Now that the school year has resumed and we are all settling back into our familiar routines, the Black Gold School Division (BGSD) Board of Trustees hopes that the uncertainties that came with September are a fading memory, and that the vibrant colours of autumn and the chorus of kids happy to be back at school are at the forefront of your mind.

For Black Gold Trustees, one of our major goals for the 2020/21 school year is to revisit and update our strategic plan. Strategic plans are an essential tool for organizations because they provide a sense of direction by laying out a guide for day-to-day decision making, and outline measurable goals to evaluate performance.

They also help to create a consistent focus at all levels of an organization. As such, the Board wants to make sure that the strategic plan update takes into consideration the thoughts and perspectives of our community stakeholders. To that end, we will be providing community members with an opportunity to have your voice heard, to share your thoughts and opinions on the existing core values and priorities at our upcoming Council of School Communities. This event will be held on October 21, 2020, in a virtual format in order to maximize input and participation despite the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

The current core values of Black Gold School Division are:

• Student- Focused Learning,
• Relationships,
• Supportive Environment,
• Passion, and
• Managing Resources Responsibly.

We will be facilitating discussion in order to gather your feedback to help validate our core values and to define what they mean to you. The information and feedback gathered will be a valuable resource for the Board when we renew and refresh our strategic plan later this year. Invitations will be extended to community stakeholders such as school councils, senior student leaders, teachers, administrators and local politicians.

The BGSD Board of Trustees values the input and involvement of our community stakeholders. Over the last two years, community engagement and advocacy has been the laser focus of one of the board’s most active committees. As stated in the committee’s terms of reference, the committee will work proactively to seek opportunities for engagement from multiple perspectives within the community.

Based on this directive, the Board will be hosting an additional Council of School Communities later in this school year to facilitate ongoing dialog with our communities. Please stay up to date on this upcoming event, and others by visiting the Black Gold School Division website (www.blackgold.ca), following us on social media, and reading our monthly newspaper articles.

You can also reach out to your board members directly with your questions, concerns or suggestions. Please find our contact information at www.blackgold.ca/about-bgsd/board.

On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our communities for the support, patience and enthusiasm over the weeks of September that safely ushered over 11,000 students back into the classroom. It is our hope that October continues in the same positive manner, and that while we all navigate this new normal we can find time to appreciate and enjoy the beauty that the changing season brings.

– Trustee Sarah O’Gorman