Message From Your Local Branch President

When we see those yellow school buses on the streets, we know our summer is winding down. I have heard many people remark that our summer was very short this year due to the loss of June to rain and cool weather. Late or not, summer has generated heaps of cucumbers and tomatoes for many of our gardeners. I actually started making cucumber juice—which tasted rather bland.

It was wonderful to see smiling faces and hear the buzz of conversation at the Hell With The Breakfast on September 2. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate the beginning of another school year with NO lesson plans, no bells, no inservices, and no anguish over malfunctioning photocopiers. The breakfast is an opportunity to welcome the new superannuates. Those who signed their last report card are Holy Trinity’s Doug Panko, Jaysen Tomashewski, and Christianne Chevrier. Prairie South said good-bye to Alan Block, Stephanie Branning, Tracey Closs, Carla Dolman, Shannon Farrell-Schury, Joanne Feeley, Rhonda Gingell Munteanu, Kenton Hoimyr, Lori Johnstone, Theresa Mooney, Leigh Pethick, Lorne Polupski, Kara Rigden, Jason Roney, Nancy Ruston, Deanna Saulters, Craig Simonsen, Shaunna Taylor, Kristin Wheatley, and Traci Yates-Berardi. Congratulations to those who now enter a new phase of life.

At the provincial level, the Executive members are gearing up for their first meeting of the new year. There is little activity during the summer but plans are underway to prepare for the Presidents’ Meeting in November and the AGM in May when representatives from every chapter in the province meet to share and discuss pertinent issues. The Executive meets in September, November, January, March, May, and June. The first Executive Report will be available later this month.

🍴SOON: September Luncheon Meeting

This month’s luncheon meeting is Wednesday, September 16.

🕙10:30 AM
📍Masonic Hall (1755 Main St. N.)

Roast Beef Dinner
Guest Speaker: Ken Pike (Canada Purple Shield) - see poster below

Cost: $20 per STS member and spouse. $25 for non-members.

Please RSVP to Rosalie by Saturday, September 12, at 306-691-0696, via email (stsmoosejaw@gmail.com), or click the button below for the RSVP email form.

We hope to see you there!

📖 Fall 2026 Outreach Now Available

The Fall 2026 issue of Outreach is now available on the STS website: https://www.sts.sk.ca/outreach

⚕️REMINDER: 2025-26 Health Spending Account (HSA)

This is a note reminding eligible members that the current Health Spending Account (HSA) expires on December 31, 2026. Please see the attached flyer for more information:

Access to your Health Spending Account (HSA) Expires Soon

Health Benefits & Spending Accounts Claim Form

🤔 Remember When…?

It was interesting chatting with Dale McBain at the Hell with the Bell Breakfast. We started reminiscing about the good old days—the good, the bad, and the things we probably shouldn't admit happened in schools.

Dale was not only a colleague; he was also one of my teachers at Peacock. Which means I eventually became old enough to sit across from one of my former teachers and complain about the good old days with him.

One topic that came up was smoking in schools. Yes. Smoking. In. Schools.

I remember one of the first battles of my teaching career was trying to get smoking banned—not because students were smoking, but because the staff were.

The staff room would fill with a blue haze, and every time the door opened, a cloud of smoke would drift down the hallway. You didn't need to know where the staff room was. You just followed the smoke.

And getting smoking banned was no small matter. People were angry. People were indignant. Friendships were lost. Dale remembers that when he started teaching at Peacock, only four teachers on staff didn't smoke. By the time he retired, only four teachers still did.

And that got me thinking about how much teaching has changed.
Remember when the photocopier was our most advanced technology—and it could sense when you were in a hurry? It never jammed when you had nothing to do. It jammed when you had 30 copies to make, students waiting outside, and five minutes until the bell.

Remember snow days and Saskatchewan winters? We didn't get a notification on our phones. We listened to the radio and prayed our school's name would be mentioned.

And then there were staff meetings. “This will only take a few minutes.” Words every teacher learned to fear.

And now we're retired.

So here's to the stories, the friendships, the ridiculous moments, and the things we never thought we'd miss.

And if you have a “Remember When…” story, send it our way.
Just don't make it too incriminating. We're retired. We have reputations to protect.

📢ANNOUNCEMENTS

🎼 Community Bands Starting Soon!

Always wanted to play an instrument but never had the opportunity? Have you played in the past and are you looking for a place to play again?

The Moose Jaw Adult Community Bands will commence rehearsals on Thursday, September 10 in the Vanier Collegiate band room.

Beginner band 6:00-7:00 PM
Concert band 7:00 - 9:00 PM
$40 per person

Bring your instrument. We provide the music and the instruction.

mjcommunityband@gmail.com
306-631-2312
Janie Fries