Seeking input on draft calendar

SD83 is collecting comments from the public on this proposed 2023-2024 district school year calendar to share with the Board of Education. Your thoughts and feedback will be provided to the Board and help inform its decision regarding the adoption of the calendar.  Please read on as there are a couple of significant changes from last year’s calendar, including a re-introduction of a half day on the first day students return to school and a later winter break, which are noted below the calendar.

SURVEY LINK HERE

Please note the following:

• Once again, this year, the school year begins with a full non-instruction in-service day on September 5, 2023 for all employees. This will be followed by a return to a gradual start half day for students on September 6, 2023 with the first full day of instruction being on September 7, 2023. The in-service day will allow District staff to complete important work related to the Strategic Plan.
• The half-day gradual start on the first day of school, after feedback from District staff last year, has been added back in. It was clear that it is needed to organize classes in the afternoon on that first day after meeting with these students in the morning. 
• Another proposed change for this year is beginning Winter Break a week later on Friday, December 22^nd (the last day of school will be Thursday, December 21st). A later Winter Break aligns with neighbouring districts plans and is possible this year due to where Christmas Day lands in the calendar and the District’s Collective Agreement language with the North Okanagan-Shuswap Teachers’ Association.
• This Calendar was co-created by a District Calendar Committee, consisting of SLT, PVP, and NOSTA representatives. A summary of feedback on the Draft Calendar will be shared at the March Regular Meeting of the Board of Education. An approved calendar is due to the Ministry of Education by March 31^st of each year. 

• 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 30th is for secondary schools only. Elementary and middle schools will be in session on that day.   
• 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 21, 2023 at 11:45 p.m.

Survey is available here: – https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pP-hhz-WDkWNkBVd542b5RevqD7DTxlPpbI8rrd8YGpUNjIyQzUwS01IWFIyVkVXMDZXTExCRE9WOS4u