SOUND OFF: 2019 — A remarkable year for SD73

FOR MANY OF US in the district, 2019 will be remembered for the fire that destroyed Parkcrest Elementary School in early September. We will also remember the many milestones and achievements of students and staff during this remarkable year. Looking back over the nearly 200 stories posted on our website (sd73.bc.ca), we know these capture only a small sampling of the amazing things that were happening in our district every day.

In particular, we note opportunities that have been created for our learners through consultation, expansion and completion rates. Decisions made to re-open Westsyde Elementary School and to keep the Westwold school open were made following consultation processes with our communities. The announcement of the expansion of Valleyview Secondary School in April and news from the Ministry of Education in November that we are seeing the highest completion rates ever among all our students including Aboriginal students, were also high points in the year.

JANUARY

A consultation process began to re-draw the David Thompson Elementary catchment area and re-open Westsyde Elementary School for September 2019.

FEBRUARY

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Kamloops School of the Arts students helped Foreigner rock the crowd at the Sandman Centre Feb. 24.

MARCH

The Vancouver Foundation awarded a $246,000 Systems Change Grant to the Four Directions Secondary School.

SD73 Business Company begins to pay dividends to support schools and community with a $100,000 cheque to the Board of Education at its regular March 11 meeting.

The Board of Education voted unanimously to reorganize the catchment area for David Thompson School and reopen Westsyde Elementary for the 2019-2020 school year.

APRIL

Rob Fleming, Minister of Education announced the Province spending $32.7 million for a significant expansion to Valleyview Secondary.

Clearwater’s shrinking Sikh community donates part of the proceeds from the sale of their temple, to Raft River Elementary ($10,000) and to Clearwater Secondary ($30,000) schools.

MAY

CHP Architects will design Valleyview Secondary’s $34.45-million expansion.

JUNE

Repairs are announced for the Sagebrush Theatre roof.

The Tsutswecw Park Story Trail featuring Chase Secondary students and teacher voices opened.

Brock Middle School students launched a traditional Secwepemc canoe.

JULY

A formal agreement with the Kamloops Music Collective (KMC) will benefit Kamloops youth and SD73 students through music programs.

AUGUST

Westsyde Elementary is ready for classes.

The SD73 banner carried by district staff during the Kamloops 2019 Pride Parade says it all.

SEPTEMBER

When the Parkcrest Elementary School building was destroyed by fire in September 2019, the Kamloops-Thompson School District No. 73 team moved quickly to restore the school year for displaced students and staff. Within 11 days, all displaced students and staff were accommodated.

School District No. 73 was named ‘Organization with Most Impact,’ by the United Way.

OCTOBER

Kamloops Teacher Jordan Smith wins the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education.

Sa-Hali Secondary has achieved international status as a UNESCO-designated school. It is one of only three schools in BC, and 90 in Canada to achieve this designation.

NOVEMBER

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3500 voted 85 per cent in favour to ratify a collective agreement with School District No. 73 (Kamloops-Thompson) on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.

Completion rates for students in the district have reached 90 per cent, an all-time high in the district, according to BC Ministry of Education stats.

DECEMBER

Community partners sign a specialized Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Protocol agreeing to a multi-disciplinary approach to potential threats in schools and communities.

Robert Hogeveen, a long-standing advocate for music education was recognized with the Owl Award for Excellence in Public Education for his contributions to learning throughout the region.