Higher enrolment and a few new teachers are amongst the changes at Juniper School for the 2018-19 school year, says principal Lucy Mayor.
New staff members are Grade 7 teacher Peter Harris, from Thompson, as well as Marsha Blacksmith from Cross Lake, who teaches Cree, junior high health and kindergarten phys-ed. Another new teacher is Leisa Watson who moved up from Winnipeg to take over as a Grade 3/4 teacher. Meighan Stanley, who previously taught Grade 7 at the school, is now in charge of a Grade 3 class. Teachers are supplemented by 16 educational assistants, Mayor says, including two new hires.
As of Sept. 13, enrolment stood at 272 students, up about 10 from last year, which means they’ve had about 25 new students enrol to replace the 17 Grade 8s who graduated last June.
Inside the school, the bathrooms along the main hallway were upgraded over the summer and two classrooms were also completely redone with new ceilings and lights. Also getting a facelift was the lunchroom where food is prepared for the school’s breakfast and snack programs, which now boasts new counters and cupboards and a new dishwasher.
The breakfast program runs two days a week, while the snack program provides every student in the school with a snack at recess three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Both those programs are supported by a grant from Breakfast for Learning, a President’s Choice charity that has supported Juniper’s school nutrition programs for nine years now.
“We have increasingly received more every year,” says Mayor, for which the school is very appreciative, especially since the demand for the breakfast program seems to rise come January.
Full-day kindergarten continues to be offered this school year, but Mayor expects there will only be half-day kindergarten available next school year.
A sensory room for students who need a place to go relax and gather themselves for a few minutes before returning to the classroom will be competed by the end of this school year. The school also has a variety of animals in different classrooms, including Gibson the rabbit, a garter snake, and several aquariums.
“There’s lots of nature in the school and the kids love it,” says Mayor.
Extracurricular activities are well underway, with the school having hosted its Terry Fox Run and meet the teacher barbecue on Sept. 14, its first parent council meeting the previous day and more than 25 students in attendance at the first student council meeting of the year.
Indigenous education initiatives will continue to be a big part of Juniper this year, with the school hosting Orange Shirt Day Sept. 28, three teachers working as part of an English Language Arts project to improve Indigenous inclusion in the curriculum and full-day land-based education days planned. The virtues program will concentrate on the seven teachings.
Looking ahead, a group of student council members will be heading to We Day in Winnipeg in October – “they’re very excited about that,” Mayor says – and the school will be performing a 101 Dalmatians musical in November, and had more than 30 students at the first audition.
“It’s a busy school but I have an amazing staff,” said Mayor. “I’m honoured to be principal and work with the dedicated staff that I have here.”
