New Buckland Bridge officially opened last week

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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New Buckland Bridge officially opened last week

After being closed since October of 2020, the new Buckland Bridge officially opened to traffic last week. The RM of Buckland announced the opening last week and Reeve Don Fyrk is happy to see the replacement of the wooden bridge with a modern metal bridge.

“Oh my God it’s been a long time coming. But it’s done, looking good, I tell you they did a fantastic job on it,” he said.

“What the holdup on the whole project was there was some government funding that we had to get. But I mean, that’s just typical,” Fyrk said.

He said that the new bridge looked great after he went and checked on it last week.

The project replaced the existing timber bridge with a new precast concrete and steel bridge

The bridge was funded by multiple layers of government.

The federal government added funding through the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream (RNIS) of the Investing in Canada program with the RM receiving $500,000. Another $433,000 came from gas tax funding.

Nearly $485,000 was covered by the province, under the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP). The remainder was funded by the RM of Buckland.

The bridge was closed to all traffic beginning Nov. 2. Due to the questionable condition of the bridge and in the interest of public safety, council made the decision to close the bridge to traffic until the road lift and bridge replacement was complete.

The RM denied a request by the Ministry of Highways to open the bridge in January because of traffic concerns.

Fyrk was impressed by the time it took to complete the project.

“They had that done in a record amount of time. They would have had it done sooner but there was a holdup for the base, they are special made so it took a while to get them made. So once they got them then they just went together like a perfect jigsaw puzzle,” Fyrk said.

Fyrk was happy to have the new bridge open as it improves safety on Buckland Road.

“I’m just so pleased and it makes me feel better because everybody is going to be so much safer out there. I don’t think people realize how bad that bridge was. A lot of armchair engineers but nobody really understood the consequences of it,” he explained.

“So now we have got a nice new bridge out there and everyone is safe and life carries on,” Fyrk said.

Catholic Division SCC virtual presentation in New Year to deal with impacts of COVID-19

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Catholic Division SCC virtual presentation in New Year to deal with impacts of COVID-19

School Community Councils (SCCs) in the Prince Albert Catholic School Division will have a chance to hear from Executive Director North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response Kevin Cameron in the New Year.

After completing a poll of the SCCs in the division, Cameron agreed to make a virtual presentation at the board’s annual Professional Development Networking Session. The next session is scheduled for Jan. 17.

Cameron will speak on managing the social and emotional impact of COVID-19. PACSD education director Lorel Trumier said they look forward for to having Cameron engage the board and SCCs.

“He’s a critical friend to our school division,” she said. “We work with him frequently and we know that we have been well served by the people that are in his domain of work.”

Trumier said they know that the pandemic has had a negative emotional impact on some staff and students. She said the presentation will help the board identify and understand those impacts.

She added that the division values the relationship that they have developed with Cameron, which has grown over the past decade. It began with a collaboration on a violent risk assessment protocol almost a decade ago.

“It has been almost 10 years with both police services, mental health services and people from the SHA, ourselves, other school divisions, so that there is a strong partnership of assessing risks,” Trumier said.

“We continue to do the violent threat assessment training, Level 1 training, Level 2 training for administrators, as well as our senior administration.”

In addition to risk assessment, Trumier said Cameron has also supported their traumatic events procedures, which helps how they deal with trauma.

“Kevin has been a critical friend to the school division as it pertains to this and we seek his advice and support,” Trumier explained. “He has been gracious enough to work with our families and our parents and our staff over the last couple of years and so we are looking forward to that night for sure.”

michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca

Provincial Education Plan progress reviewed by Catholic Division board

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Provincial Education Plan progress reviewed by Catholic Division board

At their board meeting last Monday the Prince Albert Catholic Division was updated on the progress of the Provincial Education Plan.

Recently the Provincial Education Implementation Team from school divisions were invited to participate in sessions to review various parts of the plan.

This included its origins, components and framework, organizational structure, development process, the current focus of the interim plan and plan implementation, monitoring and reporting.

“I would say at this point, when you are charting out the next 10 years and you are working through a pandemic which we would have all hoped it would be over by this time, obviously, there is more to it than we would have anticipated,” director of education Lorel Trumier said.

