Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

As we continued through this past week with wintery weather, thank you to staff who supported the snow removal in our district and to Transportation managers and bus drivers for staying in regular contact every morning and throughout the day to assess road conditions. Thank you to staff and families for their patience and for staff and parents who supervised in cold weather.  Everyone showed a collective commitment to connections/relationships and the Grandfather Teaching of Respect in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, which are a focus of stories in January.

RL Clemitson Elementary School

Principal Buemann and I started our visit in Mrs. Strom’s Gr. 6-7 class studying French and stating what they liked and didn’t like in French. I also learned that Mrs. Strom was planning a Robotics Olympics event and students are excited to take part in it for the first time in the school. Mrs. Munden’s Gr. 5-6 class was designing Heritage stamps and stories to submit to the Heritage Stamp contest.

In Mrs. Macdonald’s Gr. 3 class, students were working on planning and creating stop-motion animation. Before we left the class, one student came up to share a joke- “What do you call a funny mountain?” Answer- Hill-arious. Mrs. Jenkins’ Kindergarten class was sitting at the carpet and individual students were coming up to the front to point to one of a selection of paintings to say which one evoked happy feelings and why. Mrs. Young’s Gr. 3 class was studying how to make a winter home. Mrs. Burn’s classroom held two groups of students (Gr. 2 and 4) for a buddy reading activity.

Mrs. Ngo’s Kindergarten class was playing in stations. Mrs. Lam’s Kindergarten children were also playing in stations while Mrs. Lam engaged children one-on-one in the Kindergarten Survey. As we were ending our walk, Mrs. Wilmot’s class was preparing for the break and Mrs. Froese was on prep and took time to share her excitement about the upcoming RLC Spring Production of “The Greatest Showman”.

Black Excellence Day - Jan. 15

Black Excellence Day was created by Ninandotoo Society and takes place on January 15th each year to celebrate the civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was born on January 15, 1929. To learn more about how we celebrated this day in our district, read more.

SD73 Participates in Welcoming Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) Public Library Print/Braille Books

The Kamloops-Thompson School District is committed to the literacy development of every student as part of the Intellectual Development Priority in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

On January 4th, 2024, students and staff celebrated World Braille Day. This important day marks the birthday of Louis Braille, the man who developed the braille code making print materials accessible for partially sighted and blind people. Louis Braille was born 215 years ago in France on January 4, 1809. To learn more about Louis’s important contribution click this link. Read more.

Accessibility Survey

School District No. 73 is committed to removing barriers and creating environments that provide accessible and empowering opportunities for all students and staff to thrive. As part of this commitment, SD73 has formed an Accessibility Committee and we would appreciate your feedback based on your experiences within the school district. Staff, students and families are encouraged to complete the SD73 Accessibility Survey to help shape the District's Accessibility Plan. The survey will be open from January 11th to January 26th. Please see the current Accessibility Plan here. If preferred, you can also share your thoughts by:

• Emailing HERE
• Calling (250) 374-0679, and the receptionist will connect you to a committee member,
• Mailing written feedback to the School Board Office at 1383 9^th Avenue, Kamloops, BC, V2C 3X7, or
• Completing a paper copy of the accessibility survey and deliver/mail it to the School Board Office.

Invitation to Join Us in Naming the New School in Pineview Valley

After eight (8) years of working with the Ministry of Education and Child Care, the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education received funding for a new school in Pineview Valley on February 22, 2023. This new K-7 elementary school will have a capacity of 453 students and is expected to be complete prior to September 2026. The Board of Education would like to invite members of the Kamloops-Thompson School District community to submit a name for the new school. Please provide suggestions based on the following criteria:

• name of the street on which it is located (Copperhead Drive)
• name of the geographic area (Pineview Valley)
• name with historical significance to Indigenous rights holders
• name that is reflective of local, provincial, and national diversities
• name that reflects a positive image of the board
• name of a person, if there is written support of a family representative, and if the name is used posthumously, and after five years of their passing

Naming of the New School in Pineview Valley form can be filled out HERE.

An invitation was sent out to all staff and parents. Read more here.

Deadline:  March 1, 2024.

Kindergarten Round-Up Information Night

If you would like to learn more about how to register for Kindergarten in our district, please join us on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 - 6:30 PM -7:30 PM (virtual session). Register here to listen and ask questions of community partners and School District 73 staff about Kindergarten 2024. For more information, read the Welcome to Kindergarten Handbook and visit our webpage. Read more

District Parent Advisory Council - Parent Education Night

The SD73 District Parent Advisory Council is hosting a session to learn more about Interior Health’s mental health and substance use supports available in the soon to be open Foundry in Kamloops: Featuring - Interior Health’s Jen Howes: Team Lead Substance Use Team MHSU Kamloops and The Foundry’s Lisa Johannesen: Manager – Foundry Kamloops. Read more

Please join: Wednesday January 24th from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, Register: HERE

As we welcome the snow, I hope that you have fun outside and stay safe.

Rhonda Nixon, PhD

Superintendent