School Board Session hears of Mental Health Literacy, plans for Budget consultation

The Booth Building Meeting Space hosted the first
SD52 Board meeting for 2023 this month

The first Public School District 52 Board session took place mid month, with the short update from the Board outlining some of their key talking points from the January 17th meeting at the Booth Meeting Space.

 Among the items that the District has noted from their session was an update from CHSS student Natalie DeMille who share her passion towards helping students address mental health, sharing with the Board of Education some of the needs for students.

Those include:

Education of students and staff about mental health
Advocacy to encourage more people to support student's needs
Equipping students with skills and knowledge
Supporting students in a variety of ways

As well, a quick synopsis of the "Plant Parenthood" program provided a look at how the project encourages students to reflect on their own mental health as they care for their 'baby plants'

The presentation was well received by the Board, with Board Chair Kate Toye noting of Ms. DeMille's success and how it could expand.

“Ms. DeMille took from her own experience a passion for this initiative, The Board of Education looks forward to seeing her efforts spread across the district, across the country and around the world.”

The Board also set the blueprint for they Annual Budget consultation process for the months ahead, the engagement period starts tomorrow January 31st and has five elements in total, wrapping up on April 20th when the District will look to approve the budget at they Board Meeting.

The January 31st session is an online event, with the need to request a link to the session  contact tamara.dickens@sd52.bc.ca to receive you link to the night's session.

(see our article here for a wider overview of the Budget process)

The Board of Education also noted of two Registration periods ahead for parents/guardians in the School District.

Kindergarten registration is open at the district’s elementary schools. Children who will turn 5 by December 31, 2023 need to be registered in the school in your catchment area. A map of catchment areas is on the district website, under Parents/Student Registration. If your preference is for your child to attend a different school, you will also need to compete a cross-boundary application form.

Parents are encouraged to consider the option of enrolling students in kindergarten in the French Immersion program at École Roosevelt Park Community School. Pre-school students can attend a fun Monday Morning activity class on January 30th. Parent Information sessions are being held at the school from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 19.

The SD52 review of their work of January 17th wrapped up with a notice that they are seeking input from partner groups on revisions towards 3 policies

1320 Communicable Diseases and Immunizations Policy 

1350 Student Medications Policy 

1380 Anaphylaxis Policy

The Board of Education notes can be reviewed from their website here.

While there was more than likely more to the Agenda, that information sheet for the January board session still hasn't been posted to the SD52 website; nor has the video archive of their January 17th meeting which provides the record of their work, been provided for review of parents or guardians who may not have been able to have attended the Zoom session.

Update: Since our story of January 30th, the School District has provided for the video of the session which you can review here.

More notes on SD52 can be explored through our archive page.