The plan was developed by the Provincial Education Council who first met in December, 2020 to discuss the development, implementation and governance of Saskatchewan’s next decade of learning.

The one-year interim plan will be in place until the 10-year plan is completed.

She explained that the reassessment of priorities in the province in education is important.

“When you are looking at what’s the most important, what are the most important elements for a provincial plan for the next 10 years I am sure some of those priorities have shifted a bit as a result of the pandemic and rightly so. The students of tomorrow require a skill set and instructional elements that perhaps we maybe not have weighted so heavily in the past,” Trumier said.

The planning team created a plan for the structures which will each have unique roles and responsibilities.

Minister of Education Dustin Duncan has oversight of the plan and receives regular reports from the Education Council.

The role of the Education Council is to provide strategic guidance to the development and renewal of the plan.

Meanwhile, the Implementation Team’s role is to establish the outcomes and actions to make the strategy operational.

There are several planning partners involved including the Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations (FSIN), League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents of Saskatchewan (LEADS), Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) and the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Ministry of Education, Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Saskatchewan Association of School Business Officials (SASBO), Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) and Saskatchewan Teachers Federation.

The implementation team will be providing regular reports to the Education Council.

The members of the Implementation Team also provide regular reports to their boards of education.

The framework of the plan also recognizes that participating First Nations would have accountability and reporting structures.

The intent of the plan is to have province-wide outcomes, measures and actions. The measures and outcomes will then be implemented at the school division level and then school level. Each school division will be accountable to the board of education for their plans.

School Community Councils (SCCs) will also work cooperatively with staff in the implementation of the school-level plans.

She explained that technology and mental health and well-being will be a part of it.

“So I think that it’s a good exercise. We know that there is many in person engagements that even occurred in 2019. We know that there are more meetings occurring on a regular basis with different stakeholder groups. I think there is a good cross section of people in the province that are heavily engaged and that’s going to come out to be a stronger educational plan overall, for sure,” Trumier said.

The province is currently operating under an interim plan for 2021-2022.

The Interim Provincial Education Plan focuses on three key priorities, including additional reading supports for Grade 1 to 5 students.

Reading data will be collected from students in Grades 1 to 5. This will allow teachers to create specialized reading plans where needed that meet students at their individual skill levels.

The provincial-level plan was originally expected to be released in June 2021.

Using these three priorities, school divisions and participating First Nations education authorities will build their own plans in order to meet the unique needs of their students and schools.

The government says supportive learning opportunities for students whose education may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic is also a priority. High school students will be able to obtain credits through a variety of educational avenues, such as classes offered out of grade order, special project credits and online classes.

The third priority is mental health supports for students and staff as they return from a challenging year. This includes nearly $600,000, provided in the 2021-22 Budget, to support initiatives related to bullying prevention and promotion of positive mental health and student safety.

It also encompasses nearly $500,000 committed by the Government of Saskatchewan for Mental Health First Aid training to school divisions.

The board also reviewed the plan at their November meeting.

Shop with a Cop program continues in 2021

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Shop with a Cop program continues in 2021

The Prince Albert Police Service thanked their local community partners for going above and beyond once again this holiday season to help fulfill Christmas wishes for local children.

The 2021 Shop with a Cop program was made possible thanks to continued support from the Prince Albert High Noon Optimist Club and local businesses including Canadian Tire and McDonald’s.

The High Noon Optimist Club once again contributed $750 to help fund the program, along with a generous supply of wrapping paper. This year, 25 local children from five different schools in both the Prince Albert Catholic and Saskatchewan Rivers School Divisions were able to participate in the event, which was organized by the Community Services section of the police service.

The Community Services section has the mandate to support the police service in promoting positive interactions with residents and families in Prince Albert through events, information and activities.

The Shop with a Cop program started around 2008 and has been an annual event for the organization ever since. In-person events were cancelled this month due to the pandemic, but teachers and resource workers assisted in helping to select gifts online for students at John Diefenbaker Public School, W.J. Berezowsky Public School, Queen Mary, Westview Public School and St. Michael Community School.

The selected gifts were then sorted and packaged by staff at Canadian Tire and taxes were waived on all purchases.

