Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

It has been a wonderful week of learning about how students and staff foster positive relationships/connections and develop competencies such as collaboration and problem solving, which are central to achieving our priorities in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

Sa-Hali Secondary School

I visited classrooms with Vice Principals Dolha and Tommasini, and our first stop was Mr. Sandhu’s metal works class where the students were designing and building trikes.

I met Dainen, Lucas, and Hudson who showed me their electric front wheel drive drift trike.

I also met Aiden, Dayton, and Carter who shared their process of creating the gas powered drift trike.

Mr. Sandhu explained, “I teach transferable skills such as how to work as a team, to problem solve, and to persist when designs do not work because this is the learning that will benefit students in their lives.” As we continued on our visit, Ms. Davidson’s Gr. 10-12 Video Design class shared their games, and they are looking forward to an Arcade Day to showcase their learning about coding, building characters and storylines, and solving problems. Mr. Avery’s class was preparing for their next production. Mr. Litt’s class was studying Entrepreneurship and engaged in a digital scavenger hunt to answer questions about business. The Foods students had just finished making perogies from scratch. Mr. Robertson’s Pre-calculus class was working on solving polynomial problems and earlier, his grade 8 students engaged in a puzzle exercise that taught them to apply their understanding of the Pythagorean theorem. Ms. Goddard was finishing yoga with her students in the District Resource Room. Ms. Roos and Mr. Dunsmore were teaching Gr. 8 English. I concluded the visit by discussing the school communities’ learning priorities with Principal Brady.

Kid Inventors’ Day - January 17

Last week, when I was at Bert Edwards Elementary School, I learned from Eoghan and Lucas about how they made fingerboards out of layers of paper fused together. What struck me was how Eoghan had to present his idea for making fingerboards to the class who assessed whether it was a good fit for their classroom business called, “Woodlands Coffee Shop”. The students reviewed Eoghan’s idea based on criteria such as likelihood to sell in their shop to generate funds for things such as a year-end trip.  Read more.

Student Equity Council Developing a District Anti-racism Action Plan

This week, SD73 students are developing an anti-racism action plan. They will gather at the Henry Grube Education Centre to engage in this important work and report on the outcomes. Thank you to Assistant Superintendent Mochikas for this work on the Cultural and Identity Development Priority in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

Preparing for Kindergarten Open House

Just a reminder for parents who have children entering Kindergarten, you are invited to join us in February to learn more about registration in Kindergarten. Read more here. Thank you to the District Early Learning Team for supporting learners to transition into Kindergarten, an important part of the Intellectual Development Priority in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

Interior Health

As we continue to work and learn, and stay healthy, consider the following advice from Interior Health:

• Stay at home if unwell. 
• Practice respiratory etiquette.
• Consider wearing a mask in crowded public spaces, and cough and sneeze into the elbow.  
• Clean hands regularly.  
• Avoid touching the face, especially eyes, mouth and nose.  

I hope that you enjoy your weekend and take time to rejuvenate and to get outside.

Rhonda Nixon, PhD

Superintendent