Boozhoo! Welcome to the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Our summer staff has been working hard since the end of last school year to clean our buildings, wax our floors, and update our buildings and grounds in order to prepare for the new school year. Our schools and classrooms are now ready for students to arrive, and I can’t wait! The hallways are quiet and lonely places without our students and staff. A school isn’t really a school when there are no students bringing energy and activity through our doors!
I am looking forward to another great school year. Last year, we made many changes that helped make our schools safer and more welcoming for all of our students. At the Secondary Complex, we started a program where students kept their phones in locked pouches during the day. This helped students to focus on their learning and making connections with each other. We actually noticed more students interacting and talking with each other in the lunchroom and hallways instead of staring at their phones. We also greatly reduced the numbers of fights that occurred in our hallways making our schools much safer places for all students.
This year, we are adding PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) into our schools. PBIS is a school-wide approach for establishing a safe and supportive learning environment to promote social, behavioral, and academic success for all students. PBIS is a framework for developing a common vision, language and practices used consistently across the schools to:
improve school climate;
strengthen relationships;
teach and reinforce expectations;
increase positive behaviors, academic achievement and equitable learning experiences; and
decrease office referrals and suspensions.
Check out our PBIS webpage here.
PBIS is a framework or approach for helping schools teach students to behave better and show more kindness in schools. We are promoting the Warriors RISE theme with RISE standing for Responsibility, Independence, Safety and Empathy. These character traits include the 7 grandfather teachings of:
Debwewin – Truth (Be faithful to reality)
Zaagi'idiwin – Love (Practice Kindness)
Manaaji'idiwin – Respect (Act without harm)
Zoongide'ewin – Bravery (Use courage to choose)
Gwayakwaadiziwin – Honesty (Tell the truth)
Dabasendizowin – Humility (Treat all life equally)
Nibwaakaawin – Wisdom (Use good sense)
We are creating a safer and friendlier school district where bullying is not tolerated and where students feel more connected to each other and feel they are part of something meaningful and fun. We have an anti-bullying section on our district Safety Page with videos that teach students that we do not allow bullying and that “bullying stinks”.
I am also excited about some of the changes we have made over the summer. Thanks to a large grant, we now have solar panels that will help provide clean energy for the Red Lake Secondary Complex and Ponemah School. Another grant has provided us with two clean electric school buses. We are happy to help keep our water and air clean for our students and families in Red Lake.
Together, in many ways and working with community partners, we are making our schools safer for all students and staff. If you are looking for a safe and inclusive school for your children, we welcome them in Red Lake Schools.
Chi miigwech!
Tim Lutz