The Owl Award for Excellence in Public Education

History

On July 5, 2010, the Board of Education started the Owl Award for Excellence in Public Education. The School District No. 73 Award for Excellence in Public Education was established by the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education to recognize an individual, a group or an organization that has distinguished themselves by providing outstanding service to public education in the Kamloops-Thompson School District. Superintendent Sullivan commissioned the services of a local artist, Mr. Terry Norlander, to create a statuette of a burrowing owl that is native to the Kamloops area and on the endangered species list.

Criteria

The award will recognize outstanding, system-wide contributions to public education in our school district by an individual, group or organization.

Eligibility

This is an individual, (i.e., This does not have to be an SD73 employee. It can be someone who has worked closely with SD73), a group or an organization who is/are role models, selfless, and generous and who has/have made significant, system-wide (in addition to and beyond their immediate school community) and outstanding contributions to public education in SD73 over a period of time (five years or more).

The award will recognize outstanding, system-wide (in addition to and beyond their immediate school community) contributions to public education in our school district by an individual, group or organization who are role models, selfless, and generous in the following areas:

• Student Learning/Teaching
• Athletics
• Fine Arts
• Community Well-being/Partnerships
• Extra or Co-Curricular Learning
• Administration and Support
• Governance

Deadline and Nomination Process

By April 20, 2026, complete these three steps to nominate a person, group, and organization:

Step 1: Complete the nomination form:  

• Owl Award Nomination (PDF) and save the completed Owl Award Nomination (PDF) to your computer.

Step 2. Collect the following support documentation:

• Three letters of support

Step 3: Upload the nomination form and support documentation here:

• Supporting Document Uploads click here.