GNS: A Learning System with Students at the Heart

Grande Yellowhead Public School Division's first priority is Student Learning. To ensure that priority is met, the second priority is Teacher, Support Staff, and Leader Excellence. Though the 'official school year' concluded at the end of June, the learning certainly did not! 

In addition to summer school CALM, Work Experience, and RAP programming for high school students, individual teachers from across the Division completed coursework for their graduate degrees or certifications to support their instructional expertise. Members of GYPSD's Board of Trustees attended the Canadian School Boards Association (CSBA) Congress and National Trustee Gathering on Indigenous Education; later in August, members of the Board attended the Public School Association's Council professional learning event in Medicine Hat where they visited the Saamis Tepee and participated in the Blanket Exercise.

Superintendent Lewis and leaders from Division Services and Supports attended the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) Summer Learning Conference to engage in deep learning and system implementation to improve student learning. School principals and assistant principals returned to learning in August to explore the results review process and reflect on a different way of implementing goals and designing improvement plans with the central Division Services and Supports team. Later that week, the Division Leadership Team (DLT) - which includes all school leadership teams and central department heads - met with Superintendent Lewis and each other to discuss the foundational work for a whole-division focus for the 2023/24 school year. Teachers new to GYPSD met and collaborated on August 28th - having time to connect with Division department heads as well as each community trustee.

On August 30th, all GYPSD staff engaged in Kick-Off 2023 to reconnect with each other, the Division's core focus, and engage in purposeful, targeted professional learning, including a refresher session on PowerTeacher Pro and the implementation of the Digital Report Card. Even our newest, and youngest learners got in the learning groove by joining GYPSD's First Rider Program - featuring Buddy the Bear in his Grande Yellow Bus Adventure - where they learned about bus safety. GYPSD: learning together for students.

Students at the Heart