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Winnipeg Free Press
31-07-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Parents upset after school division displaces kids, rents daycare space to Folklorama pavilion
Parents with children in daycare at École Waterford Springs School in northwest Winnipeg are raising concerns about a decision to rent the space to a Folklorama pavilion. They say their kids are being displaced from Bumper Crop Early Learning Centre's multipurpose room beginning Friday in preparation for the Punjab pavilion's opening Sunday and operation during the annual summer cultural festival's first week. The Winnipeg School Division's decision to rent out the space means the daycare will have to move into smaller indoor spaces or, possibly, outdoors in hot and potentially dangerous air-quality conditions. And parents expect increased traffic around the school at 2090 Jefferson Ave., posing an additional safety risk. 'I'm trying to find other childcare for the week,' said one who didn't want to be identified. 'I might even just take Friday off. 'It's pretty frustrating. The kids are there all day. I'm concerned if they're outside in the heat all week, and I don't think that's ideal. And they'd go inside if it's smoky, but then there is very little space for everyone as they'd be crammed in with the toddlers.' Friday's forecast calls for a high of 28 C, feeling more like 30 C with the humidex. Environment Canada is also warning of widespread smoke, which will affect air quality. WSD superintendent Matt Henderson said Thursday the division has worked with the daycare from the beginning to ensure minimal disruption to families. 'The daycare has access to the multipurpose room during the day, and more classroom space throughout the month of August,' Henderson said. 'WSD and the daycare have worked collaboratively on this.' But daycare executive director Anna Mae Clark, said that's not how it happened. 'They didn't even consult us,' Clark said. 'We were just told this is happening.' Clark said she understands why parents are frustrated, but said there isn't much she can do. 'We're just trying to do the best we can,' she said. Parents said they're sympathetic with the daycare. 'Their hands are tied, and it's the school division doing this,' one said. Meanwhile, concerns over air quality remain front and centre. On Thursday, poor conditions from wildfire smoke forced the cancellation of the Winnipeg Jumpstart Games, affecting more than 600 children aged six to 12. The event, organized by BGC Winnipeg (formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg), was shut down due to Environment Canada warnings. The air quality health index hit 10+ — the highest level— classified as a very high risk. Environment Canada advises that vulnerable groups, including young children, should reduce or avoid outdoor activity during such conditions. Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fix school of choice process — and boost academics
Opinion Winnipeg School Division superintendent Matt Henderson said to the Free Press, 'Parents are the experts of their children and we want the kids to have agency, too, and determine what type of learning environment they would like.' Recent changes to the WSD 'School of Choice' program eliminate all agency for many families. Until this year, the WSD School of Choice process was called grassroots and chaotic. Parents completed forms and submitted them to principals. While time-consuming, parents, teachers and principals advocated for students who needed different options. There were many reasons: bilingual programs, workplace or daycare proximity, and facilitating good learning. The WSD superintendent's office has just created a centralized system. WSD says attending one's neighbourhood catchment school is ideal because 'Children can walk or bike to school and stay with neighbourhood peers.' Acting on this, my household applied to the School of Choice program. We live within easy walking distance and 'within catchment' to a high school if one is in the French program. If a pupil is in the English program, we're out of catchment. Our twins attended a bilingual elementary school, but like many in Ukrainian, Cree, Ojibwa, Filipino, Punjabi, or Hebrew programs, our kids did middle school in English. In February, following instructions, we registered for the required school. We received no confirmation of receipt. In early March, we applied for our chosen high school by email according to the online directions, even though the form instructed applicants to submit directly to the school. There was no confirmation. Getting nervous, we contacted the vice principal at our school of choice. She resubmitted the forms. At the end of March, we finally got email confirmation. In April, we got a call about our application. I explained: our kids want to walk to school and attend with their cohort. We want the chosen school's academic programming, including continuing teacher relationships built through Grade 8 shops and workshops. The WSD employee said she heard my 'excuses' and then corrected to 