Division-wide PAX program to roll out in 2017
- Details
- Published on Friday, December 16, 2016
By Mary-Anne Ploshynsky
Superintendent RRSD
With the holiday season fast approaching, this is an opportunity to highlight some of the activities that have taken place in Rolling River School Division (RRSD) over the fall.
The School Division is full of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who are committed to ensuring positive educational opportunities for our students. We have robust participation in music, art, drama, athletics and service projects. In the spirit of the season, our schools are preparing for holiday concerts. We encourage you to attend and enjoy the entertainment provided by the creative and talented youth in our communities. Please visit our RRSD website for a concert schedule listing at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Parent/Teacher Conferences were held on Nov. 25. The conferences provide an opportunity to establish a cooperative home-school partnership. These one-to-one meetings are an opportunity to talk about academic, social and behavioral progress, with the goal of helping students learn and be successful in school. When parents and teachers communicate and work together, student progress increases. I encourage all parents to take advantage of parent-teacher conference opportunities scheduled for the school year and to be involved in school experiences and events involving your children.
I’m particularly appreciative of the work completed this fall on the RRSD Strategic Plan which included broad participation of the Rolling River School Division Trustees, principals, teachers, Thoughtstream Community Survey data, and Tell Them From Me (TTFM) student data. The Rolling River School Division Strategic Plan details Board priorities from 2016 to 2021. The priorities include cultural proficiency, mental health and well being, literacy and numeracy. For information on each priority, please view the plan on the RRSD website.
Mental health and well being is a strategic plan priority and Rolling River School Division is partnering with Healthy Child Manitoba Office (HCMO) to offer PAX Training to RRSD teachers in September 2017. PAX is a set of tools and strategies used by teachers and students that creates conditions for active teaching and lifelong learning. Longitudinal studies have shown that students who participate in PAX are more likely to graduate from school, need fewer special education services, have better mental health (including less suicidal thoughts/attempts), fewer smoking, alcohol and drug addictions and are less involved in crime, into their adult years.
The PAX program is currently being implemented in early years in four of our schools. We are expanding the program to include all schools and grades in RRSD that have not previously used PAX. We are in the initial planning stages and more information will be forthcoming to include a parent information evening planned for September 2017. Additional information on the PAX program can be viewed at http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthychild/pax/.
I would like to express my gratitude to students, staff, parents and community members who enthusiastically contribute to our school division.
