Memos sent to parents and guardians of all schools within the Holy Spirit High and Mount Pearl Senior High school systems can be viewed below:

• Memo to Families - Update (30/01/2019) (PDF)
• Memo to Families - Results of First Exchange (21/12/2018) (PDF)
• Memo to Families - Final Reminder of First Exchange Deadline (05/12/2018) (PDF)
• Memo to Families - Reminder (03/12/2018) (PDF)
• Memo to Families - Release of the Information Booklet/ThoughtExchange reminder (27/11/2018) (PDF)
• Memo to Parents and Guardians - Launch of first ThoughtExchange dialogue (19/11/2018) (PDF)
• Memo to Parents and Guardians (14/11/2018) (PDF)

In the interest of informing the school community discussion around the decision ahead of the Board of Trustees, on November 26, 2018, the District released its Information Book for the Holy Spirit High and Mount Pearl Senior High School System Review.

• Information Booklet (26/11/2018) (PDF)

On October 23, 2018, Board trustees Jennifer Aspell and John Smith, along with District staff, met with the administrators and representatives of the school councils of all schools within the Holy Spirit High and Mount Pearl Senior High school systems. Preliminary information was shared with the school councils at that time. The District presentation from those meetings can be found below.

During the meeting, there was discussion on how a consultation of this size, and the volume of feedback anticipated, poses particular challenges. Approximately 6,000 students are currently enrolled within the two school feeder systems, representing almost 10 percent of the District's total province-wide student population (approximately 66,000 students). It is expected that 10,000 - 12,000 individuals may wish to provide input.

The District is therefore taking a new approach to the consultation process in these communities. The District has engaged ThoughtExchange, a Canadian company with experience in school district communications throughout North America. ThoughtExchange will help the District provide an inclusive opportunity for all members of the school communities to participate in the decision-making process, and have their ideas and thoughts considered by their peers. The overall goal is to enhance the District's communication with stakeholders; enhance the transparency of the consultation process, and to ensure all members of the school community have an equal opportunity to have a voice. Two ThoughtExchange surveys will be made available to these school communities (Fall 2018 and Winter 2019) to help the District develop options for public consideration. This process will assist the Board of Trustees in making the final decision on the feeder system for the new intermediate school in Paradise.

It is important to note that the information contained in the presentation below is preliminary. More detailed information gathering will occur in the coming months.

• Administrators/School Council Presentation (23/10/2018) (PDF)

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District is using a new way of collecting input by launching an online conversation with a tool called ThoughtExchange and would like to get everyone's input on this question:

What are the most important things to consider as we develop options for the configuration of the Holy Spirit and Mount Pearl school systems?

The results of this ThoughtExchange will help the District develop options for public consideration on which students will feed into the new intermediate school and help guide planning initiatives. All voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. Please take the time to thoughtfully participate before 10:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2018.

Click here to launch ThoughtExchange.

You will be prompted to add and verify your email address, and create a password you will remember in order to participate in this online conversation. ThoughtExchange will allow you to share our own individual thoughts, consider and rate the thoughts of others, and learn what is important to the community. It will be important to not only share your thought but explain why it is important, as it will help others determine if they agree. ThoughtExchange keeps confidential who shared each thought and who assigned what ratings.

The District will engage in a two-step process with the consultation tool ThoughtExchange as a means of ensuring all members of the school community have an opportunity to share their thoughts and help inform the decision-making process.

The anticipated timeline is as follows. If there is a need to make a significant change to the anticipated timelines, school communities will be advised:

• November 19, 2018 - The District will make the first ThoughtExchange opportunity (Step One) available to school communities to provide input. The survey will be available until December 5, 2018.
• December/January - From the input provided by the community, the District, in conjunction with ThoughtExchange, will analyze the data and establish the options for consideration which will be shared with the school community.
• January 26-27, 2019 - Draft options will be presented to the Board of Trustees of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District.
• April/May 2019 - The District will make a second ThoughtExchange opportunity available to school communities for input (Step Two). This survey opportunity will outline the options for consideration to the school community - informed by the community input from Step One. Again, the survey will be open for about two weeks.
• June 2019 - Board trustees will review and consider the feedback received from the school community throughout the ThoughtExchange process. Trustees may be in a position to vote on the proposed new feeder system structure as early as the June 2019 public meeting of the Board of Trustees.

The process for the Holy Spirit High and Mount Pearl Senior High school feeder system review will include:

• Consultation with the school councils of all schools involved (10 in total);
• An inclusive survey mechanism (ThoughtExchange) will be provided for members of the school communities to outline values to be considered during the review (Step One);
• A report on the results will be provided to the school community;
• The District and ThoughtExchange will analyze the results of the survey and finalize formal options for a new feeder system design;
• A second ThoughtExchange survey will be provided for members of the school communities to provide input and feedback into the options developed for consideration (Step Two);
• A report on the results of Step Two will be provided to the school community; and,
• A public meeting of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School Board in which trustees will vote on a final feeder system configuration for the Holy Spirit High and Mount Pearl Senior High school systems.

It is important to note that no decisions have been made regarding feeder schools in either system, and any changes to take place as a result of the review process would not be implemented until the opening of the new intermediate school in Paradise, currently scheduled for the 2020-21 school year.

Should you have any questions about this process, please contact the Director of Schools for your school system:

Holy Spirit High School System
(Octagon Pond Elementary, Holy Family Elementary, Topsail Elementary, Villanova Junior High, Holy Spirit High)
Daniel O'Brien · 709-758-2359 (Email: danielobrien@nlesd.ca)

Mount Pearl Senior High School System
(Morris Academy, Elizabeth Park Elementary, Paradise Elementary, Mount Pearl Intermediate, Mount Pearl Senior High)
Wilhelmena Hardy · 709-758-2762 (Email: wilhelmenahardy@nlesd.ca)