At the Prince Albert Catholic School Division’s meeting in November, the board received an update and the program was recognized by all trustees for its importance, including board chair Suzanne Stubbs, who has been involved for many years.

“There is a collaboration that occurs with the city police and the Shop with a Cop project and there are five students from St. Michael School that will get that opportunity,” director of education Lorel Trumier said at the time.

Members of the police service then helped deliver gifts to the children so they could help celebrate the season with their loved ones. Each of the 25 children who participated in the program also received a gift of their own as part of the Shop with a Cop program.

The Prince Albert Police Service stated that they appreciate the support and effort from their local community partners in helping to make the holiday season a little brighter for local children and their families.

Cost increase in St. Mary roof project funded through PMR

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Cost increase in St. Mary roof project funded through PMR

The cost of replacing the roof on Ecole St. Mary School will be higher than expected, PA Catholic School Division Chief Financial Officer Greg McEwen reported on Monday.

McEwen told school board trustees the cost would increase by around $77,000 after contractors removed the existing roofing material and identified a layer of fibreboard under the vapour barrier, which was adhered ot the school’s roofdeck. McEwen made the update during Monday’s regular school board meeting.

“All this means is we are going to go with the Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) program funding model,” Education Director Lorel Trumier said. “It means we just push some of the less essential … projects back. What we did is reassess that and we will be able to manage financing the cost of that project.”

Project consultant Prakash Consulting determined that it was necessary to remove the fibreboard in order to make the existing concrete deck viable for the new vapour barrier to be attached. A failure to take this action would void the warranty of the new roofing materials for the project.

Prakash consulting was selected as the project’s engineering firm at the board’s March meeting.

The requirement to remove existing fibreboard was not in the original project specifications from Prakash and a Change Order was needed for the contractor.

“We always try to mitigate the cost but sometimes it is more than we had anticipated so that was one of those times where that had come to the table,” Trumier said.

The increase in cost will be funded through the PMR.

Administration made the decision to defer previously planned PMR projects in the Catholic Education Centre to a time when when sufficient PMR funds are available for the project.

Catholic Division meets with Minister of Education

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Catholic Division meets with Minister of Education

Director of education Lorel Trumier and board chair Suzanne Stubbs of the Prince Albert Catholic School Division met with Minister of Education Dustin Duncan on Dec. 8.

The meeting was to discuss supports and strategies to address COVID-19 and safety for staff and students. Trumier explained that the division tries to meet with whomever the Minister is to discuss successes and challenges and highlight the division.

“We continue to have those conversations and we had a meeting with Minister Duncan and we were fortunate that MLA Hargrave was also available and able to meet with us and discuss the challenges of the pandemic, the implications of what it means to student learning and achievement,” Trumier said.

When asked if they discussed the letter Duncan sent to board chairs in November, Trumier said they discussed everything around the pandemic.

“We, as a school division, need to ensure the safety of our staff and students at all times,” Trumier said Understanding strategies that work is part of the discussion, and we are always seeking the best processes to ensure that safety of staff and students.”

She added that the division continues to work with local Public Health officials to understand what is going on provincially.

“It’s changing times again with omicron,” Trumier said. “We are uncertain of what all that the data will show and bring, so we have to be on top of these discussions at all times. We are, on a regular basis, assessing and reassessing and revisiting and ensuring that we are doing what we can to protect our students, staff and ultimately the families in our community.”

Along with pandemic challenges, meeting attendees also discussed the ongoing development of the Provincial Education Plan 2020-2030. The province is currently working under an interim plan until the new Education Plan is completed.

Catholic school division education director credits staff for respectful cooperation following vaccination deadline

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Catholic school division education director credits staff for respectful cooperation following vaccination deadline

Prince Albert Catholic School Division Education Director Lorel Trumier said there have been few complaints after division’s deadline for staff to self-declare their COVID-19 vaccination status passed on Dec. 2.

On Monday, Trumier said 100 per cent of staff responded by the deadline, with 96 per cent declaring they were fully vaccinated.

“They have been exceptional and cooperative,” Trumier said on Tuesday. “This has been done in such as respectful manner that we are so proud of our staff for doing what they need to do. I think that we are very lucky that they understand the nuances here in protecting each other.

