Saturday October 22, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The SD62 school district (SD62) that serves families with the delivery of public education in the west shore and Sooke will hold its next board meeting on October 25, 2022. The current (outgoing) trustees will be present at the meeting.
The seven new SD62 trustees for 2022-2026 (as elected on October 15, 2022) will be sworn in on November 1.
Report to the board:
SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson has included his usual official report to the board in the October 25 School District 62 (Sooke) board meeting agenda.
At each meeting, Stinson reminds that the report is also from the associate superintendents who lead the three school ‘families’ and various administrative departments.
The report usually contains information along the lines of the three areas of the SD62 2021-2025 Strategic Plan: Learning, Engagement, and Growth (this month’s report content shown below in quotations).
This month’s report takes a light touch with update and review on ongoing programs, initiatives and facility growth, ahead of addressing a new board in November.
LEARNING
This month the Learning section of the superintendent’s report focuses on one program at Royal Bay Secondary in Colwood.
- “Students from the TASK program (Trades – Awareness – Skills – Knowledge) at Royal Bay Secondary School are selling four sheds. Each 8 X 8 shed was constructed by a team of students under the direction of two ticketed carpenter instructors. The sheds are “overbuilt,” designed to mimic regular home construction, using 2 X 4”s and solid materials. These platform framed sheds fully meet building code regulation.
- Trades Explorations and TASK (Trades – Awareness – Skills – Knowledge) are two trades-based career programs that operate out of the Royal Bay shops. They are available to students in grades 10-12. Grade 10 students are invited to enroll in Trades Explorations. Trades Explorations works through four different trades areas within one block of the regular school schedule. It is a good sampler for those students who are not yet sure if a trade is for them. It also allows students to get a head start in trades training ahead of enrollment into TASK.
- TASK enrolls grade 11 and 12 students for an entire day for one of the two semesters. Like Trades Exploration, TASK explores a variety of trades but its more flexible schedule allows for being onsite in Royal Bay shops, taking students to real job sites, and allowing them to regularly explore the shop spaces that Camosun College has to offer. TASK is a dual-credit program with Camosun and offers a selection of Camosun College credits, along with some academic and elective secondary credits. TASK offers a more extensive look into a variety of trades that helps build a path towards an apprenticeship or trades-based career.”
ENGAGEMENT
The month the superintendent’s report focuses on the new Westshore Post-Secondary campus which is under construction in central Langford (the ground-breaking event to celebrate the new Royal Roads Langford Campus was held on August 3, 2022).
The collaborative university campus has been led by Royal Roads University (RRU), along with the University of Victoria (UVic), Camosun College, the Justice Institute of BC, and SD62.
“On October 4, the executive teams from the school district and Royal Roads University met to discuss the upcoming post-secondary project being built in Langford. The proposed project has dedicated space for the school district but will be integrated within the overall operation of the building. Discussion about the link from K-12 to post-secondary focused on building pathways and creating opportunities for students to transition in a much more seamless manner.
There is a strong partnership emerging between Royal Roads and the school district that will also translate into other areas of our operation. Many connections were made beyond this project that will hopefully manifest into greater opportunities for SD62 students.”
GROWTH
Municipal Partnerships:
SD62 has a Memoradum of Understanding (MOU) with each of the three municipalities in which SD62 delivers public education: Langford, Colwood and Sooke.
“Following the Municipal Elections, invitations to meet with our local Mayors and Councils are being arranged to continue, and where there are new incumbents, establish, the strong working relationships at the political and staff levels.
Work continues to create and foster partnerships with municipalities and external organizations to further strategic plan objectives. As we await funding to build of North Langford Elementary School, we have partnered with the City of Langford to install a turf field with lights on the future school site on South Skirt Mountain. The tendering process for site preparations has concluded, and installation will be completed by early 2023.
In addition, we are exploring the creation of a vibrant community hub with the City of Colwood and The Village Initiative at the future South Colwood Elementary School site in Royal Bay. The land for the future school site was purchased back in March 2020 and is a priority ask for capital funding from the provincial government for a school.
The proposed school design would include designated space for non-profit groups such as THRIVE and BGC (Boys and Girls Club) South Vancouver to better service the needs of community members.”
Centre Mountain Lellum
“We are delighted to have received confirmation from Farmer Construction that Centre Mountain Lellum Middle School will finally be ready to open to students in November. We have contacted parents to ask that students remain home on November 9 and 10 while staff go into the school to set up the classrooms and learning spaces. Students will be welcomed into the new school for the first time on Monday November 14.”
For the Centre Mountain Lellum Middle School students, the revised locations for September 6 to November 8 have been Spencer Middle School in Langford for Grade 6 students, PEXSISEN Elementary School (at 3100 Constellation Ave, next door to Centre Mountain Lellum | see construction & design info) for Grade 7 students, and Dunsmuir Middle School in Colwood for Grade 8’s.
Next SD62 board meetings:
The next SD62 public board meeting is on Tuesday October 25 at 7 pm.
The new board will be sworn in on November 1 at 7 pm.
Meetings are held at the SD62 administration office on Jacklin Road in Langford, and are also livestreamed.
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends offers news insights about the west shore and south Vancouver Island.
Editor and publisher Mary P Brooke has spearheaded this socioeconomic and community-insight news thread since 2008 in the west shore, starting with MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010) which morphed into the weekly newspaper Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), which expanded into the weekly colour print newspaper West Shore Voice News (2014-2020). Island Social Trends has been an online news portal at islandsocialtrends.ca since mid-2020.
Ms Brooke has covered the news of SD62 at the board and committee level since 2014. Her insights are of value to parents and the community who rely on quality public education for their children, as well as to community leaders who value informed insights on SD62 decision-making.
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