The Good Life

Recently, I participated in a meeting where Manitoba Education shared some basic information about the new  Manitoba K-12 Education Action Plan.  The plan has been in the works since 2018 and has included a lot of discussion and consultation from many people over the past few years. The vision for this plan begins with a description of “The Good Life”. What is “The Good Life”? It includes concepts such as hope, belonging, well-being, having a voice, feeling safe, having healthy relationships, interacting respectfully with nature,… Read More

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Preserving Hope

Years ago, I was given a simple homemade gift by one of our students. It is a simple wall plaque, with the word “Hope” written in twine. The significance of the plaque is that the student who gave it had major physical disabilities that will last for his lifetime. I thought, if he and his family could find hope in such a challenging situation, perhaps we can all find hope when things are difficult in our lives. Where do we… Read More

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Jordan’s Principal at South Oaks

Jordan River Anderson was born on Oct. 22, 1999. Due to complex medical needs, his mother, Virginia, left her home in Norway House and went to Winnipeg for his birth. Soon, Jordan needed extensive medical care and this was available in a foster home, near to a Winnipeg hospital. However, since the federal and provincial governments could not decide who would pay for Jordan’s medical support, Jordan remained at the hospital. Jordan’s short life ended on Feb. 2, 2005 at… Read More

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January 2022

Happy New Year and welcome to January 2022! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break together. I hope you are feeling refreshed and ready for 2022. If you are not, that is completely understandable and we will continue working together, moving ahead step by step. Already we have an unexpected twist to the return to school, but we will manage. One thought that crossed my mind recently is how we celebrate the New Year, but in reality, we actually… Read More

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Islands of Sanity

At a meeting recently, I heard the phrase, “Islands of Sanity”. This phrase caught my attention, as it was new to me. What does this mean, do you think? We all know how crazy life is these days. We have all been affected personally by the profound disruptions in the world. If we are not very deliberate about our well-being, we risk our own health in the long term. How can we counteract the negative effects on us and the… Read More

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Willing to be Disturbed

In September, our staff reviewed a chapter from Margaret J Wheatley’s book; Turning to One Another – Simple Conversations to Restore Hope for the Future. The chapter is called, “Willing to Be Disturbed“. I found the reading to be relevant and thought provoking, so I wanted to share parts of it with you. Here are some highlights (quotes in italics); “We weren’t trained to admit we don’t know. Most of us were taught to sound certain and confident, to state our opinion… Read More

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Together . . . We Did It!!

As the 2020-21 school year draws to a close, I am reflecting on all the times we have heard, “We can do this . . . if we work together”. In fact, we have heard this so often that we get tired of it sometimes. Well, today I would like to celebrate being on “the other side” of this statement. Today, I can honestly say, “Together . . . .we did it!”. In September, we worked together to rethink how… Read More

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Honouring the 215 children who lost their lives

In honour of the 215 children who never returned home from a residential school in Kamloops, British Colombia, HSD will fly its flags at half mast May 31-June 3. We encourage our school communities to wear orange May 31. The flags at the Manitoba Legislative Building and Memorial Park have also been lowered and the Legislative Building will be lit in orange to honour the 215 children whose lives were lost, and all survivors, their families and all those who… Read More

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In Memorium – Traudi Guenther

On behalf of all former and present staff and students of South Oaks, we offer our deepest condolences to the family of Traudi Guenther on her passing. Many of us in the school worked “shoulder to shoulder” with Traudi for many years and have a special place in our hearts for her. We also have some of Traudi’s relatives currently working in the school or attending as students, so we also want to keep them in our prayers as well.… Read More

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Cycling Safely

Each year at this time, South Oaks students enjoy a Bike Rodeo put on by MPI. This is an important review for students to remember guidelines for riding their bikes safely. Due to the pandemic, we are not able to host the usual event. However, MPI has produced a very helpful page to review safety tips for young bike riders. Please have a look HERE .

in: General