In preparation for the 2017-2018 School Year, please find the School Supply Lists as provided by Coast Mountains School District schools:

• Bear Valley School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 12)
• Ecole Mountainview – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 6)
• Hazelton Secondary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Grades 8 & 9)
• Kildala Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 6, English & French Programs)
• Kitwanga Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 7)
• Majagaleehl Gali Aks Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply Lists (Kindergarten to Grade 7)
• Mount Elizabeth Middle-Secondary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Grade 7)
• Nechako Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 & 3)
• Nechako Elementary School 2017-18 Supply List (Grades 4, 5 & 6)
• New Hazelton Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 7)
• Parkside Secondary School – 2017-18 Supply List
• Skeena Middle School – 2017-18 Supply List (Grades 7, 8 & 9)
• Thornhill Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply Lists (Grades 4 to 6)
• Uplands Elementary School – 2017-18 Supply List (Kindergarten to Grade 6)

Please Note:

• Cassie Hall Elementary School, Suwilaawks Community School and Thornhill Primary School provide classroom supplies to students for a fee.  Parents will be provided information during the first week of school.

• Caledonia Secondary School, Hazelton Secondary School (Grades 10-12), Kitimat City High School and Mount Elizabeth Middle/Secondary School (Grades 8-12) provide information relating to classroom supplies to students during the first week of school.

Should you require further information, please contact Carole Gagnon, Executive Assistant at the Board of Education Office at (250) 638-4401 or via email at carole.gagnon@cmsd.bc.ca.

We look forward to Coast Mountains’ students return to school on September 6, 2017.  Have a wonderful summer!

Please see the attached letter to parents and guardians from the Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall, regarding talking to youth about substance use. (Click the link below)

Talk To Your Youth About Drugs – June 2017

Please click on the link below for the new Skeena Middle School Supply List for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year.

Skeena Middle School Supply List 2017-2018

The school district’s School Calendar Committee was reconvened on January 24, 2017 to revisit the 2017-2018 School Calendar in relation to the Ministry of Education requirement to add 5 hours of non-instructional time to the 2017-2018 school year designated for the redesigned curriculum. This addition of hours will reduce instructional hours equivalent to one regular school day. The 2017-2018 School Calendar was previously recommended by the School Calendar Committee in spring 2015 to the Education Committee, approved by the Board of Education and submitted to the Ministry of Education.

The following specific changes were made to the Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar as recommended by the School Calendar Committee in collaboration with the Coast Mountain Teachers’ Federation:

• September 5, 2017 will be designated as a full Curriculum Implementation Day
• April 13, 2018 will be designated as a full Curriculum Implementation Day
• April 20, 2018 Professional Development Day will be re-designated to May 18, 2018
• May 25, 2018 District Planning Day will be designated as a Regular Day of Instruction

The Board of Education approved the Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar at its February 22, 2017 Regular Board Meeting with final approval recently received from the Ministry of Education.

Kindly note the first day of school for the 2017-2018 School Year will be Wednesday, September 6, 2017.

To view or download the Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar and Backgrounder, please access the following links:

CMSD82 Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar

CMSD82 Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar – Backgrounder

A letter to parents/guardians from our Superintendent of Schools, Katherine McIntosh along with the Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar and Backgrounder will be sent home with students this week.

Further information regarding the Amended 2017-2018 School Calendar can be obtained by contacting Carole Gagnon, Executive Assistant at the School Board Administration Office at (250) 638-4401.

The National Day of Mourning is observed annually in Canada on April 28 to honour those who have lost their lives while working on the job. The purpose of the National Day of Mourning is two-fold … to remember and honour those lives lost or injured and to renew the commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace … to prevent further deaths, injuries and diseases from work.

Every year workers, families, employers, and others come together at ceremonies held around the province and the country to remember those who have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational disease, and to renew their commitment to creating safe workplaces. Since its inception, the observance has spread to over 80 countries around the world, but is known in most other countries as the Workers’ Memorial Day.

The Canadian flag on Parliament Hill is typically flown at half-mast on April 28, and workers and employees observe this day in various ways including observing moments of silence.

To mark our school district’s commitment in observance of the National Day of Mourning, Coast Mountains School District flags will be lowered to half-mast before the start of school on Friday, April 28 and raised at the end of the school day on April 28.

For more information, please visit the BC Day of Mourning website at dayofmourning.bc.ca.

A reminder that all schools within Coast Mountains School District 82 and the Board of Education Office will be closed for Good Friday, April 14 and Easter Monday, April 17.

All schools will be back in session on Tuesday, April 18 as regularly scheduled.

Wishing all of our students and staff a safe and happy Easter long weekend!

BC’s Ministry of Education announced a new smartphone and tablet-friendly website will provide interactive information about student outcomes to make it easier for parents and students, as well as school districts, to understand and use information that will enhance education for students.

