ASD-N honored this year’s retirees at retirement dinners in Bathurst and Miramichi this past week.

58 employees will be retiring at the end of this school year, from across many different positions and many parts of the District.

Each and every retiree has played an important role in helping to serve our students, and we are grateful for their years of service and dedication to the education system.

We wish them all a wonderful retirement!

Congratulations to Sandra Fournier and Marie-Louise Squire!

 

News Release

Education and Early Childhood Development

2024 Excellence in Education Awards recipients announced (anglophone sector)

15 May 2024

FREDERICTON (GNB) – Ten educators in the anglophone sector are being recognized with the Minister’s Excellence in Education Awards for their outstanding work.

The awards are given to educators, principals and early childhood educators who have advanced education in the anglophone sector by showing exceptional dedication, leadership, passion and commitment.

“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to these 10 educators for their dedication, selflessness and commitment to educating our province’s young minds,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. “With your work, you are changing the world one student at a time and, in the process, inspiring all of those around you.”

The award recipients are

Anglophone North School District:

• Sandra Fournier, Bathurst High School
• Marie-Louise Squire, Dr. Losier Middle School

Anglophone South School District:

• Jennifer Hickey, Bayside Middle School
• Natasha Peddle, St. Malachy’s Memorial High School
• Lorena Rattray, Quispamsis Middle School

Anglophone East School District:

• Valerie Russell, Teddybear Daycare
• Misty Thomas, Havelock School

Anglophone West School District:

• Nance Hetherington, Lincoln Elementary Community School
• Jackie Reed, Priestman Street Elementary School
• Krystle Roherty, Fredericton High School

The awards were presented Tuesday during a ceremony in Fredericton.

Media Contact(s)

Diana Chávez, communications, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, [email protected].

Please see the important message below from Superintendent Dean Mutch concerning an update to this year’s school calendar in June.

May 10, 2024

Good morning, ASD-N Families.

With the summer season nearly here, our thoughts are turning towards the upcoming summer break. As we make plans for the end of our school year, I am reaching out to inform you of an important update regarding the current school year’s calendar.

Following discussions between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD), school and district leadership, and the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, a decision has been made to adjust the last day of school for students to Friday, June 21, 2024. This is a change from the originally scheduled date in our calendar.

Teachers’ last day will continue to be June 26, 2024.School staff will use this time for professional learning and preparing for the upcoming school year.

We are proud of what our students and staff have accomplished this year, and we are grateful for your support and cooperation in making our school communities a positive learning and working environment for everyone.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Dean Mutch

Superintendent

Anglophone North School District

78 Henderson St. Miramichi, NB

506-778-607

News Release

Education and Early Childhood Development

Implementation plan for long-term recommendations to improve anglophone education sector

16 April 2024

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has released an implementation plan and accountability framework for a steering committee’s long-term recommendations to improve the anglophone education sector.

“The implementation plan and accountability framework provide a clear pathway on how we will achieve the long-term recommendations our government accepted in November,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. “We look forward to the continued support of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, educators, families and other education stakeholders as we tackle head-on the root causes of some very challenging, long-standing issues.”

In collaboration with school districts, parent school support committees, educational partners, and the teachers’ association, department staff have assessed the scope of work and resources required to develop a plan and timeline for implementing each recommendation. Project teams associated with each recommendation will soon begin their work, which involves consulting with stakeholders involved in the education system.

“The actions we will be taking to implement the long-term recommendations are clear, practical and manageable,” said Hogan. “I am extremely proud of the work undertaken to date in developing this road map to guide us forward in building a better education system.”

The department has established a panel of educational leaders who will offer their guidance, research and insights during the project’s development and implementation. Biographies of the panel members – Andy Hargreaves, Imelda Perley, Michael Fullan and Beth Keyes – are available online.

As part of the accountability framework, progress on the recommendations will be shared online regularly.

Formed in April 2023, the executive steering committee is composed of people representing educators, students, district education councils and First Nations. The committee is co-chaired by the executive director of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and the assistant deputy minister of the anglophone sector. The committee established two working groups: one focused on improving the English prime program and one focused on improving French-language learning.

“We are grateful and honoured that these panellists have chosen to lend their expertise to our ongoing collective efforts,” said Ardith Shirley, the committee co-chair and the association’s executive director. “The New Brunswick Teachers’ Association hopes that the government will remain focused on actioning the recommendations and that necessary resources will be targeted over the long term to support the important work of the project teams. The association is looking forward to supporting the work of the project teams and hopes all New Brunswickers will join us in supporting and monitoring the progress of these important recommendations.”

From May to September 2023, these working groups engaged with education partners through virtual and in-person sessions and submitted recommendations to the committee. Feedback was also received from more than 3,000 New Brunswickers through an online survey.

Since July 2023, the government has been implementing eight actions in response to the committee’s report on near-term recommendations; Hogan said this work has had an immediate positive impact in the province’s schools. In November, the government accepted the committee’s long-term recommendations to create environments where students thrive and focus on learning; to engage communities; and to ensure the right expertise is in each classroom. The long-term recommendations were:

• Move to address the emerging critical concern of chronic absenteeism and reinforce a culture of learning by working with school districts and stakeholders to draft a provincial action plan on school attendance.
• Develop a new classroom composition model and a reasonable timeline to implement an improved inclusive and equitable system.
• Leverage technology to enhance learning and personalization.
• Place a focus on middle school learners aged 11-14 by working to identify actions and programs to improve academic engagement, achievement and well-being.
• Establish a clear plan (benchmarks/goals) for strengthening French-language learning in New Brunswick’s anglophone kindergarten-to-Grade 12 system, including expanding course options and opportunities for high school students, and exploring options for students to enter French immersion with greater flexibility based on readiness.
• Encourage movement and getting outside, including embedding 30 minutes of physical education for kindergarten-to-Grade 8 students daily in addition to outdoor education opportunities.
• Have the recently announced Centre of Excellence for Language Learning develop a communication and support plan to help families and communities assist children in their success in French immersion.
• Improve retention and recruitment of qualified teachers and specialized health-service professionals in education.
• Support educational assistants in receiving dedicated training, professional learning and opportunities to further collaborate with teachers.
• Ensure teachers who work with early readers have specific training designed to maximize the development and outcomes of these students.
• Develop and implement equitable access to professional learning for educators in resources, strategies and interventions to best support each learner in English prime and French-language classrooms.
• Create, with partners where appropriate, a detailed scope and implementation plan as well as an accountability framework for each of the recommendations no later than March 31, 2024

“Our recent investments in the 2024-25 budget demonstrate our government’s commitment to these recommendations,” said Hogan.

Media Contact(s)

Charles Renshaw, communications, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, [email protected].

The big day is here!

This is a reminder that ASD-N students will have an early dismissal on Monday, April 8th.

In fact, it’s a very rare and historical event that is taking place April 8th over North America – a total solar eclipse. We have not experienced one of those here in New Brunswick since the year 932!

What does this mean? As the Moon aligns perfectly between Earth and the Sun, temporary darkness will sweep across parts of the country, and our region in New Brunswick will be right in the path. Parts of our District will even fall into the solar eclipse path of totality!

Please note that all schools in ASD-N will finish at noon on April 8^th, to allow students to safely arrive at their after-school destinations before the eclipse begins.

All students will have received eclipse viewing glasses before being dismissed.

For more information on the eclipse, please visit:

Total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)