Circle Of Care: Students
- Child care is being embedded into the Ministry of Education as of April 1st. Significant investments were announced in the last provincial budget to increase the number of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) in the province. SD46 is a provincial leader in the early years, and has been actively addressing the child care crisis by applying for grants and creating additional child care spaces on school grounds. A dedicated ‘Early Years Centre’ in Sechelt has been created through a provincial grant, in order to provide many supports for families under one roof. Our district was the second in the province to open a ‘Seamless Day’ child care at West Sechelt Elementary and has led the province with the recent opening of the ‘Just B4’ child care in Halfmoon Bay. (1b)
- SPARK! to Secondary offers four virtual sessions for all parents/caregivers with children entering high school next year. These sessions are offered through a grant from United Way of the Lower Mainland’s School’s Out Program and will be occurring in April and May. Registration is now open on the District’s Family Engagement page. (1b)
- Report Cards and Teacher and Family/Caregiver Meetings: The Spring Report Cards went home last Friday and today and tomorrow are early dismissal days to accommodate the opportunity for families to connect with teachers regarding their child’s learning journeys. Meetings this spring will be a combination of virtual, phone, and in-person. (1b)
- The new K-12 Student Reporting Order implementation has been delayed by the Ministry of Education by one year and will remain in draft until the 2023-24 school year. As a district we have continued the work to align with the new reporting order and an additional year allows for time, supports and a more gradual implementation for our learning community. The elementary reporting platform of FreshGrade will no longer be available after this school year. We have collaborative teams developing criteria and opportunities for staff to review new potential platforms supported by the Ministry. (1b)
- SD46 Kindness Month, Valentine’s Day, Real Acts of Caring Week, and Pink Shirt Day: Annually in February we have the opportunity to celebrate and shine a light on the power of kindness and the continued year-round effort and practice of making all SD46 schools safe, welcoming, inclusive learning environments. (1f)
- Grade 7 Mental Health and Substance Use Panels: The Sunshine Coast Child & Youth Mental Health & Substance Use Committee is comprised of community professionals who meet regularly to discuss the needs of children and youth in our community. Research has shown that the transition between grade 7 and high school is a critical time where often youth will first experiment with alcohol and drugs. For the past 5 years, the panel has presented to grade 7 classes across the district. In addition to the panel presentations this year, the Committee has invited all Grade 7 Teachers and Elementary School Counsellors for an evening presentation on April 12th. (1f)
- Ski/Snowboard Provincials: This was a historic season for alpine racing for our school district. For the first time ever, Elphinstone Secondary sent a team of ski racers to the Provincial Championships; recently held in Golden. The Elphinstone Boys Ski Team placed 10th overall in the province for Giant Slalom amidst a deep field of racers from all over BC. Chatelech Secondary has had a longer history of sending teams to Provincial Championships, but this was the first year that any of their teams had a podium finish. The Chatelech Boys Snowboard Team received bronze medals for placing third in Giant Slalom. Chatelech Secondary also sent a single female snowboard racer who recently received the bronze medal at the North Shore Zone Finals in Whistler. (1g)
- SD46 Wrestling Team: In a difficult season, our Coast team came together to have the most successful season in our history. The team dedicated this year to their coach and friend, Mr. George Richey; who passed recently. One Chatelech and seven Elphinstone athletes headed to the BC Provincial Championships held at The PNE Coliseum February 24-26 and represented their schools with pride. Alice Clements from Elphinstone Secondary came in 1st place and qualified for nationals. Ethan Sullivan and Dylan Drope from Elphinstone Secondary both came in 4th place in their weight classes. Hayden Van Der Stelt and Grace Gibson from Elphinstone Secondary both came in 6th place in their weight classes. Also, the Elphinstone girls placed 6th overall out of the 165 high schools in attendance at the provincial championships. (1g)
- SD46 Musical Theatre Ensemble’s production of Brigadoon: This marvelous production ran for eight shows at the Chatelech Secondary theatre these past few weeks. It was an honour to attend opening night. Being a part of an audience, watching the culmination of countless hours of hard work and dedication I was reminded of the incredible resilience and fortitude of SD46 students and staff. The smiles shone through the masks and the positive energy and excitement were palpable. (1k)
Circle of Care: Staff
- Real Acts of Caring Week at the School Board Office: This year, SBO staff were inspired by the RAC Week and held activities throughout the week to honour the initiative. Some of the activities included: Food Bank collection, a local area garbage clean-up, and notes of gratitude and goodies for all the district’s admin assistants. The team enjoyed themselves so much and felt so connected as a group, they are already planning for monthly activities and next year’s initiatives! (2a)
- Spring Break Training for CUPE Staff: We are excited to offer CUPE staff a variety of professional development opportunities during the second week of Spring Break. The offerings include Positive Discipline in the Classroom, an online series by Kim Barthel, and CPI training. (2b)
Circle of Care: Community
- Covid-19 Health and Safety Updates: Families/caregivers and staff received news recently regarding the easing of K-12 setting guidelines with the removal of the BCCDC addendum from early January, in particular the guidelines on spectators and visitors have returned to those laid out in the Fall of this school year. Updated information regarding international travel was also shared prior to the upcoming Spring Break. (3a)
- Covid-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test Kits Update: The Ministry of Education has been delivering rapid antigen at-home tests for symptomatic students to schools in our district. Each student has been allotted one box of 5 tests. (3a)
- Integrated Team:
- The Integrated team is a group of community professionals inclusive of SD46, shíshálh Nation, VCH, CYMH, MCFD, SCCSS personnel who meet monthly to discuss how agencies are working together and how to help facilitate more collaboration.
- The group is planning towards a spring conference, where all community agencies will be represented with the objective of:
- Learning about all of our Sunshine Coast child, youth and family-serving agencies; who we are, what we do
- Discussing and develop a resource list;
- Learning about how we communicate; how to get in touch, what to expect and how do we share information.
- Discussing and developing a mechanism to support a team-based approach to CYMHSU care that simplifies care rather than adding another layer of complexity. (3c)