Hi everyone,
We’re almost at the Christmas break – one more week! I hope you’re enjoying the festive celebrations with your school communities.
This week’s Bulletin includes several updates for your information, so please take the time to read below. Among the updates, you will find year-end letters from Minister Singh that I encourage you to read and distribute to your staff and to parents and caregivers.
Have a great weekend,
Christina
Christina Zacharuk
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
As we near the end of 2023 and the beginning of winter break throughout B.C., Minister Singh would like to wish everyone in the education system a wonderful holiday season. Please ask your principals to share the following with their staff and school communities on the Minister’s behalf:
Minister’s end of year letter to parents and caregivers
Minister’s end of year letter to educators, school staff, district leaders and trustees
Superintendents can now register for the January 26, 2024 international policy dialogue meeting with delegates from the High Performing Systems for Tomorrow (HPST) project. The meeting will be held at the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver and the agenda will be provided in advance of the meeting. Participants are encouraged to reserve their hotel room in advance.
The ministry is hosting the HPST meeting from January 24 – 26, 2024. The morning of January 26 will be a Superintendents only session. In the afternoon, international HPST delegates and leaders from other B.C. education organizations will gather for a joint session with Superintendents on the topic of Equity in Education for Human Flourishing.
The Ministry of Education and Child Care is seeking Expressions of Interest from school districts to enhance participation in Work Experience 12A and 12B courses related to the Early Childhood Education, Health, and Technology sectors.
The BC Learning Pathways are resources under development to support teachers in developing students’ literacy and numeracy skills across the K-12 curriculum. The Ministry of Education and Child Care is collecting feedback from educators during Field Review on the K-12 Learning Progressions and supporting resources until January 2024. Teachers should use K-12 Learning Progressions in their planning, teaching, classroom assessment, and reporting processes prior to sharing feedback. This is the first phase in a long-term plan to support literacy and numeracy learning across the province. Teachers are encouraged to submit their feedback on the draft BC Learning Pathways resources before January 31, 2024.
The November 2023 assessment session results are now available for the Grade 12 Literacy Assessment (LTE12), Évaluation de littératie de la 12e année – Français langue première (LTP12), the Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment (NME10, NMF10) and the Grade 10 Literacy Assessment (LTE10).
A reminder that the new Indigenous-focused graduation requirement and 2023 graduation program code is now in effect. More details are available in this Grad 2023 information document.
The Education Data Exchange (EDX) launched this week, starting with school districts’ offices. The onboarding of public schools, independent schools, and offshore schools will occur in early January. The phased approach will help the ministry monitor EDX’s early performance and ensure the system is working optimally. For more information, visit the EDX info hub, where you can also subscribe for updates.
The Youth Empowered Speakers Program (YES) is for B.C. First Nations youth ages 18-35 living on or off-reserve who want to become fluent in their own First Nations language. To qualify, candidates must be studying Early Childhood Education, pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree, or pursuing a degree/program that is linked to a career in language revitalization. Proof of post-secondary program acceptance must be provided to be eligible for program funding. More details can be found in this online information session and YES poster. The deadline to apply is January 23, 2024.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators (EASE) is a collection of evidence-informed, everyday (mild to moderate) anxiety classroom resources and online courses for B.C. educators to use with students in Kindergarten to Grade 12. Based on feedback from educators and other professionals working with young children, Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Early Years (EASEY) was developed and is now available. EASEY is an online course and a collection of resources providing B.C. early years professionals with practical and evidence-informed anxiety information and strategies to strengthen their capacity to support families with children ages 0 to 6. It aligns with the Mental Health in Schools Strategy and Early Learning Framework. For more information about EASEY, visit the HealthyMindsBC website.
Schools and districts are invited to join the Ninandotoo Society and Burnaby School District (SD 41) in celebrating Black Excellence Day, a virtual event for students in grades 4-12, on January 15, 2024, to stand in solidarity with Black Canadians. The event will include an address from Minister Singh. Schools may host their own celebrations or register for this paid event. To order Black Excellence Day 2024 T-shirts, please place your order by December 22 to receive in time for Black Excellence Day.
The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions’ new poison drugs campaign directed at young people shares the dangers of using toxic drugs. The website includes resources for youth and families on talking about drugs with youth, how to help if someone is using drugs, and safe places for seeking help.
Discipline outcomes are posted to enhance the transparency of the processes and decisions made with respect to complaints and reports about educators. Recently, an outcome was posted regarding Deisy Maritza Ospina Ostios, whose certificate was suspended for five days.
