District hires Kelly Creek principal
Bill Rounis, a teacher from School District 68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith), has been hired as principal at Kelly Creek Community School, effective August 1.
Powell River Board of Education made the announcement Friday, June 26.
Rounis has 19 years’ experience in all fields of education, including elementary and secondary as well as experience as a teacher and administrator in urban and rural communities. Rounis has a masters degree in leadership and administration, the release stated.
Andrew Shostak, teacher and outdoor educator at the community school, has been standing in as interim administrator while the district searched for a permanent replacement.
Carbon neutral
School District 47 released its Carbon Neutral Action report which summarized its emissions profile, the amount of offsets it purchased to reach net zero emissions and the action taken in 2014 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Total GHG emissions for the year was 1,025, with 859 in offsets to make the district carbon neutral.
The report noted the largest contributing factor in the reduction of GHG was the receipt of LEED-Gold certified status for Westview Elementary School. Also the report noted the reduction in dependence of leased or rented space with the renovations at Oceanview Education Centre.
The seismic upgrades and renovations completed at Henderson Elementary School also helped reduced the district’s GHG emissions level with the installation of thermal double-paned energy-efficient windows, a complete lighting upgrade, as well as a high-efficiency boiler which will be installed this year. That is in addition to two other boiler upgrades at Kelly Creek Community and James Thomson Elementary schools. Emissions were further reduced with the purchase of two new fuel-efficient buses, which are both smaller and better match the district’s carrying needs.
French immersion
A board of education committee has been struck to look into concerns raised about the future of School District 47’s Eco-immersion program which marries ecological learning with French immersion.
The program, established five years ago, has become a popular option for many families in Powell River, attracting more students to enrol than spaces available and put pressure on James Thomson Elementary’s limited classroom space.
This spring parents of current and prospective students in the program met with district administrators to talk about the future of the program and if it would be offered at Brooks Secondary School.
