Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are sure that everyone is aware of the fatal bus crash that happened over the weekend in Humboldt, Saskatchewan with members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. Fifteen people did not come home that night. As we have so many students who travel for sports, dance, and other activities throughout the year, this really hits close to home.

Skeena Middle School will be participating in Jersey Day on Thursday, April 12th to honour their memory and show support for the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash by wearing a jersey to school.

The date is set for Thursday, April 12. If students do not have jerseys, they are encouraged to wear team/club shirts, hoodies, scarves, etc.

Please see the link below…

Jersey Day – Thursday April 12th, 2018

New Hot Lunch Order Forms went home with students on April 6, 2018.

If you are paying by cheque, please make all cheques out to Skeena Middle School.  If you are paying with cash, please ensure that you include the exact amount for the order.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our school.

Payment and order forms for Grade 7 and 8 students must be returned to the classroom teacher.  Grade 9 students must return payment and order forms to the office.

Orders and payment must be received no later than Monday, April 16, 2018. A copy of the form is in the link below.

Hot Lunch Form – April 2018

Northwest Trades and Employment Training Centre would like to invite Parents and Guardians of Grades 9-12 Students to an information session:

When:  Thursday, April 19, 2018 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Where:  Northwest Trades & Employment Training Centre (NTETC), Thornhill

The purpose of this evening is to inform you about opportunities for your son/daughter to participate in Trades and Academic Programs as part of their high-school course selection this coming school year (2018/19). In particular, we will cover the following topics:

(1) Dual-Credit Trades Programs

(2) Dual-Credit Academic Programs

(3) Work Experience Programs

(4) NWCC Summer Field Schools

(Funding is available for graduated students as well!)

We hope that you will be able to attend!

Dear CMSD82 Employee,

On March 23, 2018 SmartFindExpress performed an update which has led to some on-call employees receiving calls but being unable to connect to the system.

Included in the update is the following new feature as shared by SmartFindExpress:

• We have a new option that is not turned on for your district.  The option will need the sub to only enter their pin, and there is a playback to verify what was entered.  This new option has helped reduce many invalid entry phone issues for the subs.
• You will want to notify the subs that when the system calls they will just need to enter in their pin only.  The system will play back the digits received and then they can confirm or re-enter.

SmartFindExpress believes that turning on this feature will resolve the issues of on-call employees being unable to connect.

Important Notations:

• Effective April 6, 2018 after morning call-out we will activate this feature.
• Beginning the evening call-out on April 8 onward you will only need to enter your PIN and * to log in to SmartFindExpress

Should you experience any issues, please include as much information as possible (date, time, job number, nature of the issue) and email hr@cmsd.bc.ca. 

If you have questions or you require immediate assistance, please contact Richard Anderson, Automated Dispatch Help Desk Clerk at 250-638-4439 or 1-855-635-4931, Local 4439 between the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Sincerely,

Kyla Magnusson
Human Resources Officer

Dear CMSD82 Employee,

The second of two Curriculum Implementation Days for the 2017-2018 school year will be held on Friday, April 13.  These days are specifically dedicated to BC’s redesigned K-12 curriculum.

The following Curriculum Implementation Day sessions have been planned in Hazelton, Kitimat, Terrace and Thornhill on Friday, April 13 … to view the program or “shape of the day” for these venues, please click on the links below:

Hazelton-Kitwanga K-12 Teachers – Hazelton Secondary School

Kitimat K-12 Teachers – Nechako Elementary School

Terrace-Thornhill-Stewart K-6 Teachers – NTETC

Terrace-Stewart Grades 7-12 Teachers – Caledonia Secondary School

Should you have further questions or require additional information, please contact your School Principal for assistance.

A friendly reminder that all teaching staff are expected to be in attendance in one of the full-day sessions.  Sign-in sheets will be on-site to document attendance.  Individuals not present at a session will not be paid for the day. 

