Big changes are in store for the Hanover School Division as they head into the new year.

Top of mind for Superintendent Randy Dueck is the Provincial Education Review which has been underway since January of 2019.

“We are told the review should be done this February and will be made public in March,” he offers. "We don’t know what the changes will be, but we are really looking forward to what they bring to Manitoba education.”

Read more: Steinbach Residents Participate In Provincial Education Review

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Mitchell Elementary School addition took place in December.While the division as a whole is looking forward to hearing the results, Dueck says this period of waiting is, in some ways, difficult. “The challenge is waiting to see what happens, but at the same time moving ahead.”

Meanwhile, the division itself will also be a site of progress in 2020. Some of the larger projects include a substantial addition to the Mitchell Elementary School and the phase two completion of the Niverville High School build. Dueck adds that HSD has spent the past year working closely with both the Hanover and Niverville Town Councils to have traffic safety features installed at pedestrian corridors near Blumenort, Mitchell, and Niverville schools, all of which will be put in place this year.

Read more: Traffic Signals Soon To Go Up At Blumenort

Finally, Dueck says his division has been selected to participate in a three-year-long pilot project that targets the growing need for mental health and addictions resources across the province. Government funding will allow the division to employ a full-time psychiatric nurse, Addictions Foundation Manitoba counsellor, and health resources coordinator.

Read more: Addictions And Mental Health Resources Being Added To HSD

“Looking ahead, I think it will be a year of change in a big-picture way,” comments Dueck.