Author Archives: onenotsoboredhousewife

Sexual Violence and Harassment in Nova Scotia Schools A review of school incident data chronicling sexual assaults, harassments and misconducts In the Spring of 2023 Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education published a Padlet asking people to send in their anonymous experiences in and around the public school system, initially centered on the issues ofContinue reading “November 15, 2023”

Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, Nova Scotia is NOT in the news again. And that’s a shameful disservice to the staff, students and parents of not only the school, but those of the entire province. The details are only now emerging although the events are a month old. Here’s what we know happened:Continue reading “CP Allen High: A lockdown “drill”, police raid, and how parents and students are not getting the truth.”

The CUPE Strike and HRCE’s Discrimination Against Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities and their families understand the importance of CUPE 5047 members. They know that EPAs and other support staff are critical to school access and success – and that the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools fosters a more welcoming and inclusiveContinue reading “May 11, 2023”

Nova Scotia’s 10.6% School Violence Rate Has Nothing to Do with Dodgeball On March 21, 2023, a fifteen-year-old student at CP Allen High School in Bedford, Nova Scotia allegedly stabbed two staff members.  The next morning, Nova Scotia Minister of Education, the Honourable Becky Druhan appeared on CBC Radio’s Information Morning to answer questions fromContinue reading “April 17, 2023”

School support staff with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are poised for a legal strike action on April 21st, 2023 after going nearly three years without a collective bargaining agreement. These highly important workers are made up of Educational Program Assistants, cafeteria helpers, bus drivers, autism specialists, custodians, early childhood educators and more.Continue reading “April 16, 2023”

Exposing School Violence Using Halifax Crime Data Data reporting on school incidents of bullying and physical and sexual violence from the province is limited and seldom highlighted in the media. Concerned parents’ phone calls aren’t being returned by our government. Education workers have the highest rate of workplace violence in the province. The crisis weContinue reading “March 7, 2023”

School Violence Has Become a Legitimate Workplace Hazard Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education In December, Saltwire published an op-ed by Susan Joudrey, calling attention to the fact that the Nova Scotia Government is contravening legislation in both the Education Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act that create requirements for safe, healthy, orderly,Continue reading “January 25, 2023”

School Advisory Councils SACs – have a defined position within our public education system; that is, according to legislation, to ‘assist a regional centre to ensure that the regional centre’s public schools and related services are meeting the needs of the communities and regions they serve’. 

Writing to your MLA Many requests have come from our membership, asking for help in communicating concerns and expectations from parents for government to act on its responsibility to make schools as safe as possible, and thus to make it possible for them to remain open during the latest wave of Covid-19. Below is sampleContinue reading “January 5, 2022”

  NSPFPE Concerned About Unsafe Re-Opening of Schools Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education (NSPFPE), the volunteer run group dedicated to a strong and safe public education system, is gravely concerned about the government’s current approach to schools and Omicron.  

From the Steering Committee Due to increased use of “endemic” in characterizing Covid-19, our group has had to moderate too many instances of the incorrect labelling and downplaying of the status of the virus and its variants, especially in how it impacts children. From our twitter:

Shortages, pandemics and a lack of last resorts… By Stacey Rudderham, Co-Chair, Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education I have been mulling and fuming for weeks, trying to find a way to express the very real grief I am feeling for our teachers and EAs, bus drivers, students and others in our public education systemContinue reading “December 4, 2021”

NSPFPE demands government address in school outbreaks NOW The group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education (NSPFPE), a volunteer run group dedicated to a strong and safe public education system, is gravely concerned about the government’s current approach to Covid-19 in schools. “There have been multiple exposures at Halifax West High School including 5 newContinue reading “October 4, 2021”

Families clamour for information about in-school cases The group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education (NSPFPE)feels the Nova Scotia Government should be treating announcements of in-school Covid cases the same as other exposure notifications. To help keep people informed the group has been tracking in-school cases (based on information provided by parents with confirmed notices).Continue reading “September 27, 2021”

NSPFPE Says Keep Masks on in our Schools NS Parent Group calling for Minister and Public Health to leave mask mandate intact in NS Public Schools HALIFAX, NS – Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education is urging the Minister of Education, Becky Druhan and NS Public Health to leave the current masking protocols, as wellContinue reading “September 13, 2021”

NSPFPE statement on 2021 back-to-school plan We at Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education were disappointed in premier-designate Tim Houston’s announcement of the Back-to-School plan, and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang’s details. We agree that the best place for our students is in the classroom with our peers and teachers. However, withContinue reading “August 24, 2021”

NSPFPE Condemn Excessive Force by Police NS Parent Group calling for investigation and support for unhoused HALIFAX, NS – Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education denounces the actions taken by the city and Halifax Regional Police on Wed, August 18. We are disappointed and dismayed at the flimsy excuses and lies offered to explain theirContinue reading “August 20, 2021”

Saltwire (Chronicle Herald) John McPheee, August 11, 2021 Like many parents across Nova Scotia, Stacey Rudderham is losing her patience as she waits to hear the province’s COVID-19 plans for the school year that begins in a few weeks. One of her daughters, who will head back to high school on Sept. 7, has bothContinue reading “Nova Scotia parents impatient for school COVID-19 plan”

Elizabeth McSheffrey, Global News, August 10, 2021 With just one week left before Nova Scotians go the polls, some parents in the province say they’re concerned that education has taken a back seat in the election campaign. Stacey Rudderham, co-chair of Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education, says it’s “befuddling” how little she’s heard theContinue reading “N.S. parent group worried education has taken back seat in provincial election campaign”

NOVA SCOTIA PARENTS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION – STATEMENT ON THE UPCOMING PROVINCIAL ELECTION Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education (NSPFPE) was founded in the wake of the labour dispute between the provincial government and the Teachers Union in late 2016. Within a few weeks, over 18,000 Nova Scotian parents and grandparents had come together toContinue reading “July 17, 2021”

NS Parents for Public Education Dispute Facts behind Teacher Cuts The recent cuts to teaching staff at many HRM high schools has raised concerns for the group Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education. They believe the reasons being given for the cuts do not match the facts. And they question why misinformation is being usedContinue reading “May 19, 2021”