced the book and was inspired to participate in a book club. School assemblies were also held to read the children’s version of the book and students had a chance to model and spread the positive attitude and opportunities to show how students can make a difference by how they treat others.
“It’s that positive attitude and team mentality that garners a Sea Star award for the entire 2016-17 school staff based on their dedicated work around literacy and creating an engaging environment.”
The school team has shared its “compelling why” as to the reasons team members felt that literacy is important and found that each one has a common goal, he said. The team wants all children to get excited about books and literacy.
Every person on the Victoria School team is an integral part of the successes the school has achieved, he said. The teachers, support staff, speech language pathologist, Aboriginal support worker and dedicated volunteers, including Colleen Bernard, Maureen Maksymetz and Margaret Tysowski have dedicated their time to promote and support reading at Victoria School.
The Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment data backs up the hard work the team has done. When comparing the data from the fall testing to the spring, the growth is almost unbelievable.
Last spring, the grades 1 to 4 percentage of students meeting or exceeding their instructional levels was 74 per cent, an increase of 23 per cent from the fall numbers, he said. The Grade 2 students were also very well supported and by the spring, the Grade 2 reading data indicated that 91 per cent of students were meeting or exceeding grade level.
In the “Our School” data taken last spring from Grade 4 students, results indicated that 80 to 90 per cent of students felt engaged at school. A total of 97 per cent of these students value school and have positive behaviours. Students feel interested and motivated at school.
The Victoria School team’s positive attitudes, partnered with team members’ genuine caring about the students and the passion for their jobs proves that Victoria School is definitely putting student first.
Every student is given the best chance possible to succeed in his or her education and life, Forsythe said.
Forsythe called each member of the staff to the front to receive a handshake and Sea Star pin. They were: Karie Thomas, Kendra Simon, Kim Chutskoff, Chantel Kitchen, Heather Netzel, Kelly Lambert, Desiree Lorenzo, Chelsey Williams, Kathleen Tulloch, Scott Tulloch, Rebecca Gibbs, Keri Lindsay, Kimberly Gulka, Aleksandra Stankusz, Monica Morgan, Rhonda Thomsen, Jenna Nahnybida, Kim Hudye, Sheryl Kissack, Andrea Marsh, Theresa Puk, Leanne Fissel, Kyla Mines, Kristin Johnson, Christine Henderson, Stacy Hilton, Mike Syvret, Leanne McLean, Caroline Psutka, Bonnie Jones, Mike Woollard and Crystal Hermary.
Special volunteers recognized were Maureen Maksymetz, Colleen Bernard and Margaret Tysowski.
Receiving pins for years of service in Good Spirit School Division were: Sheryl Kissack, 10 years; Kim Hudye and Monica Morgan, 15 years, and Bonnie Jones, the speech language pathologist, 25 years.