The four per cent of unvaccinated staff are now required to proceed with a monitoring program using negative tests and symptoms monitoring procedures. In her memo to trustees, Trumier stated that staff has been outstanding in their support of using all layers of protection against COVID-19 in schools.

During a previous update at the board’s Nov. 29 meeting as of Nov. 19, roughly 95 per cent of staff have responded to the Declaration of Proof of Vaccination requirement and 98 per cent of those were fully vaccinated.

During the meeting, Trumier also highlighted how well the first round of vaccination clinics in the division went. The clinics were open from Nov. 28 to Dec. 7.

“With the vaccination clinics, I really salute Dr. (Khami) Chokani and his team for really providing an opportunity for our families to have—for those who would like to have their children vaccinated—the opportunity to come into and use our facilities to do it in our gyms,” Trumier said.

Trumier said the location was advantageous for families, and for children, since it provided a familiar setting during a challenging event.

“I think that helps the process as sometimes it can be emotional for a child to get their vaccine or even emotional for the parents,” Trumier said.

“I think this was a really nice way the SHA and our local team here met the needs of our families. It gave them the opportunity to do it right in their own local community—to just come a block away from their home at times or just blocks away and be able to engage in that.”

The school division will host another round of vaccination clinics beginning in the New Year.

“We know that they are going to do the second in the series vaccination clinics in January so we are just working the details out,” Trumier explained.

The SHA has provided dates and times for community clinics and school clinics with the information shared with families in the division.

As well, the government has made rapid antigen testing kits for students, families and staff available. Schools in the division are distributing them as they arrive.

Kindness Caravan spreads joy through Prince Albert Thursday

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Kindness Caravan spreads joy through Prince Albert Thursday

Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Urban Services celebrated the season with their second Kindness Caravan around Prince Albert on Thursday evening.

The event, which was organized by emergency measures pandemic coordinator Natalie Clyke, included representation from around the community, including a Prince Albert Police Service escort.

“Prince Albert Grand Council is just giving back to the community,” PAGC Urban Services director Geoff Despins said. “Sharing this with the community and making sure that we get out and have everybody get into the spirit of Christmas, that’s why we are doing this.”

Despins said the PAGC hoped to show support for paramedics and emergency response workers, while also giving regular Prince Albert residents a reason to celebrate. The Caravan toured around the city on two different nights last year, but this year they reduced it to a single evening because of the extremely cold temperatures.

Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald Santa Claus and another Santa Claus from the White Buffalo Healing Lodge danced a jig before the Kindness Caravan departed from the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre on Thursday evening,

“We don’t want to freeze Santa Claus. We don’t want to freeze our helpers. We just want to make sure everybody’s safe and everybody gets home healthy,” Despins said.

Clyke’s daughter Minghella Coates was taking part for the second year, and she brought her Edmonton Oilers Elves to assist.

“It is my mom who is hosting this and I wanted to be a part of it,” Coates said. “I wanted to bring my friends along for the journey.”

The caravan started in the West Flat and travelled along River Street East before moving south on 15 Ave. East through Crescent Heights. The vehicles the traveled along the East Hill and West Hill before returning to the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre. Prince Albert City Police led the parade.

“(We are) making sure we cover as much of the city as possible,” Despins said.

People who registered were encouraged to bring a work vehicle and drive the route. Santa Claus had his own float in the Caravan and would make sure he was on it in residential areas before warming up in a vehicle.

Santa Claus himself was happy to give back to the community in this way.

“It’s amazing. It’s just about giving back every day to everybody, everywhere. Today we get to do it in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and celebrate with everybody here to share the joy and happiness of the season,” Claus said.

He wasn’t fazed by the cold weather either.

“It’s a lot of people smiling and happiness and everything that’s going on today,” he added. “There is too much drama and sadness. We want happiness and shiny faces today.”

michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca

Carlton Celebrates Christmas returns for second year

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Carlton Celebrates Christmas returns for second year

Music teacher Brenda Bernath and band students at Carlton Comprehensive High School have put together a project that allows students to share their musical talents for the holiday season.

Carlton Celebrates Christmas has returned for a second year and recently debuted on the school’s YouTube channel. Bernath said it’s a great way to connect people through music during the pandemic. It was also easier on the students who didn’t start band until the second block of the year, which began on Oct. 25.

