Director General’sReport to Council

by M. Chechile

New BeginningsI would like to take this op-

portunity to wish everyone a warm welcome back to a new school year. I hope you enjoyed your summer vacation and that you took the time to re-energize and enjoy it with family, loved ones and friends.

This will be a special school year for me, as my first in the position of Director General of this exceptional school board. It is a privilege and honour to be surrounded and work with such a remarkable team of experi-enced, passionate and highly competent colleagues, whether fellow administrators, teachers, support personnel, manage-ment, caretakers or profession-als, along with our dedicated Council of Commissioners, whose support and depth of knowledge is truly invaluable. In addition, the parents of our students, the students them-selves, our partners in the mu-nicipalities, our many commu-nities, make it possible to run this outstanding school board. The common goal, is that ‘We are all in this together.

One of my favorite quotes from Henry Ford reads ‘Coming to-gether is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working to-gether is success.’

Summer School and CampsI would like to congratulate

the Family & School Support and Treatment Team (FSSTT) who celebrated a twentieth an-niversary! They ran the sixth Camp Venture this year, at St. Lawrence Junior and again the students involved enjoyed and benefitted from the experience. New this year was the Tran-sitions camp at Horizon, for adolescent students with spe-cial needs. Headed by our very own, Chris Fuzessy and Kerry-Ann Payette, the program was a huge hit.

The Junior Voyageurs day camp, under the umbrella of the Educational Services Depart-ment and run by Adrian Geller, continues to be a big draw, with arts, science and technology classes reaching capacity long in advance of the first day.

Summer school was well at-tended this year, and the results were good. Both, Lasalle Com-munity Comprehensive and St. Thomas summer schools were in operation and welcomed a small number of students from other school boards and the pri-vate school network.

ESD/SSD FairThe Educational Services De-

partment joint with the Student Services Department welcomed teachers, school staff & admin-istrators to a ‘New Teacher Ser-vice Fair’ held in the Head Of-fice Board Room. Teachers were able to meet their pedagogical consultants, members of the

Chair’s Report to Council

by Suanne Stein Day

Welcome back to the 2015 – 2016 school year. Despite some real challenges, I am predicting the best year ever. We have a smaller team, but many of our ex-cellent group have taken on new roles to meet our goals, not the least of which is our new Director General, Michael Chechile, whom I welcome to our table.

Council approved an adminis-trative structure last June that al-lowed management to incorporate the cuts of many positions. Most of these positions were reduced through attrition, but it still re-quired many administrators and support people agreeing to take on new responsibilities to achieve our objectives. For this I thank them all.

I know many of you are won-dering about the librarians that were laid off last spring. We have been working exhaustively since the budget rules came out in July to shave dollars from ev-ery area we have. Because of the cuts made, and the diligent review of each department and program, including executive compensa-tion, we will be presenting a bud-get for council’s approval that will include documentation technol-ogy resources for each elementary school library.

Our teachers, our front liners, are facing some challenges this year as well. We all know that contract negotiations have not been moving along and they are forced to consider dealing with an unknown future. I, personally, believe in our teachers and have faith in our teachers. I trust them to ensure a safe and caring learn-ing environment for our students.

Our budgets are tight, make no mistake. Our administrators and consultants will have to do things differently to support our teachers and ensure the same leading edge education is available, albeit with different tools and techniques. We are fortunate that this board had the foresight to put certain infrastructures in place while the funding was available allowing new programs to be implemented. Our student integration models have proven extremely success-ful. Our technology infrastructure has proven successful. Our inter-national program has proven suc-cessful. These efforts and many others have paid the way for the future and that future starts now.

I have every confidence in the staff of this school board. Every single one of them comes to work each morning knowing that in some way they are contributing to the success of our learners. I’m looking forward to a good year, working with our community to make some tough decisions, to be sure, but knowing that in the end, the best interests of the students are always the basis of each deci-sion.

