Sa-Hali Secondary / SKSS / Dufferin New Catchment
Sa-Hali Secondary / South Kamloops Secondary / Dufferin Catchment Boundary Change Approved
The Board of Education of School District No. 73 (Kamloops-Thompson) has approved a catchment area change to shift some students from Sa-Hali Secondary to South Kamloops Secondary for September 2022.
- Use this City of Kamloops mapping service to find your catchment school
- Find more information on the Sa-Hali Secondary/South Kamloops Secondary/Dufferin Elementary catchment boundary consultation process here
Sa-Hali Secondary Transfer Request Letter - February 10, 2022
Dufferin Elementary Transfer Request Letter - February 10, 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
| What does the catchment area change look like? |
| The catchment area change has made Dufferin Elementary the feeder school for South Kamloops Secondary School. The Board also agreed to further reduce enrolment pressure by relocating the International Student Program and the Digital Arts and Technology Academy, which are district programs now at Sa-Hali Secondary, to other city secondary schools, which will provide more balanced operational capacity. |
| How was the decision made regarding this catchment change? |
| A period of public consultation was held from April 13, 2021 to June 4, 2021. On June 14, 2021, the Board considered the public input in making its decision regarding the catchment boundaries for Sa-Hali Secondary and South Kamloops Secondary schools. |
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Does a student's feeder elementary school determine high school or home address? |
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If a student is attending an out-of-catchment elementary school (for example, a student from Brocklehurst is attending Dufferin), when the student completes their elementary program, they return to the catchment area determined by their home address for their secondary program, or in the case of Brocklehurst, to Brock Middle School. |
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A student specifically wants to take the digital media courses offered at Sa-Hali and not at South Kamloops Secondary. Is there an opportunity for students with a specific course plan to remain at Sa-Hali if they are in the Dufferin area? |
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This depends. The Digital Arts and Technology Academy (DATA), formerly known as Digipen, is a district program. Students must apply to enroll to enter the program regardless of their catchment area school. If accepted, students attend the DATA program for one semester, then return to their catchment area school. Students do not remain at Sa-Hali Secondary once the program concludes if their catchment area school is not Sa-Hali Secondary. If the course is a school-based course offering, such as Digital Media 11, these courses are not district program courses and are offered to students in their catchment area school, based upon interest and availability. Students are not permitted to transfer to another catchment area school to take a particular course. |
| Has the high school catchment for these streets also changed? |
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Students from Aberdeen Elementary will attend South Kamloops Secondary, while students from Pacific Way will attend Sa-Hali Secondary. |
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What is the history of this catchment? |
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In 2002, when we projected our enrolments, the district had experienced over 20 years of enrolment decline and predicted correctly that there would be about 14,000 students by 2014. A decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2017 around class size and composition meant an immediate addition of 98 additional teachers to the district, 90 of those to be additional classroom teachers. This meant the district needed to add 90 additional classrooms. This meant all existing accessible space was put into use. It also contributed to the pressures we are now seeing in our schools as enrolment numbers increase. If left unchecked, the capacity at Sa-Hali would grow to 200 per cent. These pressures also exist in elementary schools in the area. When we look at catchment changes, our goal is to balance the numbers to try to take some pressure away from Sa-Hali Secondary because we believe that the level of overcapacity is untenable. Because there is some capacity at South Kamloops Secondary, the goal is to even the numbers out by re-directing students from Dufferin Elementary to South Kamloops Secondary. |
| My older son is at Sa-Hali Secondary currently and my younger son is at Dufferin. Will you allow siblings to stay together at Sa-Hali Secondary? |
| Yes. Families will be accommodated as siblings go through the system so they will attend the same schools. |
| Does this catchment boundary change mean the number of additional classrooms and portables for South Kamloops Secondary will change? |
| There are three portables now at South Kamloops Secondary, without full capacity, and currently there is extra space. It is possible we may need to add more portables at South Kamloops Secondary in the future. |
| What is the current success rate for build requests to the Ministry of Education? |
| We have a new school coming for Parkcrest Elementary and an addition at Valleyview Secondary is currently being built. |
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When do you expect the new school in Aberdeen? In Pineview? A new secondary school in Aberdeen? |
| We rely on the Ministry of Education to provide funding for these projects. Aberdeen is our third priority for new schools. Our current estimate is that it will take three years for approval and five years for the design, tender, and construction process. |
| Will there be a rebuild of South Kamloops Secondary as one of the oldest schools in the district? Is it time to build a new school? |
| A plan for South Kamloops Secondary is part of the capital plan we have submitted to the Ministry of Education. There are several schools in the city's southwest sector that are on the current capital plan. See page 25 of the Long-Range Facilities Report |
| Are teachers moving with students? |
| Teaching positions will be posted and filled according to language in the collective agreement. This means there may not be the same teachers at the schools. |
| How does the district plan to address increased student numbers with the need for additional washroom facilities? |
| This is one reason it is important to address catchment areas. Current enrolment levels will exceed what the facility can provide. |
| What does 105 per cent in 10 years out mean in numbers district-wide? |
| It means that as a district, on average, we would be exceeding our capacity by 5 per cent, including small rural schools where there are currently no enrolment pressures. |
| You said five years for Pineview. Is that before it opens its doors or five years before an announcement? |
| We hope to get approval from the Ministry of Education for a new school at Pineview soon and to open doors to students five years from now. |
| Have you given any thought to two-story portables to save field space, parking lots, basketball courts and play areas? |
| The issue is not so much building up or out, it is what the school facility is able to accommodate. Portables do not have washrooms, for instance, so we would need to consider the capacity of the school in terms of things like existing washrooms, gym space for all students and lockers.
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