'reasons.' Although she called about one twin, I included both. I asked when we might know more. She said a principal would notify us in a few weeks. A month later, we'd heard nothing. Directed to contact assistant superintendent Shelley Warkentin, I emailed Henderson and Warkentin on May 2 but got no reply. Ten days later, I called my ward trustee. Later that day, the assistant superintendent informed my husband that our chosen school was full. We wouldn't know more until the end of June. I called back to ask to appear before the board of trustees. I was told that a community liaison would investigate. Meanwhile, I emailed our catchment school asking for course information and graduation rates. The principal didn't answer my questions. He didn't have our February registration, which I provided again. He referred me to the board office. By May 21, one of my 13-year-olds decided to advocate for himself. He already takes Grade 8 shops classes at his chosen high school. While there, he borrowed an office telephone to call the superintendent. Shuffled from clerk to clerk, they took his contact info and promised a response. He's still waiting. On May 28, I spoke again to the community liaison and to Henderson. The school where our children's cohort attend, within walking distance of our home, wasn't open to us. Months of trusting a poorly administered system means we haven't pursued private schools, figured out tuition, or moved house. Our kids must wait uncertainly until the last minute because WSD isn't prioritizing its own goals. Due to few good public options, many students in our city-core neighbourhood attend private schools. WSD loses academic achievers, lowering test scores, because they cannot access the coursework their families value, like an international baccalaureate diploma or advanced placement classes. Some high schools with empty classrooms still seek registrations. However, if parents believe their children should attend the IB program, or another rigorous option, choices are few. Instead of boosting options for excellence, the school division rations them. Public schools meet many needs. It's not cost effective for all schools to offer every program. The Manitoba school choice system exists, according to law, to allow students to meet their specific needs. This effort boosts academic achievement and offerings at all schools. If schools are overcrowded, due to popularity or densification, there are solutions. Replicate the successful offerings elsewhere, at under-enrolled schools. Install portable classrooms to maintain smaller class sizes. Offer schooling in shifts, so more can attend popular schools. Correlate funding models with enrollment and attendance rather than funding based on catchment alone. On June 4, the superintendent wrote our chosen school was closed to grade 9 school of choice pupils. This should have been announced in February. Create a common-sense, transparent system. Allow educators to help students access their best education. We waited five months to learn that the best, nearest public school has been denied because we chose a different elementary bilingual program. We live just 230 metres out of catchment. Many others are in this situation. It's June. Our catchment school didn't respond with information until I appeared as a delegation at a board of trustees meeting. Our twins aren't welcome at the closest school with their cohort and appropriate academic programming. When asked 'What school's next in Grade 9?' – we still don't know. Winnipeg students, including mine, deserve better. Joanne Seiff, a Winnipeg author, has been contributing opinions and analysis to the Free Press since 2009.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Partnership encourages businesses to come into Wahluke schools
Jun. 3—MATTAWA — The Wahluke School District is inviting businesses in Mattawa, or any business outside of Mattawa that's interested, to participate in a new initiative that will bring volunteers from those businesses to Wahluke classrooms. Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said "Partners in Educating Kids" is a way to increase connections between school and community. People have told him, Harlow said, that sometimes it's difficult to build the kind of relationships between WSD and businesses that can be found in other cities like Othello and Quincy. "I just don't believe it," he said. "I think we have an amazing community. We have different challenges, for sure, but it's taking time to develop these relationships. It might look a little different than Quincy or Othello, but it can be done." The PEAK program will start in the 2025-26 school year. Participating businesses can choose to support one or more of WSD's elementary schools, Wahluke Junior High, Wahluke High School or at the district level. Participants donate to the school they're supporting, $500 for an elementary school or $1,000 for WJHS or WHS. "What makes this partnership different is it requires the PEAK partner to be in the building they're sponsoring three times during the year. And (the sponsor visits) can be all sorts of things," Harlow