Best of everything to each stu-dent, every staff member and their families.See CHECHILE page A2

The Pearson NewsFROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Août/August 2015 GRATUIT/FREEVolume XVIII No. 1

FINALDU DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL ET DE LA PRÉSIDENTE DU CONSEIL

Guidelines for Headlines (and Articles, Photos & Advertisements)

When writing your article, you may find it helpful to consider some of the following simple stylistic tips on print journalism. You can find more here: http://j o u r n a l i s m . a b o u t . c o m / o d /reporting/tp/createstories.htm

Quotes

“I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation,” George Bernard Shaw once said. Like-wise, quotes add spice to a story. Ask people’s opinions about the subject of your article and quote them!

5 W’s

You may have heard of the five W’s before – remember them when writing your article! Read-ers want to know what happened, who it happened to, where, when and why. Additionally, remem-ber that HOW something hap-pened is important, too!

Inverted Pyramid

The most important informa-tion comes first in the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. Ideally, the first paragraph should give a reader a good overview of the story. Additional detail and infor-mation can be included later.

This style of writing is widely used by print journalists, for two reasons. First, it works to “hook”

a reader, telling them why they should care enough to read your article. Second, it allows an editor to shorten your article without losing the meaning of the piece. If the article dosen’t make sense if you end it after any paragraph, try re-arranging it.

Keep it consice

Avoid flowery language. Get to the point. If you can say it in three words instead of five, do.

Photos

Photos add a great deal to a sto-ry, so including a photo is recom-mended. When including a pho-tograph, remember to include the name of the photographer. Cap-tions are important as they tell a reader what they’re looking at. Name the people in your photo. Provide a suggested caption for each photo.

Please DO NOT include photo-graphs that may be copyright ma-terial, including any photographs downloaded from the internet that do not explicitly say that they are free to use. Please DO NOT provide photographs of minor persons whose parents have not signed the consent form.

Headlines

Feel free to provide a suggest-ed headline. However, please be

aware that it may be changed to fit the space available.

The Editor

Edits are often made to sub-mitted articles. This is not done to “censor” your article, nor is it meant to criticize your writ-ing style. Editing can be done for a number of reasons, including to increase clarity, to shorten or lengthen the article to fit a space or to include additional informa-tion.

Additionally, please don’t be offended if we choose not to run your story. While we make every effort to include all of the pieces submitted, occasionally we may not be able to include your work due to space limitations (in which case we may or may not run it in the next issue) or because it is un-suitable for this publication. It is not because we don’t “like” your story, nor is it because we are “against” the topic of your article.

AP Style

The Pearson News makes no at-tempt to conform to the Associat-ed Press Style Guide, but you may find it interesting to consult some of its basic tenets, which you can find here:

http://journalism.about.com/od/

writing/a/apstyle.htm

Photo by: Jim hendry

Photographs add colour and life to a story – and a caption adds meaning and context to a photo!

The Pearson News How-To

Deadlines for

Headlines(and articles, photos & advertisements*)

Please read the section entitled “Rules for Submission” before submitting your article. Articles that are not in compliance with the rules will not be published. Articles received after a deadline will be published in the next issue of The Pearson News, if appropriate.

For the 2015-2016 school year, the monthly deadline for the re-ceipt of articles, photos & adver-tisements* for The Pearson News is the Wednesday before every meeting of the Council of Com-missioners:

2015August Edition: Aug. 26September Edition: Sept. 23October Edition: Oct. 21November Edition: Nov. 25December Edition: Dec. 9

2016January Edition: Jan. 20February Edition: Feb. 17March Edition: March 23April Edition: April 20May Edition: May 25June Edition: June 22

*Please note that advertisements may only be related to school or board activities.

Rules for Submission

Please read this section before submitting your article.

1) Include all photos as seperate attachments in a com-mon photo format such as JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF.

