Greetings Parents, students and community members!

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of activity in our schools preparing for the arrival of students next Tuesday and the excitement of another school year.  I am very excited to be serving in the role of Acting Principal for JVH/Jewett for the coming year, and have been very grateful for the connections and partnerships that I've made with you all so far.

As we prepare for startup, a couple of goals have been front and center on our list. These may look like a laundry list of management tasks, but when viewed as foundational supports for teaching and learning we can see they are essential to a predictable, stable and orderly start to our year. 

First, we have worked hard to ensure communication streams are in place, and that you can find the information you need in a timely manner.  At the school level, this looks like refreshing our website and sending out emails with just-in-time details which hopefully have met your needs.  Beyond the school, you may have received other information from the District including bus schedules via email, and/or calendar or event information on the District website.  As a newcomer to the Kaslo Family of Schools, I would appreciate any feedback on how this is going, so we can make adjustments as needed. And of course, we are always interested in knowing what's working well for you as well. 

Secondly, we have been working most of the summer to ensure our staff are in place for day one, including a number of teacher hires for key positions.  There are currently two very small pieces we have left to fill, but I'm happy to report all our classrooms will have teachers in place for day one who are hired for those positions for the year or term.  Secondly, we are working as a team to ensure support staff (Education Assistants, Youth and Family Workers, Custodial, Itinerant staff) are also in place to support our instructional team beginning on the first day.  This will happen throughout the weekend as well, we appreciate your patience with this as we proceed through the required steps to get these colleagues in place. 

And finally, we have been adjusting our communicable disease prevention measures  in line with public health guidance to support student and staff wellness.  As of this morning (Friday September 2) there is no mask mandate for BC public schools, however there may be those who choose to wear a mask. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted, and continues to impact students, staff and families in many ways, with some longer-term impacts of the pandemic yet to be realized.  We will continue using an inclusive and trauma-informed lens, with a focus on mental health and wellness, focusing supports to address unique student and staff needs, recognizing the pandemic has impacted individuals and communities differently.  This is ongoing work, and we appreciate your partnership with it going forward.

I wish you all a very restful and relaxing long weekend, and look forward to connecting with you in the coming weeks. 

Regards

Ron Sherman, Acting Principal

JVH/Jewett Elementary Schools