SD83 is collecting comments from the public on this proposed 2022-2023 calendar to share with the Board of Education and help inform its decision regarding the adoption of the calendar.
School will begin on Wednesday, September 7th this year with a full day of instruction. Tuesday, September 6th is a day for District initiatives, school staff meetings, and preparation for the first day of school. In years past, the first day of school has been a half-day early dismissal.
The number of professional development days (in red) have been determined through provincial negotiation, and are not part of the local calendar process. The proposed placement of these days, done in collaboration with the local teachers’ association (NOSTA) as per the language in our Collective Agreement, is part of the local calendar process.
As of November 2015, the new BC School Calendar Regulation has been in effect. It is different from the previous regulation in several ways, primarily that it sets the number of hours of instruction rather than the number of days of instruction. You may also have noticed the additional non-instructional days and a subsequent reduction in instructional hours in recent years. These were negotiated provincially to assist with implementation of Ministry of Education New/Renewed Curriculum.
Instructional time in schools with both elementary and secondary students will need to reflect the minimum hours for each age group. Schools with students in grades 7-12 will reflect the 8-12 requirements. Schools with other configurations (i.e. K-8) are finding local solutions, such as alternate recess and/or lunch bells.
The Semester Transition Day (in light purple) on January 27th is for secondary schools only. Elementary and middle schools will be in session on that day.
This proposed calendar has a two-week Spring Break. This is the most typical Spring Break configuration in the province. School days are extended to make up the difference in instructional time.
Once a District Calendar has been approved by the Board of Education, each school will work with their local stakeholders to establish their bell schedules in a manner with the framework of the BC Calendar Regulation and the NOSTA Collective Agreement.
Please take a few minutes to review the proposed SD83 District School Calendar pictured above, then provide comments in the survey form by clicking the link below. This survey will be open until March 14th, 2022.
