A warm welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. 

On September 3, about 4,700 children will leave home in the morning excited to see their friends, full of anticipation and maybe even some apprehension about beginning a new year, a new classroom, or a new school. 

Students from across B.C. will begin or continue classes online through our K-12 and adult learning Elev8-Desk program and our SD8 students who attend Elev8-Homelinks will ready their home study spaces while teachers reach out to their new or returning students.

Some of our youngest students will be taking their first ever trip on a school bus, and our most senior students will be in their final year of taking the school bus as they start their graduating year. Both groups and all grades between are so very well served by our dedicated and skilled bus drivers as they start their new school year. 

This year, SD8 continues to follow our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan, pursuing our five strategic priorities to improve, inspire, promote and prepare 1) lifelong learners, 2) connected learners, 3) a caring and inclusive learning culture, 4) cultural and identity development, and 5) career development.

I encourage you to review each of SD8’s five strategic priorities in more detail. These priorities were developed directly with input from our school communities and will guide every member of our staff - from our bus drivers to our educators, from our administrative staff to our custodians – as we support children throughout this next school year. 

We are also committed as a district and as SD8 employees to equity, inclusivity and diversity as reflections of our fundamental human rights. We arrive at work each day to meet the diverse needs, nurture the talents, and support the aspirations of every student so they are seen and celebrated.

This celebration begins on Sunday, September 1, when our staff, students and families in SD8 will participate in the 2024 Nelson Pride Parade.

What an honour and a privilege to be a part of making this school year a positive one in which each student is supported to build on their learning from the previous school year and welcomed to this new one by caring and supportive staff so they can continue to grow and thrive.  

Warmly, 

Trish