“[Today] students are coming and we have teachers for every class, so that’s a good news story!” exclaims HSD Superintendent Randy Dueck who notes every teaching position was filled this morning thanks to some last minute hiring.

Late hiring is not unusual, indicates Dueck, as most years a handful of teachers need to take sudden medical or maternity leaves around fall. Still, he comments, it is always nice to have the staffing power to deal with the Hanover's rising student numbers.

“As of today we have 8,253 students enrolled” states Dueck, “That’s certainly quite a bit higher than we have ever been before.” This statistic will only be official as of September 30 after various students add or drop classes, says Dueck, but that number is presently 70 people more than expected for the year.

Meanwhile, though the teachers hired late August have had less time to prepare their classrooms, Dueck says they should have no problem quickly integrating within the Division. “We have always experienced that the fellow teachers come around them very well and provide them with the support they need so that they can get off to a great start.” And, based on what he has seen so far, Dueck anticipates today will be a great start indeed.