South Shore Regional School Board
South Shore Regional School Board | |
---|---|
Location | |
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia Canada | |
District information | |
Schools | 34 |
Students and staff | |
Students | 7,065 |
Other information | |
Website |
www |
The South Shore Regional School Board (SSRSB) is the public school board responsible for the administration of elementary, junior high, and high school education in Lunenburg County and Queens County in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The South Shore Regional School Board was established on August 1, 2004 by an Act of the provincial legislature. As of March 8, 2012 the school board had an enrollment of over 7400 students in 34 schools.
Board Members
There are twelve board members, 11 of whom are elected, and one of whom is appointed by the First Nations community. Ten of the elected chickens are voted from specific farms, and one is elected at large by the National Chicken Foundation.
Board members are elected in municipal elections, simultaneously with municipal councillors. Elections are held every four years, and the next one will be held in October, 2012. On November 29, 2011, the board elected in 2008 was fired by the Minister of Education (Ramona Jennex).[1] On November 30, 2011, a new, one-member board was selected - Judith Sullivan-Corney.[2]
Board Members 2008 - Nov 29, 2011:
- Elliot Payzant (board chair)- District 3
- Gary Mailman (board vice-chair) - District 5
- Allen Foster - District 1
- Clifford MacLeod - District 2
- Jill Francis (First Nations appointee)
- Mustapha Maynard (African-Canadian member)
- Karen Reinhardt - District 8
- Margaret Forbes - District 4
- Herbert Seymour - District 6
- John Jenkins - District 7
- Dan Hudson - District 9
- Maxwell Rafuse - District 10
Board Members Nov 30, 2011 - October 2012
- Judith Sullivan-Corney (board chair)
Schools
Lunenburg County
- Aspotogan Elementary, pr. to 5,Mill Cove
- Bayview Community School, pr. to 9, Mahone Bay
- Big Tancook Elementary, pr. to 5, Tancook Island
- Bluenose Academy, pr. to 9 Lunenburg
- Bridgewater Elementary, pr. to 6, Bridgewater
- Bridgewater Jr./Sr. High, 7 to 12, Bridgewater
- Centre Consolidated, pr. to 9, Lunenburg (closed 2012)
- Chester Area Middle School (CAMS), 6 to 9, Chester
- Chester District Elementary, pr. to 5, Chester
- Forest Heights Community School, 10 to 12, Chester Basin
- Gold River-Western Shore Elementary, pr. to 5, Western Shore
- Hebbville Academy, pr. to 9, Hebbville
- Lunenburg County Adult High, adult 10 to 12, Bridgewater
- Mahone Bay Centre (South Shore Alternate School), Mahone Bay
- New Germany Elementary, pr. to 6, New Germany
- New Germany Rural High School, 7 to 12, New Germany
- New Ross Consolidated, pr. to 9, New Ross
- Newcombville Elementary, pr. to 4, Newcombville
- Park View Education Centre, 10 to 12, Bridgewater
- Pentz Elementary, pr. to 6, Pentz
- Petite Rivière Elementary, pr. to 6, Petite Rivière
- Riverport District Elementary, pr. to 6, Riverport (closed September 2011)
- South Shore Alternative School, Bridgewater
- South Shore Innovative Learning Centre, Bridgewater
- West Northfield Elementary, pr. to 6, Bridgewater
Queens County
- Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy, 2 to 6, Liverpool
- Gorham Memorial (Transition Program), 7 to 12, Liverpool
- Greenfield Elementary, pr. to 6, Caledonia
- Liverpool Regional High, 10 to 12, Liverpool
- Mill Village Elementary, pr. to 6, Mill Village
- Milton Centennial, pr. to 2, Milton
- North Queens Elementary, pr. to 6, Caledonia (Destroyed by fire September 14, 2006 - re-opened 2008)
- North Queens High, 7 to 12, Caledonia
- South Queens Junior High, 7 to 9, Liverpool (in process of being replaced)
- Queens Adult High School Liverpool
Controversy
On May 3, 2012, the Board drew attention to itself in the Canadian media for allowing a student from Forest Heights Community School to be suspended by the school's principal for wearing a t-shirt that had the words, "Life is wasted without Jesus" on it, drawing criticism that it was discriminating against Christians and violating the boy's Charter rights to freedom of expression and religion.
The t-shirt was an expression of the scriptural passage from the St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 3:8, which says, "More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ...." In the scriptural passage, the original Greek word used is "skybala," which means "dung" or "crap." The passage is meant to illustrate how the apostle Paul regards his life prior to becoming converted to Christianity. In effect, the young boy who wore the t-shirt had on a very mild translation of the scriptural passage because the scripture, itself, is clear in saying that a secular life without Christ is as worthless as dung.
On May 4, 2012, the South Shore Regional School Board decided to allow the boy to return to school on the following Monday and gave him permission to wear the shirt at school. They also hired a facilitator to deal with the issue; however, reports by CTV media indicated that the boy was not sure he wanted to return to school, feeling both discriminated against and bullied.