The Superintendent prepares to welcome back students, teachers and staff at SD52

Superintendent Irene LaPierre
is welcoming all back to school
for the 2019-20 year

With one last weekend to enjoy, Tuesday will bring the start of a new school year for teachers, students, parents and staff at the schools of District 52 and this week, Superintendent Irene LaPierre has penned her Back to School welcome  message.

Among some of her themes for the correspondence, a year ahead that offers a chance to strengthen and build relationships,  appreciation for those who worked behind the scenes over the summer to prepare the schools for their September opening, as well as thanks to management, staff and educators as they look towards the first day of the new school year.

It is an exciting time of year again with school starting on Tuesday September 3, 2019! I’m looking forward to another year of learning along side the many wonderful educators and staff we have in our school district. 

I’m looking forward to working together with you to support the pursuit of learning that our students are seeking when they enter our schools. I’m looking forward to strengthening and building relationships with family and community which is vital to our students over all well-being and success. 

I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has worked diligently behind the scenes to prepare our schools for the year – to the maintenance department for their care of our facilities and grounds; to the tech department for increasing access to technology and maintaining equipment; our finance department for accounting and payroll; and our secretaries who support all of the above and more. 

I’m thankful for the amazing management team and admin staff I work with who always makes sure students are in the centre of their decisions. I extend my gratitude to staff who continue to take courses to enrich educational opportunities for our students learning.

You can review the full letter from the SD52 website.

As we noted earlier this summer, the Back to School openings were outlined in a July message from the School District, which provides the times for students to report to school on September 3rd.

The official notes on the September 3rd opening can be reviewed here.

Updates on notes related to SD52 can come from the District's twitter feed, as well as that for the Superintendent.

Back to School week does come with some uncertainty towards the future however, with the British Columbia Public School Employers Association and the British Columbia Teachers Federation currently in the final days of mediation on issues surrounding a new contract.

So far, there has been little news coming out of those meetings with both sides for the most part keeping to a news blackout on their discussions.

Rob Fleming, the Minister of Education observed earlier this week that he anticipated a normal start to the school, despite the ongoing negotiations towards a contract settlement.

Also heading back to school on Tuesday will be the staff, teachers and students of the city's Independent School, with the back to school notes for Annunciation available from their website.

There have been some changes over the summer at the School District, you can catch up to some of developments from our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review