I had the privilege on Friday to award Joseph Steward with the Governor General's Academic Medal for Northern BC Distance Education School for the 2007/08 school year. This award is given to the top academic student in the school. Joseph is continuing on in his electrical apprenticeship and we wish him well in all his endeavors.

The following is a letter from Larry Espe, Superintendent of SD#60 regarding the District Reconfiguration.


December 9, 2008

Dear Parents &Ior Guardians:

Re: Reconfiguration Update

After much deliberation, and consideration of many factors, District Staff, with the support of the Board, has made the decision to defer the movement of Grade 7 and Grade 10 students planned for next fall (2009), until September 2010. This does not mean that reconfiguration
planning has stopped. On the contrary, Action Team planning will continue on a day-to-day basis and many initiatives (Le., middle years strategies, flexible timetables and community partnerships) will be implemented next fall if not sooner. Movement of students will take place in September 2010.

This decision was made in order that we reconfigure our schools in the best way possible for students and staff.

The following are some of the reasons that were considered:

• Actual numbers - Ever changing enrolment projections indicate that in September 2010 there will be approximately 100 fewer students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 than we are expecting in September 2009. Projections for next fall predict the largest senior secondary numbers until 2012. (It is important to note that Ministry of Education projections indicate an increase of nearly 1000 students over the next eight years.)
• Staffing - Another year of planning will allow for some natural movement of staff. This may result in fewer teachers being displaced by the transition.
• Time for partnership development - We have some exciting opportunities to partner with the community. There are some specific plans that would benefit from additional time.
• Time to try flexible timetables:
o North Peace Secondary will have time to develop and try a flexible timetable with morning, afternoon and evening classes that will provide choice for staff and students.
o Dr. Kearney and Bert Bowes will have the opportunity to build timetables that consider middle years strategies and needs.
• Time for professional development - Extra time will allow us to provide more specific pro-d around the middle years, flexible timetables, project based learning, etc. More time would also allow for the development of appropriate Board Approved and Authorized (BAA) courses.
• Facilities - Current staffing levels within our Maintenance Department may mean that even basic renovations required at Dr. Kearney and Bert Bowes would need to be stretched out over two years.
• Learning Resources - More time would allow for a better job of ordering, cataloguing and deploying new resources.

The concern that momentum will be lost must be taken seriously. Action Teams will continue to meet and provide updates regularly. Staff and parents are encouraged to follow Action Team progress on our website at: http://mu.prn.bc.ca

There continues to be an open invitation for everyone to participate and provide input.
No doubt there will be students, parents and staff who are disappointed by this development.
We hope they will understand that this decision was not arrived at without considerable thought, conversation and the best interests of students and staff in mind.
It is very important to repeat that the process of reconfiguration has not stopped. Planning and implementation will be ongoing and will be carried out in a manner that will be the best for everyone.

Sincerely,

Larry Espe
Superintendent of Schools

Friday, November 14th, 2008



This is just one of the many beautiful scenes that we come across in our travels around the province as we travel to visit students and parents. It is an important part of what we do and it brings many moments of joy to teachers and students when these visits occur. Hopefully we will be around to see you soon.

It is the first reporting period for secondary students already. Report cards are going to be coming out to parents on November 20, 2008. Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns. Your child's adviser is available to help with any questions or concerns you have.







We were very excited, for our Rembrance Day Ceremony, to have Sgt. Renay Groves from CFS Leitrim - Ottawa, Ontario, join our staff and students on vClass. Sgt. Groves began project "Notes from Home". It is a letter writing project where Canadians can send letters of encouragement and support to our troops serving in Afghanistan. We were all deeply moved by the work she is doing and appreciate the opportunity to interact directly with members of the Armed Services at this time of year.


October, 2008

It has been a very busy start to the 2008/09 school year. New student registrations, catching up with returning students, visiting families as far away as Atlin, BC and Whitehorse, Yukon, and all the other things that go along with "school" have kept us very busy.

We have had some changes with staff in the school. Judy Bayrak retired last year and Jerelyn Orcutt moved on to take a vice-principalship in the elementary school next door. Todd Koponyas has come on board in the role of seondary advisor. Glen Longley and Janny Ambrochowicz have taken over Judy's role in inclusion and learning assistance.

We travelled to the Yukon in the third week of September. Larry Espe, our SD 60 Superintendent came along for the first part of the trip. He had a great time learning about what NBCDES does and seeing the home visits by teachers to far away students. Four teachers and two administrators made the trip. We covered all together close to 10,000 kms of road on the trip.

Our enrolment is down a little this year but stil healthy. There are some new iniatives that will be coming your way soon. Our intermediate teachers are committed to teaching more online this year and that is an exciting piece for us. More direct teacher/student contact is something we are striving for. We have developed a new German language program (Grades 10 - 12) that will be available soon. Digital story time will be running again as well.

It is exciting to be involved in our student's lives for another year.