Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

In February, there are countless stories that illuminate our core value commitments of relationships/connections, wellbeing, equity, and sustainability in our  2022-2027 District Strategic Plan. Thank you to parents and caregivers for all that you do to help us to support your children to thrive in school. We are truly grateful to each of you every day.

AE Perry Elementary School

Principal Sewell and I discussed the literacy goal for the school, and she explained how primary teachers and intermediate teachers work as collaborative teams to teach reading. Students are shared between teachers so that each student experiences reading instruction at their own level and every teacher on the team gets to know the students.

We started in Ms. Kolkman’s Gr. 2-3 class where students were practicing letters and sounds. We then went to see Ms. Plummer, who was teaching in Ms. Hansen’s class, and Ms. Plummer was engaged in a read aloud of a picture book about a tree.The students were predicting from the pictures what the headings for the information on the following page could be. One student guessed, “Chestnuts from a tree?” and after reviewing the students’ predictions, Ms. Plummer said, “I think any one of your guesses was better than the actual heading.” We visited Ms. Matuschewski’s Gr. 2-3 class and she was working on vocabulary development with students. In the next two classes in the primary literacy groupings, one class was finding “in” within larger words and another class was locating punctuation within a text. In the last class in the primary literacy groupings, Ms. Hansen was working on beginning words in a text. As we completed the primary wing, Ms. Sewell shared, “I am very proud of how we have improved in literacy and it is through the intentional learning we have done to know students’ needs.”

Ms. Cattermole’s Gr. 6 students were in another class, and she was on a prep and took time to share some of her passions– mountain biking with students, where she worked collaboratively with Mrs. Cowan to apply for and receive an Outride grant to support the students to have and use a class set of bikes. She explained how there are other schools who have received this grant, and they have discussed getting together as the “Outride” schools.  She has also organized an after-school program using the mountain bikes. Mr. Nesci’s Gr. 5-6 class was working on portfolios and a few students shared how they saw certain competencies (e.g., collaboration) as strengths and areas for further growth. The two Aboriginal Education Workers, Ms. Jules and Ms. Bennett, were not in the room, so Principal Sewell took time to explain how they engage in what they call “Culture Club” daily with interested students.

Mr. Rhynolds was working on loose parts with students in the learning commons. We visited Ms. Babichuk’s Gr. 4 class who was practicing how to estimate how many small ketchup bottles would fit in a large one. Ms. Selski’s Gr. 4-5 class was studying the digestive system and making three-dimensional models.

Ms. Shull’s Kindergarten class was engaged in stations (writing, building, playing), and Ms. Endacott’s K-1 class goes on wonder walks every week, and we passed by their display of what they had found on the bulletin board.

NEW SD73 District Health Sciences Academy at Brocklehurst Secondary School

In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, Career Development Priority, we aim to ensure that every student has programming opportunities to explore their passions and consider related career and post-secondary education pathways. Since last year, during the North Shore consultations, we heard parents and staff say that they hoped for innovative programming in health care career programming. This idea sparked a district wide conversation with students. Read more.

NEW Sa-Hali Secondary Outdoor Learning Academy - A New Learning Opportunity in SD73

On January 15, 2024, the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education approved a new Outdoor Education Learning Academy at Sa-Hali Secondary School for Fall 2024.

“I got the idea for this Academy from participating in various leadership roles in the outdoors and seeing the transformative effect the natural environment can have on student learning and well-being. I also wanted to design an educational experience that would be accessible for all types of learners while maximizing the potential for experiential, practical, land and place-based education in the beautiful natural environment in and near Kamloops,” said Greg Wagner. Read more.

Congratulations to South Kamloops Titans Celebrates the Raising of the Provincial Banner

This week, SKSS held a pep rally to celebrate the raising of their first-ever AA boys provincial banner. After defeating Smithers, DP Todd and Duchess Park, the Titans were slated to take on Abbotsford Christian in the championship final. This win was extra special for head coach Graham MacGregor, achieving it with his son, Gavin MacGregor, the setter of the team. It was a hard-fought win with Alex Howard named Most Outstanding Player, Brandon Johnson, Most Outstanding Libero, and Noah Henson, Huxley Wendland and Gavin MacGregor tournament all-stars.

District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC)

The District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) is the official voice of parents for our district.

The DPAC meets once a month and is made up of two members from each school's Parent Advisory Council (PAC). To learn more about DPAC, please visit the District homepage at sd73.bc.ca, Community/Parents & Students, District Parent Advisory Council here.

Lunar New Year Celebrations

We celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 10, 2024 and that 2024 is the year of the dragon.  To learn more about community events, visit the Kamloops Museum and Archives, which is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Take time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Have a restful, rejuvenating weekend.

Rhonda Nixon, PhD

Superintendent