“We decided to do a virtual concert again this year, partly because we weren’t really sure how quickly we could put together music for a full concert,” Bernath explained. “Students had not played their instruments since the pandemic began over a year and a half ago … and at the time when we were making the decision, the COVID case numbers in the province were also quite high.”

In 2020, Bernath invited students to submit a video of them performing a Christmas piece of their choice.

Unlike in 2020, band students were able to meet together this year for a group performance.

“Of course, we needed to do this as safely as possible, which meant using instrument bell covers, performer’s masks, and distancing players from one another,” she explained. “The bell covers and masks took a bit of getting used to and distancing made it more difficult for the students to hear one another.

“We decided to record the band in the school cafetorium, as it enabled us to distance and have a better visual of all of the players. We just flipped the situation around, so that the camera was on the stage and the students were playing from the location of where our audience usually sits.”

Bernath said that having another virtual concert was important for Carlton and the band program because it allowed them to celebrate music and share their performance in a safe way.

“It gave us something to work towards,” she explained. “Having a Christmas Concert has always been a tradition for the music program at Carlton.”

The versatility of a virtual concert is also a benefit. Bernath said the video can be shared near and far, with people able to access it on YouTube at any time.

“Family, relatives, friends, school music programs and our local community are all able to view our celebration of music. Once again we are notifying our senior’s homes about the concert so that they can share it with residents,” Bernath said.

She added that you can’t replicate the live music experience through a video, but this way seemed like the best option.

“I am very proud of our students as we had really only practiced for four weeks before recording the pieces,” Bernath said. “Some of them joined together to form extra groups and others submitted their own individual videos. This helped to add length and variety to the show. One of our own band students shared his expertise and was involved with the editing of the video.”

Bernath has also celebrated music virtually with Music Monday in May of both 2020 and 2021.

The full length video can be found on YouTube. The program and students’ names may be found in the description below the video.

They have also been sharing the individual performances on social media via the Carlton Facebook and Instagram accounts over the last week of school before the break.

michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca

Facilities Review to be conducted in Sask Rivers

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Facilities Review to be conducted in Sask Rivers

The buildings owned by the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division will be undergoing a review. Facilities Committee chair and rural trustee Bill Yeaman outlined progress on the facility renewal process in the division on Monday. He said the division has contracted Prince Albert architectural firm AODBT to provide an intensive review of all facilities.

“It fits with what the board has been doing in assessing and analyzing their facilities for depth of information,” education director Robert Bratvold said. “The board will hopefully have that (first phase) by summer.”

Yeaman said the Facilities committee met on Nov. 22 and discussed AODBT. The process involves three phases with five steps in each phase.

“They gather information on the facilities, (and) they go to the site for an on-site facility assessment,” Yeaman explained. “They will do one for all of our schools and spend some time in there. They work on all of the positives in the schools first rather than the negative. They give out conceptual plans for each school. They use the SCCs and other groups to finalize this plan.”

The representatives come to each school and look at various aspects of the school and how they operate.

The external review will include structural and maintenance analysis as well as site visits and discussions with school teams about programming needs and use of space.

Yeaman explained that the first phase would include the 10 rural schools north of Prince Albert. The other phases include rural schools to the south and schools in the City of Prince Albert. Because of the size, Carlton will take more time than most. The analysis will provide a package of information on every school.

“It will give us really good data to make some great decisions,” Yeaman said.

“I was really impressed because the program will look at how the schools will look in the 21st Century,” he added.

In a press release, the division touted Superintendent Mike Hurd and the maintenance team under as known and respected around the province for their systematic and careful care of facilities. The division views this review as part of that work.

“We are not doing a review because we are worried about the state of our buildings but (because) it will really help us to do a plan,” Bratvold said.

Bratvold explained that the level of detail will help provide future direction for Hurd and his planning the Preventative Maintenance Renewal (PMR) budget and regular maintenance budget. It will also allow the board to look into the future 20 years and know what to expect in terms of demands on budgets and facilities decisions.

“So this will provide lots of really good information to help inform those decisions,” Bratvold said.

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