Elementary Family of Schools Clarke HS
Accommodation Planning Update
Thank you to all the families and community members who shared their voice, either in-person or online, about possible approaches to student accommodation pressures in the community. Specifically, we have significant challenges in having enough space for all our students at Newcastle PS and The Pines Senior PS.
As you know, and flowing directly from those consultation meetings, the Board approved adjustments to educational programming at Newcastle Public School and The Pines Senior Public School.
Beginning September 2024, The Pines Senior Public School is changing from its current Grade 6-8 structure to become a Grade 5-8 dual-track French Immersion School. Newcastle Public School will become a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4 dual-track French Immersion School.
At the January 2024 Resource Committee meeting, school board administration provided an update to the Board on the next steps for these changes in the school community, and to the full Board of Trustees at its January 23 Regular Board Meeting.
Specifically, to best use the available space on-site and keep student cohorts together, incoming Grade 5 and 6 students from Newcastle PS will be housed at The Pines Senior PS while Grade 7 and 8 students from The Pines Senior PS will be housed on the second floor of the Clarke HS building.
We recognize that accommodation issues can be challenging for students and appreciate the input of community and staff throughout the consultation process. We believe this plan aligns with community feedback to keep the Grade 7 and 8 cohorts together.
School and board staff have been working collaboratively to review any necessary facility upgrades required at Clarke HS to welcome and accommodate the incoming Grade 7 and 8 students. We will continue to provide information and support to staff and community as part of this transition plan.
Administration continues to prioritize securing funding to build a new JK-12 school on the Board owned property at Grady Drive/Ruddell Road in Newcastle, Ontario, as part of the Ministry of Education capital priorities application process.
We believe that this plan offers a solution to the accommodation pressures while continuing to prioritize securing funding for a new school, addresses concerns raised by community and provides students who are impacted with appropriate structures and programming opportunities to enhance their learning journey.
Questions and Answers
Q. Will Grade 7 and 8 students from The Pines Intermediate @Clarke be travelling across
the parking lot and driveway for recess, classes, and other activities? |
A. Grade 7 and 8 students in The Pines Intermediate @Clarke will remain in that building throughout their school day. They will only move across the parking lot in rare circumstances for meetings or shared activities. Any movement between buildings will be supervised and accompanied by staff. |
Q. Are you planning to install fencing at The Pines Senior PS to accommodate the younger junior students? |
Plans are underway to have a fence installed around the perimeter of The Pines Senior PS. The fencing will be installed during the summer of 2024 and before students are on site in September. Please click here to see a map of the proposed fencing.
|
Q. What will recess look like? |
A. Grade 5 and 6 students at The Pines Senior PS will use the newly fenced yard (fencing will go in during this summer) and will continue to have access to activities like soccer, baseball, foursquare, volleyball, and basketball. Grade 7 and 8 students at The Pines Intermediate @Clarke will make use of a pavement area, as well as the grassed space behind the school for the same activities. |
Q. What type of interaction will there be between secondary and intermediate (Grade 7 and 8) students? |
A. Grade 7 and 8 students will be in their own hallway at The Pines Intermediate @Clarke, which includes separate washrooms. Secondary students will not have access to this part of the building. While there will be supervised shared activities, like assemblies, the goal will be for students to move through their day with limited interaction. |
Q. Is there an available service provider for before and/or after school care at The Pines Senior PS in 2024? |
A. Currently, after school care is available for students from The Pines through the BGC Durham recreation provider at the Diane Hamre Recreation Complex, located at 1780 Rudell Rd, Newcastle. STSCO provides transportation to the recreation complex or afterschool care. Please use the above link to contact the service provider. |
Q. What if I require before school care for my child? |
A. The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board partners with third party licensed child care providers to offer before and/or after-school programming where there is sufficient interest from families. Grade 5 and Grade 6 families attending school at The Pines this September 2024 have recently been surveyed about their before and/or after school care needs. We are currently determining if there is sufficient interest to create a program and will provide more information soon. |
Q. Will rotary be happening at The Pines? |
A. No, both locations of The Pines will be using homerooms. This means that students from Grades 5-8 will have one homeroom teacher, as well as a French teacher and a planning time teacher. |
Q. Will students attending The Pines still have the chance to have Grade 5-8 events like dances and assemblies? What will that look like? |
A. The Pines will be a Grade 5-8 school beginning in 2024/2025. We look forward to having many different events (such as dances, assemblies, and other fun). Some of these events will take place in The Pines Senior PS building while others may take place in the Clarke building. We will share information about the location of these fun activities. |
Q. Will there be opportunities for students and staff from The Pines to interact with students and staff from Clarke HS? |
A. We will continue to look for opportunities to have shared events between The Pines Intermediate and Clarke HS students and staff. This year, for example, we have come together for a Halloween parade, Remembrance Day, and Intermediate Track and Field. |
Q. What transition activities are happening to support all student groups in getting familiar with spaces and staff at The Pines and Clarke? |
A. Mr. Avery (Principal at The Pines) has been visiting the Grade 4 and 5 classes at Newcastle PS and has connected with almost all students; Orono visits with Grade 6 students will be happening in mid-May. In an ongoing way, Mr. Avery and Ms. Cummings (Principal at Clarke HS) connect with students who will be moving over to The Pines @Clarke in September 2024. As we prepare for September, we will continue to create opportunities to connect students and build community. |
Q. Will students from all feeder schools meet before the start of the new school year? |
A. We are planning for students from Newcastle PS and Orono PS to visit on June 5 from 10:30 am -1:30 pm. Newcastle PS students will have a chance to tour and experience The Pines Senior PS, while Orono PS and The Pines Senior PS students will have a chance to connect and see the Clarke HS spaces that will become The Pines Intermediate @Clarke. |
Q. Will there be an opportunity for parents and families to visit The Pines and Clarke before
September 2024? |
A. On June 5th, all families from the Clarke Family of Schools are invited to join The Pines and Clarke for an evening of celebrating the arts. More information will be shared directly with families. |
Q. How will younger children be separated from older children on the bus? |
A. Students from K-12 typically share buses across the KPR district. To ensure safety of all students, seating plans are required. In most instances, the older students sit at the back of the bus while the younger students sit closer to the front. There are also routines and structures in place when students enter and exit the buses. |
Q. If I have more questions about the transition of students from Grades 5-8, who can I reach out to? |
A. If you have additional questions with respect to the transition of students, you are welcome to reach out directly to your school principal who can help. |
Background information
Please see below for additional communications, materials from consultation meetings, previous Q and A documents, and feedback.
May 7-10, 2024 Transition News Page
April 22-26, 2024 Transition News Page
April 15-19, 2024 Transition News Page
February 28, 2023 Board Meeting
January 17 Community Presentation
In Person and Online Feedback Received
December 6 PowerPoint Presentation
Collated Community Feedback - December Meeting
November 2022 -Question and Answer Document
December 2022-Question and Answer Document
Enrolment Projection Methodology
October 27, 2022 |
Dear Families – Clarke High School Elementary Family of Schools Specifically, we are considering the potential of a number of possible options, including:
We will be reviewing this information for parents and seeking input on possible solutions at the following meetings:
Further information on the consultation process and related information are also captured in the Question and Answer document below. The Background Study with information on enrolment projections and possible options is available on the dedicated Student Accommodation Review: Elementary Family of Schools – Clarke High School web page, accessible from the home page of www.kprschools.ca. Sonal Gohil |