The Manitoba government is welcoming new and returning members to the Student Advisory Council and Mya Dueck a Grade 11 student from Boissevain School is part of that group.

The Student Advisory Council reports directly to the minister of education and early childhood learning, and provides insights and advice on current and emerging issues and topics affecting kindergarten to Grade 12 students.

“Mrs. Adams mentioned this would be a good thing for me so I applied and I found out in July I was part of the council” said Mya Dueck.

“We talk with the minister about education and we look for ways to make school better and ways we can improve education in our schools.”

“I would like to congratulate the new and returning members on their appointments to the 2022-23 Student Advisory Council, thank them for their commitment to education in Manitoba and offer my appreciation for their willingness to serve on the council,” said Education Minister Wayne Ewasko. “I look forward to hearing directly from the members of this year’s council on what is needed to improve student outcomes and well-being in Manitoba schools.”

“In my application I had to talk about what our school could improve upon. One thing was the advancement of courses because our school provides a minimal number of courses. So I’d like to see more diverse course options” said Dueck.

Over their 2021-22 term, council members met eight times to discuss and provide input on various topics, which helped to inform several of Manitoba’s K to 12 Education Action Plan priority items. Topics included mental health and well-being, curriculum and assessment, the action plan itself, poverty and education, student presence and attendance, and a suspension and exclusionary practice policy.

This year’s council will be made up of 30 Manitoba youth aged 14 to 18 from across the province. Council members for 2022-23 will serve a 12-month term starting in September 2022 and ending in August 2023. The final meeting for 2021-22 members will take place in late August 2022, and the first meeting of the 2022-23 council is scheduled for September 2022.