Our purpose as members of Sunrise School Division. It is to provide students with "nothing less than outstanding learning experiences, one learner at a time". Our collective challenge is to strengthen and enhance student learning in safe caring learning environments. While we rely on the commitment, passion, expertise and resiliency of each individual within Sunrise School Division to achieve this noble pursuit, we recognize that we are also part of a highly integrated and interdependent partnership with our fellow co-workers and colleagues as well as with the community at large, students and parents.

We need and expect our operational processes and procedures to support our efforts to ensure that our students have access to schools and learning, that our buildings are safe, secure and functional, that the learning resources we need are available and maintained and that the professional training and development we need is ongoing. In this regard all the staff and partners within Sunrise are vital to our students being successful in their growth and their learning. Teachers, bus drivers, support staff, maintenance staff, clerical staff, administrators, parents, students and Trustees are all necessary and important contributors to student learning. We all have a crucial role and a position to play as part of the Sunrise team.

When we look at the Sunrise vision, we realize that our central purpose relates to knowing and being clear on:

1. What do we want our children to learn?
2. How are our children doing in their learning?
3. What can we do to support and improve our children's learning?

Generally, this is reflected through the learning outcomes inherent to the Manitoba curriculum and to the learning ends as outlined in Board Policy EL2.

Educationally Sunrise has refined this by engaging in a process of clarifying

> what learning outcomes are more core or essential for students
> engaging in an assessment process to better ascertain how our students are doing
> developing a toolkit of effective learning practices and strategies with which to improve student learning

This 'linkage' between what we want children to learn, ascertaining how students are doing in their learning and utilizing the best practices and strategies to improve student learning is basically what we mean when we talk about our Divisional focus on 'outcomes based learning'.

Sunrise has over the years progressively implemented and continues to embed a number of outstanding learning initiatives to assist students in their learning. In varying degrees Sunrise schools have the following initiatives and supports implemented and/or in place already:

1. Student-led / three way conferencing (including portfolios)
2. Positive school environments / school wide behavioral systems
3. Assessment for learning practices
4. Healthy living and nutrition practices
5. Reading and Writing Continuums
6. Citizenship endeavors
7. Student engagement / student voice

Sunrise will continue its support of these most worthwhile initiatives. Over the 2010-2011 school year, focus groups will be formed to further address, revisit or revise the areas of K-12 Grading Guidelines and Grade 9-12 Student-led Conferences. In addition further support will be given to learning more about instructional methodologies, such as backward design and differentiated learning.

Part of the Sunrise commitment to improvement involves the formation of representational committees to assist in reviewing and possibly revising our practices, policies, processes and procedures. Currently there is a Staffing Process Committee developing a consistent and equitable staffing process to be used each year in allocating school staffing. It is our expectation that we will have an improved process for staffing in place by January 2011.

A representational Divisional committee consisting of staff, administration, students, and parents will be created this fall to review and possibly make improvement recommendations regarding the processes and procedures associated with the Divisional and School Code of Conducts.

Learning Forums have been arranged to occur at each Sunrise school throughout the 2010 - 2011 school year.  These forums involve separate interactive discussions with parent, student and staff representatives from each school on 'what's working well?' and 'what can be improved?'  Gillis School held a Learning forum in June 2010 resulting in some great information and insights for the school to consider in developing its improvement plans for 2010 - 2011.  It is our expectation that all schools would benefit from such learning forum discussions and information.

It is our intent for 2010 - 2011 to engage our educational partners more inclusively in the learning process and in school improvement. We are looking forward to a more communicative and collaborative year in support of student learning.


Wayne Leckie, Superintendent/CEO​