OPSBA Recognizes Lakehead Public Schools Excellence

A very dedicated member of the Lakehead Public Schools Community was recognized by the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and the Lakehead District School Board at this evening’s Regular Board Meeting. Sue Peever was recognized for her outstanding efforts in public education with an OPSBA Achievement Award.

“The board is very pleased, in conjunction with OPSBA, to have the opportunity to recognize the excellence in public education that Mrs. Peever demonstrates through her ongoing efforts,” says Pat Johansen, Trustee and Chair of the OPSBA Awards Selection Committee. “Her dedication to Lakehead Public Schools and to our community is very much appreciated and valued by the Board and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.”

Sue Peever is a valued member of the Lakehead Public Schools family and is an enthusiastic supporter of public education. She has been a parent of children in the Lakehead Public Schools system, a School Council member, Council of School Council Chairs member, a Parent Involvement Committee Member and is currently a Director on the Lakehead Learning Foundation.

Her recent Lakehead Public Schools project is “Project Lost and Found”. This project finds a home for the unclaimed clothing that is left in school lost and found boxes at the end of the school year. For the past four years, Sue has worked with Board staff to encourage schools to collect their unclaimed clothing and leave it for pick up by the Board courier. Sue then sorts and washes the clothing for distribution. Over the past four years, “Project Lost and Found” has collected an estimated $142,000 in used clothing that was then donated to the Clothing Assistance Mission and other social service agencies, and directly to families in need.

The collection each year is immense and diverse as can be seen in the following stats from the 2014 collection:

  • Hoodies/Sweatshirts 221
  • T-shirts/sweaters/shirts 51
  • Pants/jeans 18
  • Shorts 19
  • Jackets (winter, spring, fall) 23
  • Hats/toques 159
  • Scarves 16
  • Mitts/Gloves 656
  • Snow pants 5
  • Splash pants 5
  • Shoes – pairs 64
  • Winter boots – pairs 3
  • Rubber boots – pairs 4
  • Socks 35
  • Lunch kits 11
  • Water bottles 12

In the letter nomination for the OPSBA Achievement Award, Lakehead Public Schools Communications Officer Bruce Nugent states, “Throughout this process, Sue does not ask for any help or resources to sort, clean and distribute the clothing. It occurs during her time and at her expense. She truly emulates the Lakehead Public Schools values of integrity, acceptance, empathy, respect and responsibility.”

The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association Achievement Award and the Award of Excellence were created to recognize the outstanding contributions of non-teaching staff, parents, volunteers and community partners involved in education in the OPSBA member boards. The awards provide opportunities to raise awareness and promote the importance of celebrating excellence and the necessity of recognizing the work of all members of the education community. Each Board may select up to four nominees for the Achievement Award and only one nominee for the Award of Excellence.

The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) represents public district school boards and public school authorities across Ontario, which together serve more than 1.2 million public elementary and secondary students and more than a half-million adult learners. The Association advocates on behalf of the best interests and needs of the public school system in Ontario.