said. Some businesses have already signed up, including the Columbia Basin Health Association, Umpqua Bank, the real estate agency Generations Home Team NW and Grant County Public Utility District. Harlow said he's had people from other businesses express interest. "We're still looking for partners," he said. The South Grant County Chamber of Commerce is a sponsoring partner with WSD, and Pam Thorsen, secretary to the board of directors, said she thinks it's a good way for students and business owners to learn more about each other. "There's a lot of opportunity to engage the community," she said. The children are the next generation of employees and business owners, she said, whether in Mattawa or elsewhere. It's good for business owners to get to know them and for young people to get a look at the world after graduation. Thorsen said there are a lot of people in and around Mattawa — and elsewhere — who have information and experiences that could and would be beneficial to WSD students. She cited a Desert Aire neighbor who's an airline pilot, and the winery employees at a WHS career education fair who detailed opportunities available in that industry. "You just don't know where you might find resources," she said. Harlow said the PEAK initiative grew out of the effort to strengthen connections between the district and its residents. Sometimes it isn't easy to get volunteers for school activities, but in one case, the 2025 Amazing Shake, almost all the volunteers were from outside the district. Harlow said district officials wanted to find other ways to get out into the community and bring the community to school. "Then, just by chance, I was at a presentation at the Pasco School District," he said. Pasco has been sponsoring a similar program for about 15 years, he said. "I'd never heard of it, and I was totally amazed," he said.
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Audi Is Quietly Building The Most Advanced AI Factory In The Auto Industry
'IRIS' uses cameras to check if labels showing technical information are applied to the vehicle ... More correctly While many automotive AI headlines focus on self-driving cars or flashy infotainment upgrades, Audi is quietly building something more foundational: AI that runs the factory floor. In a June 2 briefing, the German automaker revealed that more than 100 AI projects are now in operation or development across its global production network. These systems are doing real work from inspecting welds and predicting equipment failures to optimizing logistics and assisting human workers in tasks that range from parts flow to process simulation. 'Artificial intelligence is the game changer in our industry,' said Gerd Walker, Audi's Board Member for Production and Logistics. 'By using it in a targeted way, we are creating a production environment that is not only more efficient and cost-effective but that also meets the highest quality standards.' Audi shares that these AI projects aren't just limited pilots or technology-focused proofs-of-concept. Instead, Audi has implemented AI across its factories to guide decision-making and production at scale. What makes Audi's approach to AI stand out is how deeply it's embedded. Most manufacturers have tested AI in narrow contexts, such as visual inspections, coordination of robotic assembly, supply chain forecasting, or predictive analytics. Audi is pushing past those point use cases, creating a more full-stack approach to AI in the production environment that can adapt dynamically. Its computer vision systems now inspect surface finishes and structural welds with high degrees of consistency and accuracy. Its 'Weld Splatter Detection' (WSD) application uses AI to detect possible weld splatter on vehicle underbodies and its IRIS tool uses computer vision-powered cameras to verify whether labels with the correct technical data in the right language are correctly attached to the vehicle Generative AI models simulate factory layouts and help plan production changes before implementation. Predictive maintenance tools, trained on petabytes of machine and sensor data, flag potential issues days or weeks before they become problems. The company's 'Tender Toucan' tool analyzes bids as part of its procurement process, using specifications to create a list of requirements, then using that information to search for the relevant sections in the bids, and evaluates the degree to which they are fulfilled. Employees have reported time savings of up to 30 percent. Even though AI technology gets the attention, the real breakthrough at Audi is data utilization. Audi's plants generate staggering volumes of data daily, with multiple petabytes across sensors, robotics, and logistics systems. Rather than treat this as digital exhaust that ends up unused in the organization's data 'swamp', Audi uses it to train machine learning models that constantly refine how production is run. In some facilities, these models have helped cut unplanned machine downtime by nearly 30%. In others, they're shortening assembly time by fine-tuning when and how components arrive at specific stations. 