As summer comes to a close, new opportunities await students and staff alike at Meadow Lake and area schools. Yesterday (Sept. 2) marked the first day of the 2026-27 school year as far as the Northwest School Division is concerned, and according to director of education Jennifer Williamson, the months that lie ahead promise to be exciting for everyone involved.
“I was just at the schools this morning and it’s such an exciting time of year,” Williamson told Northern Pride when interviewed Tuesday morning (Sept. 1). “We’re excited to welcome students and staff back. As I enter my second year as director, I feel I have a deeper understanding of our schools and communities, and I really look forward to building on those relationships and the progress made last year. We have a few new administrators stepping into leadership roles, and having them bring their fresh perspectives is something I am looking forward to as well.” Williamson went on to say NWSD is creating new opportunities intentionally this year to celebrate the people who make the division such a strong place to learn and work. “A couple things we’re introducing is a student and staff spotlight, which recognizes accomplishments and ways people are making a difference in their schools and communities,” she said. “We’re also launching an alumni spotlight. It’s called ‘Where Are They Now?’ It shares the many paths our graduates have taken after leaving school. We’re excited about that because there are great stories from every one of our schools and we want to put more attention on telling those stories.”
Another highlight of the new school year, Williamson added, is the continuation of the Saskatchewan Student Assessment Program. “This is province-wide, and the assessments to be implemented this year are mathematics in Grades 5 and 9 and Grade 7 English language arts,” she said. “Grades 4 and 10 English language arts will be field tested. This is exciting for us because these assessments are aligned with the Saskatchewan curriculum and their intention is to provide consistent information about student strengths and areas where additional support may be needed.”
In Meadow Lake particularly, Jubilee and Lakeview Elementary Schools will each introduce a specialized support classroom. “Last year, we introduced a specialized support classroom in Turtleford, but this year we were given another and will have one at both Jubilee and Lakeview,” Williamson said. “Basically, these specialized support classroom models are an opportunity for us to provide targeted support to help address the impacts of disruptions in the classroom. For example, it might provide short-term supports to help students with self-regulation because it’s an additional learning space where staff can help them work on those skills. The five main principles around it are: it’s student-centred; the safety of the teacher and students are paramount; parental involvement because support at home is essential to student success; inclusion; and flexibility. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach meaning what that specialized support classroom looks like at Lakeview may be entirely different than it looks at Jubilee because student needs are different.” Williamson went on to say the goal of the specialized classroom is to increase the student’s ability to self-regulate and selfmanage, and to increase the teacher’s ability to manage classroom behaviours so disruptions are minimized. “These are not meant to be full-time classrooms, but rather short-term, targeted, specific interventions to help students in the regular classroom,” she added. “It was very successful in Turtleford last year… They saw a lot of student growth and a lot of building capacity in their teachers… It’s a collaborative team effort to meet the needs of those students.”
In closing, Williamson reiterated how excited teachers are to welcome students back, to get back into their routines and to offer positive learning environments along with extracurriculars. “I’m grateful for the work our staff has done to prepare and for the trust families place in our schools,” she said. “I’m looking forward to a positive year and to working with the students, families, staff and communities across the Northwest School Division.” Sept. 2 also marked the first day of classes for the Northern Lights School Division, while classes began Sept. 1 at the Ile-a-la Crosse School Division.