Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

In the second week of school, we have had an energetic start with Black Excellence Day on January 15, 2025, which connects to our Cultural and Identity Priority: to develop a sense of identity in individuals and cultural safety and humility in communities. Through days like Black Excellence Day, our goal is to engage learners to feel safe and thrive personally and culturally.

We are also focused on Connections and Relationships and the value of respect in January, which are core values in the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan.

Westsyde Secondary School – January 10, 2025

Principal Comita started our visit with Board Chair Heather Grieve by telling us about how many staff have been students at Westsyde and now teach there, and others have been part of generations of family members who have attended and/or taught at the school. He said, “There is a feeling of closeness here and our staff are so dedicated and amazing.  This connectedness is why students return to visit and give back to the school – they take pride in our positive culture.”

We stopped at the “Westsyde Wall of Fame”. Principal Comita and Chair Grieve shared their admiration for “Boots” who is not only on the wall but who is also still teaching at the school. Boots began teaching at Westsyde in 1985-1992, from 1997-2012, and she continues in her role as a District Resource Room teacher. Her motto is: ‘If you come to a fork in the road of life and one pathway leads to comfort and the other to a challenge, take the challenge.’ She certainly loves the challenge of inspiring her students every day.

I met her students who shared a beautiful card with me and took time to explain their art. They had numerous examples of “Doodle Art” on tables and the wall. Boots said, “We compose these pieces together to express how we feel and to have a creative outlet.” The students were also engaged in writing and spelling, and they each shared how they took part in composing sentences using an active approach to building sentences together.

We visited the “Flex” room where Ms. Bernes explained how students are engaged in a range of activities from completing online courses to continuing classroom assignments in various courses. “We assist students to be successful, and sometimes they just need a smaller space to work, and our ultimate goal is to encourage and prepare students to succeed in their classes.” I asked how many students come in and out of the room throughout the day, and she said “about 25 students/day/block, so this room is a fluid space that serves up to 100 students a day.” 

A TRU student, Hannah, has chosen to volunteer in the Flex room at Westsyde, and she said that she qualifies for credit by committing to a certain number of hours, and she enjoys being in the Learning Assistance Room.

We visited Mr. Heal’s Grade 8 Music class, and they performed a dynamic piece, Ogopogo, written by Robert Buckely, a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, and producer. The students played with a sense of connection to the narrative of this piece, and they worked on changing tempos as it seemed to “tell the story” of the legendary lake creature that lives in Okanagan Lake in Canada, Ogopogo, moving about in the water. It had quiet beginnings and then was dynamic in tempo and loudness (crescendo and decrescendo). Mr. Heal expressed how much he appreciates this composer’s work and felt that the students “learned so much by having to navigate a more interesting piece of music.”

Next, we visited Ms. McKay who is an online educator. She was working with a student who was writing a test online, and she also shared how she is able to show students how to solve a math or physics problem using a built-on function on her tablet within Brightspace. “It is important to be able to show problem solving while providing feedback online. It enables formative assessment seamlessly.”

Ms. Hallstrom was teaching PreCalc 11, and students were working collaboratively at their desks or in groups at white boards to solve the problems presented. The students shared that they felt ready because of the practice with each other and being able to see how each person worked through the thinking behind the solution to a problem.

Ms. Richards gave me a lovely calendar of art from studies like what she was sharing in her class that day. The calendar profiled student artwork from different students within our District.

Ms. Richards then explained that the Grade 9 students in class that day were doing a Canadian study of a location in Canada and represented their learning through their art. Students had started this study by engaging in a map activity and then chose the content, theme, and type of art (painting, carving, pottery, three-dimensional and two-dimensional art pieces). Adara had done a combination of a carving in her painting.

Carter and Chase had chosen wood carving to get across where the animals lived. Spencer shared his printmaking and described how he had studied designs in the environment and by other printmakers. He combined what he learned into his own designs and then made a stamp.

Mr. Beeds was working with his Biology 12 class on respiration in preparation for a test. Ms. Kachel was working with Ms. Piccini to prepare for the celebration of the Lunar New Year and Black Excellence Day. They had chosen titles to display with students’ input and help. They shared their plan to bring students into the library to take part in the Black Excellence Day virtual event hosted by Burnaby School District.

Black Excellence Day – January 15, 2025

Thank you to District Principal Cory Carmichael and District Library Coordinator Andrea Wallin for sharing information about Black Excellence Day with all schools. The information package included background information, clips, and other literature related to informing students about the origins, history, and relevance of the day. Secondary students were invited to participate in a virtual event hosted by Burnaby School District. District Principal Carmichael shared, “Black Excellence Day is a day to stand in solidarity with Black Canadians and honour the rich history, contributions, achievements, resilience, and joy of Black people.” He had sent a live link to teachers and indicated that the online event was suitable for students in Grades 5–12 and it was 90 minutes in length.

District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC)

The next DPAC general meeting takes place on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 6:30 pm. DPAC meetings are hybrid so parents and caregivers can attend in person at the Henry Grube Education Centre, or online through the Zoom link provided to your PAC. For more information on DPAC you can reach out to sd73dpac@gmail.com.

Board Notes

To learn more about the Regular Public Board Meeting on January 13, 2025, please feel free to read the Board Notes here.

I hope that you have had a good start in January and that you are taking time to enjoy the mild weather and being active outside. Have a restful weekend.

Rhonda Nixon, PhD
Superintendent