2) Provide your story and captions for your photos in a single Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx), rich-text file (.rtf) or simple text file (.txt). Do not in-clude photos in file containing the text of your story. Make sure you clearly label each of your photo captions with the file name of corresponding photo.

3) The article should be sent your principal, who should forward it to Dan Mullins (dmul-lins@lbpsb.qc.ca).

4) Include your name, which school you are from, your title or what grade you teach, and, if possible, the name of the photographer who took any included photos.

Below is a list of Commissioners along with their school board locals. (514) 422-3000 Ward Communities Commissioner Local Chairman All Suanne Stein Day 30101 1 Lasalle/Verdun Mary Ann Davis 30121 2 Lasalle/Lachine Frank Di Bello 30122 3 Lachine/Dorval Joshua Arless 30123 4 Pointe-Claire Noel Burke 30102 5 Pierrefonds-Roxboro Nan Beaton 30125 6 Dollard-des-Ormeaux Craig Berger 30126 7 Kirkland/Dollard Laura Derry 30127 8 Beaconsfield Martin Sherman 30128 9 Pointe-Claire/Beaconsfield/Baie d’Urfé/Ste. Anne Eric Bender 30129 10 Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue/Île-Perrot Domenic Pavone 30130 11 Off-Island North Daniel Olivenstein 30131 12 Off Island South Wayne Clifford 30132 Parent Sharad Bhargava 30161 Parent Sandra Buckingham 30162 Parent Frank Clarke 30162 Parent Michael Nalecz 30163 Student Vacant Student Vacant

Executive Committee Monday, September 21 5:30 p.m. Board Room Council of Commissioners Monday, September 28 7:30 p.m. Board Room

Do you have an article to submit to

Please send your articles and pictures to your Principal who will forward them to us. Questions or comments? Email Dan Mullins at dmullins@lbpsb.qc.ca

the Pearson

News?

A2Pearson News Août/August 2015

Chechile, from page A1Autism Spectrum Disorders and Mental Health Centres of Excel-lence, along with psychologists, audiologists, speech therapists and many other of the dedicated people who help support them in the classroom.

Strategic PlanHaving successfully imple-

mented the previous strategic plan, entitled “Together we Learn: Partnering for Student Success,” which took place from 2010 to 2015, we will now con-tinue to raise the bar. Admin-istration has developed a draft document, and a consultative process will soon begin where-by we will harness the collective knowledge and insight of our community to refine the draft. We intend to produce a set of goals, specific and measurable steps needed to achieve them, as well as identifying indicators to help us track our progress.

Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi project is now com-

pleted throughout the network. This represents a great deal of work on the part of the Infor-mation Services department, and the rewards to our student population and staff should be even greater. With the increase interest of BYOD programs and technology in the classroom, this was a critical infrastructure program, and one undertaken very efficiently. Thank you to all those involved.

Full-ManagementOn August 19th, a full man-

agement meeting was held at the John Killingbeck Pavilion of the International Language Centre (ILC). The mood was positive, as senior management wore chef’s hats and ‘We are here to serve’ aprons. Congratulations are in order for the adminis-tration and staff of the ILC for their hospitality and hard work, along with all of the members of the administrative team whose optimism and willingness to en-gage in the work of education have never been more apparent.

Most students head back to school tomorrow, and for some it will be their very first day. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone, students, parents, teachers, administra-tion and educators a great first day. Tomorrow, I am looking forward to meeting students and parents at Wilder Penfield while my colleagues will be greeting at different schools. I came across this quote from an unknown author ‘A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.’ I would like to share a little poem titled “Twas the Night Before School Started.

To learn more about the Lester B.

Pearson School Board’s

Autism Spectrum Disorders Centre of

Excellence, visit:www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/asdn

‘Twas the Night Before School StartedAuthor Unknown

‘Twas the night before school started,

When all through the town,The parents were cheering,

It was a riotous sound!By eight, kids were washed

And tucked into bed...When memories of homework

Filled them with dread.New pencils, new folders, new

notebooks, too!New teachers, new friends...