Not unlike any other non-instructional day, part-time employees will be expected to attend the day at a rate consistent with that of their employment (if you are a .6 FTE employee, you are expected to attend for 60% of the day).  Individuals are more than welcome to attend a greater portion of the day on a voluntary basis if they so desire.  Teachers Teaching-on-Call are also welcome on a voluntary basis as desired.

CUPE members are welcome at the sessions, however, CUPE staff are responsible to their School Principal for activities of the day.

We also share the following link to the Student Learning Module package as pre-reading for the Computational Thinking presentations offered during the Terrace, Thornhill and Stewart sessions:

Student Learning Module Package – Computational Thinking

In addition, we share a link to the School-Based Collaboration Form for completion by teaching staff attending the Terrace, Thornhill and Stewart sessions for return to their School Principal during the session on April 13 prior to the lunch break:

School-Based Collaboration Form – April 13, 2018 CI Day

A special thanks is extended to the Curriculum Implementation Committee for their efforts and organization for this significant and important work for Coast Mountains’ learners.

We look forward to inspiring and engaging with you on April 13!

Sincerely,

Janet Meyer
Director of Instruction, School Support

Skeena Middle School report cards will go home with students on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.

Parent/Teacher interviews will take place on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, March 7th and Thursday, March 8th, we will dismiss one hour early, at approximately 2:11pm.  All buses will run one hour earlier than normal at the end of the day.

For your reading enjoyment, please find a link to the CMSD82 Innovates quarterly bulletin which shares innovative initiatives and projects within Coast Mountains School District 82.

CMSD82 Innovates Bulletin – February 27, 2018

We encourage you to share the CMSD82 Innovates quarterly bulletin with students, families and friends.  This first issue covers innovative projects from schools across our district that you will find inspirational.

The next quarterly bulletin of CMSD82 Innovates will be issued in May 2018.

Sincerely,

Katherine McIntosh
Superintendent of Schools

Last Friday, the B.C. government announced a change to BC’s Family Day. Starting in 2019, BC’s Family Day will move to the third Monday in February (instead of the second Monday of February).

In light of this announcement, the proposed 2018-2019 School Calendar was revised to reflect the BC Family Day date change effective 2019. As a result of this date change, the Curriculum Implementation Day scheduled on February 22 was rescheduled to February 15. The revised school calendar also reflects the June 21 National Indigenous Peoples Day, noting this is a Regular Day of Instruction.

Coast Mountains Board of Education School District 82 is seeking public feedback regarding the “revised” 2018-2019 Proposed School Calendar. If you have completed the initial survey, much appreciated if you could complete the survey again as it has been changed to reflect the revised school calendar information.

For your information and viewing, please find the “revised” 2018-2019 Proposed School Calendar and Backgrounder as prepared and presented by the School Calendar Committee, an all-partner consultative committee formed by the Board of Education provided with a mandate to guide the development of a school calendar for the 2018-2019 school year.

REVISED CMSD82 2018-2019 Proposed School Calendar

REVISED CMSD82 Proposed 2018-2019 School Calendar – Backgrounder

Public feedback is welcomed by February 18, 2018, by completing the revised School Calendar Survey (reference link below) or by forwarding your comments by email to carole.gagnon@cmsd.bc.ca, by fax to 1-888-290-4786, or drop off/mail to Coast Mountains Board of Education School District 82, 3211 Kenney Street, Terrace, B.C. V8G 3E9.

The “revised” School Calendar Survey is available for completion at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RevisedCMSD82SchoolSurvey
(please click on the link to complete the survey)

A summary of all responses and feedback received will be reviewed by the Board of Education. The revised 2018-2019 Proposed School Calendar will then be considered at the Regular (Public) Meeting of the Board to be held on February 28, 2018.

For further information, please contact Carole Gagnon, Executive Assistant at the Board of Education Office (250) 638-4401 or 1-855-635-4931, Ext. 4401.

A letter went home with students today regarding an incident that occurred at Skeena Middle School yesterday.  Please click on the attachment below to view this letter.

Skeena Middle School Incident Letter – January 24, 2018