On behalf of the entire Nechako Lakes School District, we would like to extend our sincerest condolances to Dirk, his daughter Nisa and the entire Burns Lake community for the loss of Akiko and Pierce.  The outpouring of love and support from across the region has been tremendous as demonstrated during the Pierce Hofer Memorial Hockey Game with messages being shared by Kevin Lowe of the Edmonton Oilers and Don Cherry.  LDSS would like to thank Mr Waddell and the FSJ hockey class, Mr Skinner and Constable Gunn for taking Mr. Hofer’s place on the bench and Mr. Chambers and Mr. Strizich for refereeing the game.  Thank you to all who have contributed to the Pierce Hofer Memorial Scholarship which now sits over $20,000.  A special thank you to LDM for their $10 000 donation.  Here are some highlights from the game.

Christmas Concert Season is Upon Us….

If you want to feel happy instantly, drop by one of school’s Christmas concerts.  Here they are by date and with a link to their websites for more information.

• BESS – Dec 19th

• David Hoy – Dec 18th

• Decker Lake – Dec 19th

• Evelyn Dickson – Dec. 19th

• Fort Fraser – Dec 18th

• Francois Lake – Dec 18th

• Grassy Plains – Dec. 19th

• Mapes – Dec 18th

• Mouse Mountain – Dec. 19

• Prairiedale – Dec 12 (They have promised to send some pictures of the actors and dancers for the next One91)

• Sinkut View – Dec 18th

• Sowchea – Dec 19th

• William Konkin – Dec. 19th

• WL McLeod – Dec 19th

If you were looking for something a little more spookey this holiday season, please consider attending ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ being performed by the grade 9/10 LDSS drama class on Dec. 18 & 19.

Student Voice

Canada recently announced the names of our most recent Rhodes Scholarship winners.  These are 11 young Canadians bound for Oxford Universtiy that the country collectively is proud of for both their academic pursuits but also for their focus on improving the world. These young Canadians were asked 3 questions by the Globe and Mail, one of which was:

What is the one change you’d like to see in the education system so that students can reach their potential?

To read the thoughtful comments by these young leaders, please click HERE.

Kaylee, Lara and Courtland discuss student issues and questions.

SD 91 recently initiated a Student Voice project which saw 10 high school students and their vice principals spend a day together thinking about questions related to schools that were important to students.  These student leaders came up with some excellent questions and now will priorize these as a group and then take them back to their school communities.  Watch for more Student Voice news in the months to come.

What is your School’s Story

I recently had the opportunity to visit a number of high schools that were configured as grade 7 – 12 schools and although I had very specific questions, it was clear that some schools knew exactly what they were focussed on and what they were most proud of.  They were able to articulate their historical achievements, their current passion projects (academic and other), and were clearly working as a strong learning community.

Imagine if every one of our school community stakeholders were able to succinctly tell others our aligned school story.  Wouldn’t our goals seem more attainable when we all could articulate our strengths and challenges?

I’m curious to hear about the school story of any of our SD 91 schools….be brave and share your school story in the comments below this blog post.

PISA Results and Alarm Bells

Canada is among a number of countries that participates in a PISA assessment every three years.  The math results have created some national alarm bells and so I thought that I would share examples (click HERE) of the math questions that were asked of the participating 15 year old students.  If you happen to have the good fortune of having a 15 year old in your life, see how they do on these questions.

For a very good perspective on the results of British Columbia students (some of the highest in PISA), Chris Kennedy, Superintendent of West Vancouver shares some observations in his ‘Culture of Yes’ blog (click HERE.)

Nothing to do with schools

The holidays are almost here and there are certain videos that capture our hearts.  This is clearly an advertisement for Westjet but it is so simple and yet ingenious that it is well worth sharing.  Enjoy!

Wishing all of our employees, students and families a very happy holiday!