Catholic school board seeks input to maximize use of Kawartha Lakes schools

The Catholic college board is giving Kawartha Lakes college households a chance to supply enter into efforts to maximise college amenities to help programming and scholar studying.

With the province having positioned a moratorium on long-term lodging and pupil lodging evaluations, the Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District Faculty Board is as an alternative investigating methods to greatest use faculties in Lindsay and Downeyville — that are each above and under capability — and maximize instructional providers.

The preliminary plan was to start out the method in 2019 however this was delayed till final fall on account of COVID-19, defined superintendent Sheila Piggott through the board’s committee of the entire assembly Monday (Jan. 10). Enrolment evaluations and conferences with administration, workers and faculty councils had been carried out together with a Thought Trade survey in November.

Quite a lot of concepts had been mentioned together with:

• Altering boundaries to handle capability points — St. John Paul II Catholic Elementary Faculty is over by 55 college students, whereas St. Mary Catholic Elementary Faculty has house for 121 extra college students.

• Transferring French Immersion to 1 constructing, much like Monseigneur-Jamot in Peterborough that accommodates each elementary and secondary college students.

• Including on to St. John Paul II, to interchange the three portables at the moment getting used and supply house for additional potential will increase in college students on account of vital residential growth within the space.

• Having Lindsay Catholic faculties transfer to kindergarten to Grade 6 and turning St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary Faculty — which is simply at 46 per cent capability — right into a Grade 7 to 12 college.

Workers are within the technique of creating a Thought Trade survey geared toward dad and mom and caregivers that can embrace one open-ended query and 10 sure or no questions. The board expects to additionally give college students a chance to take part.

Outcomes will probably be shared with trustees in late March.

Superintendent of enterprise and finance/plant Isabel Grace stated whereas Catholic college enrolment has declined through the years, particularly in rural areas, it’s not being considered as the only determinate in relation to programming.

Whereas there's vital residential development happening, and proposed to happen, there's at the moment little data obtainable as to the kind of homebuyers tasks are geared to — households versus retirees — or methods to find out the influence on the system. Grace stated the board will proceed to speak with builders and will even interact a marketing consultant to supply some future perception.

Some concern was additionally raised relating to having elementary and secondary college students attending the identical college, nevertheless, Grace famous many different faculties have taken this route and located success. She additionally identified the method remains to be within the very early phases.

“It is a start line. We might get some actually nice suggestions or we might get a shotgun response that might ship us again to the drafting board,” stated Grace. “Both method, we’re not anticipating any adjustments to happen this yr.”