This September, every SD8 teacher, educational assistant, principal, vice-principal, school clerical staff, bus driver, custodian, maintenance staff and each of our district staff in SD8 are excited to welcome children back to their classrooms and educational programs across the district. We have all been preparing for our K-12 students over the past weeks, and in some cases months, and working hard to make sure the year is positive from day one. 

You may notice that this report begins by focusing on Relationships and Engagement rather than Learning as it does in other issues. That's because our relationship and engagement with students and SD8 families is top of mind as we start the year with a focus on caring and compassion for all learners. That care and compassion is essential to creating the nurturing environment for learning to happen.

We have also created a 2022-2023 calendar of SD8 Online Parent Engagement Sessions, and you are invited to attend the first session on Thursday, September 22. It is entitled "Welcome to Inclusion - Info. for Parents" and will provide an overview of Ministry of Education and Childcare and SD8 policies related to inclusion of all students in education. Families can attend any of the 14 sessions by Zoom throughout the school year to engage with district staff on a broad range of topics of interest to families ranging from trades training to school safety, from social media to scholarships. A full list of engagement sessions and other events are available at sd8.bc.ca.

Although we're on day one of the school year as I write this, learning is already underway. Both students and educators have started this week orienting students to their new grades and classes, reviewing where everyone left off last June and will rapidly launch into new themes, subjects, projects and programs in the weeks to come.

Everything is new again for students and teachers each September and with renewal comes the energy, excitement and anticipation of a 10-month learning adventure. We warmly welcome you all to the 2022-2023 adventure.

Trish