Blog Posts

Lunch is a very big deal at Crawford Bay School.

4 days per week, starting first thing,  Chef Rebecca or Chef Farley arrive, along with a volunteer or two, to start prepping a huge salad bar and the entrée of the day.  Sometimes it starts with connecting with one of the incredible gardeners, Joy or Virginia, to get whatever is in season to add to the menu.  Lunch could be chicken teriyaki, roasted squash soup and naan, tacos or pizza or cheesy potato bake - it is a pretty wide range of yum, and there is always a vegetarian option.

Crawford Bay school is so very fortunate to be able to welcome Elder Donna Wright to our school all through the year. We call her Grandmother Donna, and she brings incredible joy and knowledge to our school.

Donna sings and drums with us, fosters curiosity, and creates a safe space for learning about Indigenous ways of knowing.

This month, I want to share my gratitude for some unexpected gifts we have received in our district and in our schools through the month of October. 

First Annual Fall Family Festival and Celebration of Learning

The rainy weather didn’t stop the fun at our Fall Festival!  We had about 150 people attend, visit classes, talk with staff, meet other parents and grandparents, play games, compete in the pie walk and eat delicious homemade chili.  It was wonderful to see so many families in the community join us for this celebration, along with community members, former students and local movers and shakers!

Hello Crawford Bay School Community. 

It’s been wonderful to get to know your children, hear their summer stories and hear a bit about what they want to get out of their school year.  It already feels like we’ve been going for a lot longer than just over 2 weeks!  Lots of projects already going, new initiatives being set up and old traditions coming back.  I personally want to thank the Crawford Bay community, students, and families for being so welcoming to me, our new teachers and new students.   

Welcome to the fall. You’ll notice that like the leaves on the trees in late-September and early October, this issue of the Superintendent’s Report looks a bit different than it did a few months ago. The stories in this report are now organized under our five strategic learning priorities from our Strategic Plan 2024-2029. These priorities are lifelong learners, connected learners, a caring and inclusive learning culture, culture and identity development and career development.

A warm welcome to September and to the 2023-2024 school year. I am pleased to welcome every one of our more than 4700 students and each family whose child or children have embarked on what may be a first or a next chapter of their educational journey within School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake).

This is an incredibly exciting month for students who may be entering a classroom for the very first time, or entering a new grade, a new program or a new school. “New” is a key word for so much that happens throughout September across our district.  

Another school year is coming to completion - June is one of the most exciting months of the year for everyone in SD8.

In June, we see students showcase their efforts and accomplishments throughout the school year - in capstone projects, in school theatre productions, in school-wide projects to protect the oceans or mark the Seven Sacred Teachings or in outdoor sports during and after school, including in the annual wuqanqankimik run/walk/wheel for Reconciliation.

May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Peoples (MMIWG2S). It is also known as Red Dress Day. May 1 to 7 is the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Mental Health Week. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month across North America. This report includes articles related to each of these events.

April is a great time to reconnect with one another after spring break, and to reengage with our individual and collective purpose: to support and realize the success of each of our learners as we begin the final three months of the 2022-2023 school year. 

In that spirit of engagement, I am excited to share results from our strategic plan engagement process in this month's superintendent's report. 

Highlights of the process include: