It has been a long, challenging time. Who would’ve thought, back in early 2020, that we would still be talking about and dealing with COVID-19 – two whole years later? It’s not what I expected, to say the least. All our lives have been changed. Many of us have experienced immeasurable losses. Our education system and all its working parts have had to pivot again and again. Our kids have shown their resilience masking up, using separate doors and maintaining a two-metre distance. We’ve all learned the new language of cohorts, variants, social distancing and virtual learning.

Even if COVID-19 waves continue to come, it is my hope that we can still slowly and surely re-engage as a community in a spirit of togetherness and intentionally work to mend relationships strained or lost during our time apart. You can also rest easy knowing that our school division, which prioritized health, safety and learning throughout the past two years, will continue to do so.

Keeping these priorities in mind, we are excited for our School Division to move forward, finding new ways to provide rich and engaging experiences in our schools while recognizing some of the great new learning tools realized as a result of the pandemic. It’s also encouraging to see students able to re-engage in school clubs, intramural and competitive sports and arts programming, such as Divisional Choir. And, with our amazing team of educators, I can’t wait to see what opportunities this next season in education will bring.

As we move forward, your Board of Trustees is also excited to announce the creation of a new Indigenous Advisory Council for the 2022/23 School Year. We, as a board, recognize the importance of having Indigenous voices represented at our board table to ensure we are honouring the reconciliation process. Over the coming months, we will be working to define the terms of reference for this new Advisory Council as a part of the Community Engagement and Governance committee mandates. We are excited to move forward, ensuring diversity of perspectives plays a key role in our decision-making as a Board of Trustees.

May the remainder of this school year be characterized by kindness to others, hope for the future and quality learning for all students!

-Nicole Bowering 

Trustee, East Ward ​