Announcements

Dear parents/guardians,

As a result of the pipeline rupture last month, FortisBC is forecasting a shortfall of natural gas through the winter. With a reduced supply of natural gas available, customers across the province are being asked to continue to conserve energy.

Starting Friday, November 16, 2018, the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District will turn down thermostats to 18°C in all secondary schools (starting in the morning) and elementary schools (starting in the afternoon) in order to further reduce natural gas usage. Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately to stay warm and comfortable.

Temperatures will remain at 18°C until the FortisBC natural gas advisory is lifted. Updates will be posted to the district website and sent through the parent portal as they become available.

Letter from the Honourable Katrine Conroy

As the Minister of Children and Family Development, I am honoured and delighted to proclaim November as Adoption Awareness Month. This annual proclamation offers an opportunity to celebrate the many families in the province who have opened their hearts and their homes through adoption, and to highlight the need for more families to consider adopting.

 In your school district and across the province, there are hundreds of children and youth in foster care hoping for a permanent home to call their own. Some are part of a sibling group, some have special needs, and some are teens. Each and every child deserves a family to belong to, a stable place to grow up, help and guidance preparing for the challenges of adulthood, and someone to rely on for support, encouragement and love.

This year the ministry is pleased to announce a new Adoption Campaign. For more information on this important campaign, please see the following Web link at: Adoptnow.ca.

There are many ways to celebrate adoptive families and help raise awareness of the need for more adoptive families in British Columbia. Your council could proclaim Adoption Awareness Month in your community, you could create an adoption display in your office, use a copy of the Provincial Proclamation, invite Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) Adoption Social Workers to set up an information booth, have your community newspaper feature articles on adoption, and invite local adoptive parents to a “meet and greet”. If you are interested in exploring these ideas please contact MCFD staff at:MCF.AdoptionsBranch@gov.bc.ca.

The Adoptive Families Association of British Columbia (AFABC) has been supporting adoptive families in British Columbia for forty years. The AFABC’s representative for your area can provide you with information on events in your community and on adoption in general. Their contact information, as well as contact information for the three licensed adoption agencies in British Columbia, can be accessed at:https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/life-events/birth-adoption/adoptions/how-to-adopt-a-child.

Adopt BC Kids Web site is an online portal that allows citizens to complete an adoption applications online 24/7. Please take a look at the site and encourage community members who are interested in adopting a child in foster care to register at: www.gov.bc.ca/adoptbckids.

On behalf of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, thank you for helping us raise awareness about adoption and working with us to find homes for British Columbia’s children and youth.

Sincerely,

Katrine Conroy

Minister of Children and Family Development

The newly elected Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board of Education will be sworn in during a ceremony at Thomas Haney Secondary on Wednesday, November 7.

The event takes place in the school rotunda, starting at 4 pm. Thomas Haney Secondary is located at 23000 – 116 Ave., Maple Ridge, BC.

As we approach the federal legalization of recreational marijuana on October 17, 2018, we would like to reaffirm that (as per our Safe, Caring, and Healthy Schools policy) our school district will continue to provide a safe, caring and socially responsible school environment that does not tolerate the presence of intoxicating substances.

For more information on the legalization of recreational marijuana and its impacts for BC K-12 education, see the message below provided by the Ministry of Education. (more…)

As a result of the natural gas pipeline rupture near Prince George, FortisBC is asking customers across the province to turn down their thermostats and reduce natural gas usage.

Starting this Friday, October 12, the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District will be reducing the temperature in all schools and facilities by 2°C and setting thermostats at 20°C to help conserve energy.

Although warmer outside temperatures are expected on Friday, please have your child(ren) dress appropriately to stay warm and comfortable inside the school or classroom.

Temperatures inside schools and facilities will remain at 20°C until the FortisBC natural gas advisory is lifted. Please visit www.sd42.ca for the latest updates.

The reactivation of student and parent MyClass accounts to connect with MyEducation BC for the 2018/19 school year will take place on the following dates:

• Students in grades 8-12: Friday, August 31, 2018, 3 pm
• Students in grades K-7: Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 3 pm
• All parent accounts: Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 3 pm

Please note that your login ID and password will remain the same.

What is MyClass?

MyClass is a gateway to the new provincial Student Information System that enables parents/guardians to connect directly with their child’s teachers. To learn more about MyClass, visit https://myedbc.sd42.ca/MyClass.

To align with kindergarten registration and ensure a smoother registration process, the school district has decided not to move ahead with preregistration for the new school (c̓əsqənelə Elementary, located at 24093 – 104th Avenue, Maple Ridge) as originally planned. Instead, registration for c̓əsqənelə Elementary for the 2019/20 school year will occur in January 2019.

Ongoing updates about progress on c̓əsqənelə Elementary, including information about the registration process, will be posted to the school’s website at http://elementary.sd42.ca/cusqunela as they become available. Details about the registration process will also be posted to the parent portal, and school district website, Facebook and Twitter channels once they are finalized.

The Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board of Education is pleased to announce that the new elementary school in the Albion area of Maple Ridge (located at 24093 – 104th Avenue, Maple Ridge) will be named c̓əsqənelə Elementary in honour of the First Nations history of this region.

In February 2017, the Ministry of Education announced funding for the new elementary school and shortly afterwards the board began collecting community input on potential names for the new school.

“Given the passionate feedback we received calling for a school name that recognizes and celebrates the First Nations history in this area, we requested that the Kwantlen and Katzie Elders undertake a process to select a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name for the school,” said Superintendent Sylvia Russell. (more…)

*UPDATE: To align with kindergarten registration and ensure a smoother registration process, the school district has decided not to move ahead with preregistration for the new school as originally planned. Instead, registration for c̓əsqənelə Elementary for the 2019/20 school year will occur in January 2019.

Pre-registration for the new elementary school on 104th Avenue, which is scheduled to open September 2019, has been rescheduled to start in late August 2018. Details about the pre-registration process, including the exact date, will be communicated on the school district website and to parents through the Parent Portal in late August.

At its public meeting on June 19, 2018, the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows Board of Education approved Policy 9611: Child Protection.
 
View the policy at http://www.sd42.ca/board-of-education/policy-manual/