By this fall, information about individual schools will be available to give parents a better understanding about how their child’s school is doing across the district.  Right now, access to measures of student success, such as grade to grade transitions, completion rates, foundation skills assessment results and other outcomes, in all districts is available to compare the data with the latest trends and provincial averages.

On the website, school district by school district reports are now available in easy-to-read and interactive formats, giving parents a better understanding of their school district’s strengths and areas for continuous improvements, as well as B.C.’s education system as a whole. Information contained in these reports also includes community and student demographics, post-secondary and career preparation, as well as student satisfaction.

The website works on smartphones, tablets and computers of all kinds and is easily accessible at:

www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/systemperformance

For more information, please reference the following Ministry of Education’s announcement:

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2017EDUC0091-001075

Additional information will be forthcoming to school districts from the Ministry of Education regarding this exciting and helpful initiative for students and parents.

Homestay Families Wanted
(Article in PDF Format Poster)

Coast Mountains School District 82 and Northwest Community College are seeking homestay host families for international students.  Students from around the world are choosing to study in beautiful and pristine northwest BC and you can play an important role in making their Canadian experience truly unforgettable.

High school and college students want to experience high-quality, personalized education while experiencing local culture, discovering the great outdoors and enjoying the safety and friendliness of smaller communities.  Help us show them our true regional hospitality by becoming a homestay family.

Living with local families helps international students immerse themselves in Canadian culture and helps in developing English language skills.  By opening your home to a student, they will experience daily life in Canada, while introducing your family to the unique opportunity to learn about another culture.  It is also the beginning of what often becomes a life-long, cross-cultural friendship.

Students will need both short and long-term homestay experiences.

For more information about becoming a host family for the International Student Homestay Program, please visit the school district’s new International Student Program website at:

 international.cmsd.bc.ca

Or contact our Director of Instruction for School Support, Janet Meyer at (250) 638-4480 or study@cmsd.bc.ca for assistance.

Wednesday, February 22nd is Day of Pink across British Columbia and Canada! 

Join thousands of students and staff across British Columbia to show your support for anti-bullying initiatives: wear the official anti-bullying colour, pink!

Pink Day started in 2007 when two Nova Scotia high school students decided to create a “Sea of Pink” to support a grade 9 boy who was called homophobic names when he wore a pink shirt to school.  See related story on CBC.ca website.   This day is now celebrated right across Canada.

A sea of pink in schools and communities will show BC’s commitment to a safe and inclusive province that actively promotes respectful and kind behaviour among its citizens.

On February 22nd we encourage everyone to practice kindness.  Together we can end bullying!

MOE-CMSD82 Community Open House – Rural Education – Feb. 6, 2017  (PDF Poster)

In the summer of 2016, Premier Christy Clark tasked Parliamentary Secretary Linda Larson to work with the education sector, the public and community stakeholder groups, as well as Donna Barnett, the Minister of State for Rural Economic Development, to create a Rural Education Strategy by the summer of 2017. The purpose of this engagement is to explore rural school funding and educational practices, as well as the role educational programs and schools play in rural communities across the province.

The Parliamentary Secretary is seeking feedback from British Columbians and interested stakeholders to provide a range of different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing rural school districts and communities for her consideration. Regional Community Open House sessions are scheduled in 9 locations throughout the province, including Terrace on February 6, 2017 hosted by Coast Mountains Board of Education School District 82, with the aim to gather feedback from families and community members through an open dialogue.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Community Open House session!  The first 30-45 minutes will be an Open House format, where light refreshments and snacks will be served.

The remaining portion of the meeting will be a more formal question and answer sharing session with Ministry of Education staff. You are invited to share your thoughts on the following discussion questions at the Community Open House session:

Discussion 1: What is your definition of a rural school?
Discussion 2: What are the positive impacts in the community?
Discussion 3: How are schools being used?
Discussion 4: Share your rural education story

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AT THE TERRACE COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE
… EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

DATE & TIME:  Monday, February 6, 2017, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
Northwest Trades & Employment Training Centre, 3120 Highway 16 East, Terrace
(formerly Thornhill Junior Secondary School – https://goo.gl/maps/Mq3pZa8WxeR2)
Pre-registration or RSVP’s are not required for the community session.
Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Please contact Carole Gagnon, CMSD82 Executive Assistant at (250) 638-4401 or carole.gagnon@cmsd.bc.ca, should you have questions regarding the Terrace Community Open House.

All online comments, emails, technical surveys, stakeholder submissions and comments from Community Open House sessions will be reviewed and a final report, with recommendations for the future, will be released near the end of the 2016/2017 school year.

For more information, please visit the Rural Education website at:

http://engage.gov.bc.ca/ruraleducation/