By Derek Cornet and Angela Brown

Close to 1,250 students enrolled at NLSD facilities in tri-communities, teachers still needed

Oct 22, 2018 | 5:00 PM

An estimated 1,250 students are enrolled in pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 classes at Northern Lights School Division facilities in the tri-communities this fall.

Topping the list is Churchill Community High School in La Ronge, which Principal Scott Tomporowski said has 528 students as of the end of September. He noted that’s relatively the same number of students compared to 2017 but added in the last five years, enrolment as been as high as 550 and as low as 505.

“Time seems to be flying by and it’s a busy place,” Tomporowski said. “Everyone is getting back into the routine of things. Sports and other clubs have started up and we’ve had a few tournaments here.”

Upcoming events at Churchill include the Northern Saskatchewan Student Eco-Conference this weekend, as well as the girl’s volleyball team will host regionals in November. Tomporowski mentioned the eco-conference will consist of students from across the North coming together to discuss environmental sustainability.

Pre-Cam Community School in La Ronge is the second most populous with 511 students this fall. Principal Ryan Kuppenbender said there has been a surge of Grade 1’s this year and staff have had to re-organize class sizes because of it. There are also four new teachers, he added, and there’s been some other little changes.

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“It’s been extremely busy being a new administrator,” Kuppenbender said. “As [I’m] learning all the roles, things tend be a bit busier.”

Finally, at Gordon Denny Community School in Air Ronge, there are 210 students and 15.5 full-time staff. According to Principal Scott Hepworth, those numbers are consistent to previous years and everything is off to a new start. Work is also currently being done in the school yard, as a new loop for buses will drop children off closer to the doors as opposed to the side of the road like in the past.

Hepworth also invited members of the public to Gordon Denny’s Remembrance Day ceremony Nov. 9, as well as the school’s Christmas tree decoration night Nov. 22.

Teacher numbers still low 

Director of Education Jason Young said the division must hire another 10 teachers for open spots in a number of schools.

“We are needing teachers, anywhere from La Loche to La Ronge, Pinehouse, in the far North, Stony Rapids and Sandy Bay,” he said. “It’s spread throughout our system.”

Young added the division is still looking to fill a French Immersion teacher position at Churchill Community High School in La Ronge. The division is also looking for middle-school-year teachers, as well as an Industrial Arts teacher for Minahik Waskahigan High School at Pinehouse Lake. NLSD also needs a Life Skills/Cultural teacher in La Loche. It also has some elementary school teacher positions to fill as well.

Young said in his experience he doesn’t recall there being an issue with a teacher shortage over the past 10 years to this extent before.

He added the issue may likely impact future planning for the division.

To fill the gaps from the teacher shortage now, the division is taking teachers who work in other areas of the schools, such as resource-room teachers, and putting them in classrooms to meet the need temporarily. Principals and vice-principals may also be filling in for classroom duties as well until more teachers are hired.

Young said he appreciates the division’s existing staff members for stepping up to help during this challenging period.

“I’m very thankful to our staff who have shown patience, professionalism and flexibility during this time,” he said. “We are grateful to teachers who have joined our team, locally, in our province, and across Canada.”

If prospective teachers are interested in applying for any of the positions available they can look at the division’s website for more details.  

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno