Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

In my December updates, I will share school and District stories that illuminate the values of wellbeing – fostering opportunities to promote emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing) and the Grandfather Teaching of Wisdom – role modeling hard work to guide communities and listening to advice of diverse perspectives. I will also highlight priorities and values which are part of the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

NorKam Senior Secondary School - Nov. 28

Principal Sdoutz and I visited Ms. Orlando who shared with us her extensive work with students to run breakfast and lunch programs in the school. She showed us the fridge stocked by the Boys and Girls Club and several students stopped to share the importance of this opportunity to have fresh snacks (veggies, fruits) that are available to everyone. Students work with a team of staff who support them to earn extra credits by preparing recipes using a weekly planning board.

We stopped to see Ms. Fletcher’s Remembrance Day competition in which students had written in varied genres (letters, poems, songs) from the points of view of individuals experiencing war. Mr. Pendergast’s International Baccalaureate (IB) 12 class was studying megacities to understand how living in such contexts is commonplace, and we experience the benefits of growth as well as the inequities in wealth and results of overcrowding and pollution. Mr. Morgan’s Math 10 class was engaged in trigonometry and Mr. Bauhuis’s IB Math 11 class was invested in learning about logarithms.

Mr. Secret’s IB Social 10 students were examining how to assess whether a society could be characterized as democratic by applying criteria to different countries’ political systems. Ms. Davidson’s Entrepreneurship class was creating games to share their business ideas.

International Day for People with Disabilities - Dec. 3

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated every year on December 3rd. 

“This day is about highlighting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development,” shared Board Chair Heather Grieve. “It is also about recognizing what the barriers are as we talk to people who navigate challenging physical and social contexts in their daily lives.” Read more.

District Parents’ Advisory Council (DPAC)

The District Parents’ Advisory Council hosted information sessions, dinner, child care with the help of Brock students and a wonderful jazz ensemble group from SKSS on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

As well, SD73 DPAC running a Logo Contest! Contest runs from November 3, 2023 to Jan 30, 2024. Read more.

December is a month that brings joy- lights, concerts, and events as well as the promise of having time to be with those we love and care about over the holiday season. May you enjoy this month and take time to enjoy family and friends this weekend.

Rhonda Nixon, PhD

Superintendent