'Artificial intelligence enables us to make more extensive use of our enormous wealth of data in production and accelerates the journey of our 360factory towards becoming a data-driven factory,' said Walker. Audi shares that the 360factory is the company's production strategy for fully connected, innovative, and sustainable manufacturing. Audi's push reflects a bigger transition in how manufacturers view production. Rather than see factories as fixed systems with rigid processes, companies like Audi are turning them into adaptive environments, more like living systems than static machines. AI is helping these manufacturers handle disruptions in supply chains, reconfigure workflows faster, and plan for increasingly customized vehicle production runs, especially in a more challenging global political and economic environment. Other carmakers are moving in this direction. Porsche has deployed AI to monitor welding quality in Leipzig. BMW has extended AI to final inspection steps. Tesla has integrated AI into robot programming and vision systems. Few have gone as far as Audi in weaving AI into the full production lifecycle, but clearly that is the direction the industry is heading. Most corporate AI deployments today fall into a predictable pattern: one tool for one job. Audi's strategy shows what happens when AI becomes part of the operating fabric. That distinction matters. It suggests a future in which AI doesn't just 'assist', but rather it becomes the connective tissue linking systems, people, and decisions. Think less about dashboards and more about real-time optimization happening invisibly behind the scenes. This approach also reflects a shift in AI maturity. The conversation is moving from capability to utility. Companies like Audi are proving that what matters most now isn't what AI can do, but what it can do to change the way an organization operates.
GMA Network
29-05-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
‘Smuggled' sugar shipments worth P9 million seized in Manila port
Authorities have intercepted two separate shipments of sugar, which lacked necessary permits, at the Port of Manila (POM) for violations of customs and importation rules. In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, BOC Assistant Commissioner of the Post Clearance Audit Group Vincent Philip Maronilla, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy, and POM District Collector Alexander Gerard Alviar jointly led the inspection of the intercepted sugar shipments on Thursday, May 29, 2025. The BOC said the first operation was carried out on May 23, 2025, following a Pre-Lodgement Control Order issued by the BOC-POM. The Customs said a joint team from the BOC, SRA, DA, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and other enforcement units examined two 20-foot container vans from Thailand containing 1,000 sacks of refined sugar. While the consignee was registered with the SRA, the BOC said the shipment lacked the required import allocation and clearance, rendering the importation unauthorized. The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS)-POM recommended the issuance of a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) for violations of Section 117 (Regulated Importation and Exportation) in relation to Section 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and Sugar Order No. 6, Series of 2022–2023. Another shipment, which arrived on April 29 at the POM from Thailand, involved two container vans of refined sugar imported 'without any permit or import allocation from the SRA.' The BOC said it examined the two abandoned 20-foot containers in coordination with the SRA, DA, Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. (CCBI), Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) -POM, and CIIS-POM and found 1,040 bags labeled 'sweet mixed powder.' Both shipments of sugar are valued at approximately P9 million, according to the Customs. 'President Marcos Jr. has made it clear that the smuggling of agricultural commodities and other regulated goods will not be tolerated. These operations are a direct response to his marching orders to safeguard our borders and protect the welfare of the Filipino people,' said Rubio. In a separate statement, Tiu Laurel said, 'We cannot let these illicit trading practices undermine the agriculture sector and hurt our farmers, particularly those in the sugar industry.' 'The closer coordination among government agencies to clamp down on smuggling as well as the implementation of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law which doesn't allow bail should put fear on these illicit traders,' the Agriculture chief said. The DA chief instructed the SRA to blacklist the importers of the seized sugar shipments. The DA, through its Inspectorate and Enforcement office, last year seized P2.83 billion worth of smuggled farm goods, around P1 billion higher compared to the level in 2023. From January through May 19 this year, DA-IE already seized and condemned smuggled farm goods worth a total P407.6 million. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA Integrated News
