Nanaimo-Ladysmith school board is hearing from students about district-wide concerns, including vaping in school washrooms and lack of access to health and addictions resources.
“Right now it’s super hard to access all of these resources and even if they’re by appointment they’re usually not there and the appointment time takes a really long time,” said Loruin Mendez, a Ladysmith Secondary School student and part of SD68’s new student voice circle program. “Some other things that need to improve are the ongoing phone policy discussion because it’s very controversial right now.”
Mendez’s comments were part of a presentation brought to the board by members of the voice circle, a forum for discussion between schools that started in the fall.
For the circle, two student representatives are picked from each secondary school to discuss a specific theme, such as enviromental stewardship and sustainability. Currently there are a minimum of two meetings over the school year, but next year the students hope to cover more specific topics over four meetings and bring forward actionable plans.
The presentation included issues impacting specific schools as well as the school district as a whole.
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Vaping was one issue that was listed as a problem at multiple schools including Dover Bay Secondary and John Barsby Secondary, while Ladysmith Secondary reported success with vape detectors in washrooms. In contrast, Dover Bay’s student representative Muskan Sharma said vape detectors haven’t been effective.
“We’ve seen numbers vary, however we did bring in … the ‘quit vaping’ group from the lung association and many teachers, and students I believe, felt like that was helpful because of the resources,” Sharma said. “They had a resource where you could scan a QR code and then students would get reminders – don’t vape and try something else, go for a walk. Just different things to try to get them to step away from vaping.”
Other reported areas for improvement at Dover Bay included congestion in the hallways and a lack of school spirit. Things that are viewed as going well include student advocacy presentations, waste sorting and the breakfast program.
“Our administration says we feed about 50 kids a day and we feel that’s a success in our community,” Sharma said.
Both Ladysmith and John Barsby also reported success with their breakfast programs.
At Nanaimo District Secondary School, student representative Cassidy White told the board that building outreach with other schools, diversifying types of student support, generating school spirit and improving attendance are all viewed as areas needing improvement. Things that are are going well include resource awareness and success with anonymous student feedback.
“Another thing we think that is going super well is our student-led project opportunities,” White said. “Taking an example from a couple years ago where we had our rainbow crosswalk, we’ve had murals put up, we’ve had super great food initiatives put forward, there’s a lot of student opportunities at NDSS we’re really proud of.”
At Ladysmith Secondary, things that need to improve include sustainable practices and awareness of events as well as showcasing student achievements. It was noted things that are going well include gender-neutral washrooms, vape detectors in washrooms, a new garden in progress and a breakfast program.
At Wellington Secondary, potential areas of improvement include revamping the leadership circle program, better waste sorting and lowering classroom tardiness. On the other hand, things that are going well include LGBTQ inclusivity, community gardens and events with feeder elementary schools.
At John Barsby, the things that students view needing to improve are student participation in clubs, vaping in washrooms and changerooms as well as awareness of spirit days and events, while the school is having success with its breakfast program.
“Like most schools our vaping in the washrooms and changerooms is a big problem, so improving on that would be a goal,” said student representative Esme McConnell.
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Following their presentation, board members praised the group’s work.
Trustee Naomi Bailey said the circle provided board members with “thoughtful insights” into the schools.
“It’s always been my experience that students know,” Bailey said. “They know what’s working and what isn’t and I raise my hands to you for having the courage and making the time in your very busy lives to make your schools and the district community a better place.”