Other highlights from Tuesday's ADSB meeting

Projected elementary and secondary enrolments for the public school board were announced on Tuesday night. It was a mix of good news and bad news. While student populations are expected to fall again, the decline is not expected to be as steep as in past years. The average loss for the elementary and secondary levels would be about 140 students. The projected enrolments for this September are 6 thousand and 88 elementary students and 31 hundred and 55 secondary students — a loss of six full-time equivalent teachers at both levels. But Kindergarten registrations and steady participation in alternative programs could result in a lesser decline at the elementary level and minimal layoffs at the secondary level.

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Two successful ideas were presented to Algoma District School Board trustees on Tuesday night. The group first learned about a pilot project introduced a few months ago — the Sci-FY or Science and Reading For Youth program. This involved seven ‘mentors’ from Algoma University and 14 Grade 5 and 6 students from Northern Heights school, learning about science, numeracy and literacy over a nine-week period. The pilot concluded with presentations from three of the students who talked about various topics through literature and visual displays.

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There was a separate announcement on Tuesday regarding artwork to be displayed in Toronto later this year. Murals by Urban Aboriginal Program students Jake Carter and Emerald Lewis will be among 60 that will be seen by athletes during the PanAm and ParaPan Games in July. Carter’s work highlights Roberta Bondar and the Canadarm, while Lewis’ painted a butterfly on her mural. Both murals were aimed to depict the themes of local narrative and inspiration.