Their anxiety grew!The parents just giggled when

They learned of this frightAnd shouted upstairs –

“Got to bed! It’s a school night!”

INFORMATION: SUSAN GRAND | PEF@LBPSB.QC.CA | (514) 422-3000 EXT 37000

$2 OF EVERY TICKET SOLDGOES TO SUPPORT THE PEARSON EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1:00 P.M.A T M C G I L L

JOIN THE LESTER B. PEARSON COMMUNITY !ACT FA ST, TICKETS ARE LIMITED!

$14TICKET PRICE:

VS

MEETING TO ELECT THE 2015-2016

SPECIAL NEEDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 16, 2015

7:00PM Location: Lester B. Pearson School Board Office

1925 Brookdale, Dorval Board Room

The Special Needs Advisory Committee is a committee mandated by the Education Act to advise the School Board on special needs issues in regards to educational services and school board policies.

The committee is made up of parents of students with special needs, teachers, school administrators, professionals, support staff and representatives from community agencies.

At this meeting, parents of students with special needs, who are interested, will be elected to hold positions on the committee for one or two year mandates. New positions are filled by majority vote. We encourage all parents of students with special needs to attend and get involved!

Special Needs Advisory Committee meetings are held monthly and are open to all parents. Should you have a question, please feel free to contact the Special Needs Advisory Committee by email at: snac@lbpearson.ca

To learn more about the Special Needs Advisory Committee please visit our website (http://snac.lbpsb.qc.ca).

While SNAC does not deal with individual issues or situations, parents of children with special needs are welcome to attend the monthly meetings.

PEF Newsletter: August 2015 Show your support for everything the Pearson Educational Foundation does for our students. Register for the 2015 Annual PEF Golf Classic. All the money raised on this day provides materials and equipment for classroom projects in all LBPSB schools.

October 1st, 2015 at Club de Golf Atlantide 2201 Don Quichotte, Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, J7V 7P2

Cost for brunch, green fees, golf cart, Cocktail Dînatoire: $250 (tax receipt for $100)

Check-in and brunch: 10:00 am Tee-off: 12:00 pm Cocktail Dînatoire only (5:00 to 8:00 pm)

Cost is $75 (tax receipt for $50)

Register or make a tax deductible donation at: http://goo.gl/forms/ixlHBPqaf0 All payment instructions available on the form or on our website: http://pef.lbpsb.qc.ca Introducing the First Annual LBPSB Family Day at The Montreal Alouettes Only $14 per ticket! ($2 donated to PEF) Regular price for these tickets is $36

Complete the order form and pay by chq or pay online. See all info at http://pef.lbpsb.qc.ca/alouettes.htm Ordering deadline is October 2nd Call Sue for info & assistance: 514-422-3000 ext 37000

Pearson NewsA3Août/August 2015

Check out what’s going on with the International Studies ProgramVisit us on the web at: http://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/eng/intlstudies/indexV2.asp

RÉservez cette date!SAVE THE DATE!

G o l fClassique DE

2 0 1 5CLASSIC

RÉservez cette date!

Jeudi le 1er octobre 2015Thursday, October 1, 2015

Club de golf atlantideIle perrot, quebec

A4Pearson News Août/August 2015

This workshop is being offered by the Lester B. Pearson School Board in partnership with Concordia University, Department of Applied Human Sciences, Graduate Program in Human Systems Intervention.

Register Early, Space is Limited

Registration Fee: $25 (lunch provided)

Sign up online by June 12 and you’ll be entered

into our Early Bird draw.

www.lbpsb.qc.ca

For more information, email workshopinfo@lbpsb.qc.ca or call (514) 422-3000 & ask for ‘Workshop Info’.

This workshop is open to all

members of the LBPSB Community

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2015 OR Sunday, October 18, 2015

Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Place: Pearson Electrotechnology Centre

5000 René Huguet, Lachine

Registration

Information

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