To Our SD8 Community:
We are very pleased to now be preparing for Monday, September 22 as the first day for students in this school year. We look forward with optimism to a great year for our students. Thank you to our teachers, support staff, administrators, parents and community partners – it takes all of us working together to provide the best opportunities we can in public education.
We recognize that there has been tremendous strain throughout a difficult and challenging time. We are asking that everybody exercise patience, respect for diverse viewpoints and a willingness to focus on attending to the needs of our students.
Many of you have questions about the first few days of school. We will be able to provide some answers in this letter, and you are encouraged to check your school’s website for further details.
Opening Day
We will be welcoming students to school on Monday, September 22. School will start at the regular time, and students will be dismissed three hours early.
Gradual Entry for Kindergarten
Kindergarten students will have a gradual entry. Parents of kindergarten students should contact their school for the schedule.
Transportation
For information about transportation, please check the SD8 website (under the parents and students tab) or call the Busline at 1-855-352-0008 or 250-354-4871.
Friday, September 26
This will be a regularly scheduled Pro D day. This means that there will be no school for all students on that day. Staff will be engaged in important learning and
development in order to better support student achievement.
Extended School Year
At this time we do not anticipate the addition of days or the lengthening of the school day. For secondary schools, the end date of semester 1 and the beginning of semester 2 will be adjusted to provide a balance in the number of days in each semester given our later start. More information will follow in the upcoming weeks about these types of changes. We also anticipate that the provincial exam schedule will be adjusted due to the later start this year. Again, this information will be provided in upcoming weeks.
We know that our teachers, support staff and administrators are working at this very moment to ensure our schools are opened as smoothly as possible. We thank you for your patience as we all work together.
Sincerely,
Jeff Jones
Superintendent of Schools