The National Day of Mourning is observed annually in Canada on April 28 to honour those who have lost their lives while working on the job. The purpose of the National Day of Mourning is two-fold … to remember and honour those lives lost or injured and to renew the commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace … to prevent further deaths, injuries and diseases from work.

Every year workers, families, employers, communities and others come together at ceremonies held around the province and the country to remember those who have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational disease, and to renew their commitment to creating safe workplaces. Since its inception, the observance has spread to over 80 countries around the world, but is known in most other countries as the Workers’ Memorial Day.

The Canadian flag on Parliament Hill is typically flown at half-mast on April 28, and workers and employees observe this day in various ways including observing moments of silence.

To mark our school district’s commitment in observance of the National Day of Mourning on April 28, Coast Mountains School District flags will be lowered to half-mast on Friday afternoon, April 27 and raised on Monday, April 30 prior to the start of school.

For more information, please visit the BC Day of Mourning website at dayofmourning.bc.ca.

You think trades is just welding and carpentry, heavy duty mechanics or metal works?
Think again, because trades are so much more!
There are about 200 trades to choose from, and they touch every aspect of our lives. Cooks, plumbers, bakers. hairstylists, horticulturist, arborist or roofer, are all trades we don’t think about straight away.
Not only are tradespeople in high demand, trades also pay good.

Lots to consider, when it comes to trades.
Please join us at the Dual Credit Information Night on Tuesday April 17th, from 5:00pm – 7:00 pm.

Dear CMSD82 Employee,

On March 23, 2018 SmartFindExpress performed an update which has led to some on-call employees receiving calls but being unable to connect to the system.

Included in the update is the following new feature as shared by SmartFindExpress:

• We have a new option that is not turned on for your district.  The option will need the sub to only enter their pin, and there is a playback to verify what was entered.  This new option has helped reduce many invalid entry phone issues for the subs.
• You will want to notify the subs that when the system calls they will just need to enter in their pin only.  The system will play back the digits received and then they can confirm or re-enter.

SmartFindExpress believes that turning on this feature will resolve the issues of on-call employees being unable to connect.

Important Notations:

• Effective April 6, 2018 after morning call-out we will activate this feature.
• Beginning the evening call-out on April 8 onward you will only need to enter your PIN and * to log in to SmartFindExpress

Should you experience any issues, please include as much information as possible (date, time, job number, nature of the issue) and email hr@cmsd.bc.ca. 

If you have questions or you require immediate assistance, please contact Richard Anderson, Automated Dispatch Help Desk Clerk at 250-638-4439 or 1-855-635-4931, Local 4439 between the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Sincerely,

Kyla Magnusson
Human Resources Officer

Dear CMSD82 Employee,

The second of two Curriculum Implementation Days for the 2017-2018 school year will be held on Friday, April 13.  These days are specifically dedicated to BC’s redesigned K-12 curriculum.

The following Curriculum Implementation Day sessions have been planned in Hazelton, Kitimat, Terrace and Thornhill on Friday, April 13 … to view the program or “shape of the day” for these venues, please click on the links below:

Hazelton-Kitwanga K-12 Teachers – Hazelton Secondary School

Kitimat K-12 Teachers – Nechako Elementary School

Terrace-Thornhill-Stewart K-6 Teachers – NTETC

Terrace-Stewart Grades 7-12 Teachers – Caledonia Secondary School

Should you have further questions or require additional information, please contact your School Principal for assistance.

A friendly reminder that all teaching staff are expected to be in attendance in one of the full-day sessions.  Sign-in sheets will be on-site to document attendance.  Individuals not present at a session will not be paid for the day. 

Not unlike any other non-instructional day, part-time employees will be expected to attend the day at a rate consistent with that of their employment (if you are a .6 FTE employee, you are expected to attend for 60% of the day).  Individuals are more than welcome to attend a greater portion of the day on a voluntary basis if they so desire.  Teachers Teaching-on-Call are also welcome on a voluntary basis as desired.

CUPE members are welcome at the sessions, however, CUPE staff are responsible to their School Principal for activities of the day.

We also share the following link to the Student Learning Module package as pre-reading for the Computational Thinking presentations offered during the Terrace, Thornhill and Stewart sessions:

Student Learning Module Package – Computational Thinking

In addition, we share a link to the School-Based Collaboration Form for completion by teaching staff attending the Terrace, Thornhill and Stewart sessions for return to their School Principal during the session on April 13 prior to the lunch break:

School-Based Collaboration Form – April 13, 2018 CI Day

A special thanks is extended to the Curriculum Implementation Committee for their efforts and organization for this significant and important work for Coast Mountains’ learners.

We look forward to inspiring and engaging with you on April 13!

Sincerely,

Janet Meyer
Director of Instruction, School Support

For your reading enjoyment, please find a link to the CMSD82 Innovates quarterly bulletin which shares innovative initiatives and projects within Coast Mountains School District 82.

CMSD82 Innovates Bulletin – February 27, 2018

We encourage you to share the CMSD82 Innovates quarterly bulletin with students, families and friends.  This first issue covers innovative projects from schools across our district that you will find inspirational.

The next quarterly bulletin of CMSD82 Innovates will be issued in May 2018.

Sincerely,

Katherine McIntosh
Superintendent of Schools