Blog Posts

Spring has finally sprung! There is no surer sign that the seasons have changed than the beginning of eight weeks of training for our annual Reconciliation Run Walk Wheel taking place in all SD8 schools in June. The run offers weekly teachings on this year’s theme of Health, Wellness, and Reconciliation, along with training tips and information for all the staff, students and families who participate.

This past month has been a flurry of physical, intellectual, social and emotional learning in our six families of schools as students engaged in activities that stretched their skills, and exercised their understanding, leading us toward our upcoming spring break from March 18 to April 1. 

On February 6th-9th, Mount Sentinel held its first ever in-house chess tournament, bringing the skills and strategies of many players to our library for some friendly competition. Organized by the school's own Chess Club, the tournament saw students from grades 7-12 competing for prizes in the beginner, intermediate, and expert levels. Congratulations to our winners, Drea Hudson (beginner), Eamonn Hawksbee (intermediate) and Berghen Beck (expert) for their accomplishments and to all the students that participated.

On Monday, January 29th our whole school observed International Holocaust Awareness Day.

We are nearing the 100th day of school and in primary grades, this is an important day of learning! All of our students are about halfway through the year, many have begun second semester, and everyone is in full learning mode in their classrooms, outdoors and in their communities. They are connecting with one another, sharing knowledge and experiences, embracing the world around them and working with educators to develop the skills they need to become lifelong learners.

Midwinter is upon us - a time when SD8 students and educators look forward to sharing and showing what children have learned and the talents they have developed in the first half of the school year. It's a time when family and community are invited into our schools to watch - and in many cases participate in - holiday concerts and events. 

This month, I want to share my gratitude for some unexpected gifts we have received in our district and in our schools through the month of October. 

Welcome to the fall. You’ll notice that like the leaves on the trees in late-September and early October, this issue of the Superintendent’s Report looks a bit different than it did a few months ago. The stories in this report are now organized under our five strategic learning priorities from our Strategic Plan 2024-2029. These priorities are lifelong learners, connected learners, a caring and inclusive learning culture, culture and identity development and career development.

A warm welcome to September and to the 2023-2024 school year. I am pleased to welcome every one of our more than 4700 students and each family whose child or children have embarked on what may be a first or a next chapter of their educational journey within School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake).

This is an incredibly exciting month for students who may be entering a classroom for the very first time, or entering a new grade, a new program or a new school. “New” is a key word for so much that happens throughout September across our district.