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Sd73
School back on in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - In case there was any doubt in your mind, yes schools are set to reopen in School District 73 Wednesday after two snow days in a row. Students have been out of school since Dec. 19 when winter break began. Schools were ready to reopen Monday, Jan. 5 but Mother Nature had other...
UPDATE: Second day of school closures in Kamloops, TRU reopens
KAMLOOPS - After two days of almost constant snow, School District 73 will close schools for a second day on Tuesday, Jan. 6 though Thompson Rivers University is set to reopen. At 6:30 a.m. Monday the school district made the decision to keep schools closed because of the heavy snow and by later in the...
UPDATE: Snow day in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - Today was supposed to be the first day back after winter break, but students in Kamloops are instead starting the new year with a snow day after heavy snowfall Sunday. School District 73 Supt. Karl de Bruijn says the unprecedented snowfall has made many roads impassable and staff have been unable to get...
Schools keeping students indoors over recess, lunch break after shooting incident
KAMLOOPS – After an RCMP officer was shot in Batchelor Heights Wednesday morning, administrators at…
Heavy snow falls on Kamloops, rain on way
TRAFFIC STRUGGLING ON STEEP ROADS KAMLOOPS - Heavy snow has caused traffic backups this morning in Kamloops but no major problems, according to the city, RCMP and the school district. A light rain began at the airport around 5 p.m. Tuesday, with light snow falling in the valley much of the night. At higher elevations,...
STAHN: When is it time to listen to the students?
Students and teachers have been asking for it. A petition with more than 770 student signatures was submitted to the school board last year. This year another 300 students have already signed another petition. Yet an anti-homophobic harassment policy still does not exist in our schools. The bureaucratic process has its place. Legally steps need...
District looks to make Stuart Wood closure official
KAMLOOPS - The decision to close Stuart Wood School could become official this afternoon as the school board prepares for a special meeting to pass the official bylaw. The decision to present the bylaw at a special meeting comes on the heels of a letter sent to the district from the lawyer representing the Downtown...
Grade 11 student continues push for anti-homophobia policy
AIMS FOR SCHOOL-LEVEL POLICY IN WAKE OF BOARD REFUSAL KAMLOOPS - After months of discussion, the Kamloops-Thompson school board turned down a request to have a dedicated policy dealing with homophobic harassment, but one student is refusing to take no for an answer and is now pushing to get a policy put in place at...
Fight to save Stuart Wood goes legal
CONSULTATION PROCESS ‘DEEPLY FLAWED’ KAMLOOPS - A group upset with the planned closure of Stuart Wood School is hoping to make it a key election issue after a lawyer allegedly found several deficiencies in the way the district handled the decision. Bruce Thomson, the acting chair of the Downtown and West End Residents’ Association, says...
School enrolment on upswing in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - For the first time in recent memory the Kamloops-Thompson School District may actually see a net positive count in student enrolment. Supt. Karl de Bruijn says while they are still verifying the final numbers it appears elementary schools saw an increase of more than 260 students while secondary schools saw a decline of...
New Pineview school a priority in five year plan
KAMLOOPS - Nearly $150 million in upgrades, additions and new builds are identified in the Kamloops-Thompson School District five year capital plan, including a brand new school in the Pineview Valley area. A new school is named as one of the top priorities for the school district in the five year capital plan, along with...
Teachers upset over missing day of pay
KAMLOOPS - Kamloops teachers are among the minority in the province not getting paid for the day they spent preparing their classrooms for the first day of school. Kamloops Thompson Teachers Association President David Komljenovic says teachers showed good faith by showing up on the Friday before school was set to start, as well as...
ELECTIONS 2014: Your Kamloops candidates
KAMLOOPS - Nominations are officially closed and we appear to have a decent sized race for councillor and school trustee seats, and four candidates are vying for the mayoral seat. At the end of the nomination period Friday, incumbent councillors Donovan Cavers, Ken Christian, Nelly Dever, Tina Lange, Arjun Singh, Marg Spina and Pat Wallace...
Future of Stuart Wood landmark could include TRU
KAMLOOPS - Thompson Rivers University is interested in the historic Stuart Wood Elementary School in downtown Kamloops. The City and university have signed an agreement to look at the possible future uses of the school, which is set to be turned back over to the city in September 2016 after students and staff are head...
Kamloops teachers back to picket lines
KAMLOOPS - The pickets are back up as we close in on the last week of summer break, and with that the hope of being able to start school on time is dwindling. After a break over the summer, teachers hit the pavement again Monday and plan to be there every day until a deal...
Only some summer programs affected by strike
KAMLOOPS - While school district summer school programs have been cancelled third party summer programs will not be subject to picketing, according to the local teacher’s union president. “There won’t be any third party picketing… where they just rent the facility,” Jason Karpuk says. “They rent, they do the hiring, the board doesn’t provide any...
Summer programs at risk
KAMLOOPS - Not only are summer school programs at risk due to the ongoing teacher strike action but now summer programs held on school property are also at risk. The B.C. Teacher’s Federation announced this week teachers would picket outside of schools hosting summer school programs if a deal is not reached by June 30....
Stuart Wood will close
KAMLOOPS - The clock is ticking on Stuart Wood Elementary School after the school district agreed unanimously to consolidate Beattie School of Arts students into one building and shutdown the downtown school by September 2016. The issue has been a hot button issue with the public since an enrolment report suggesting the closure was released in...
Group continues fight to save Stuart Wood
KAMLOOPS - It may be too little too late but a group of concerned citizens are not giving up their fight to save their downtown school. Denis Walsh, the chair of the Downtown and West End Residents Association, admits they were a bit slow out of the gate but based on previous changes within the...
STAHN: Who the strike is really hurting
‘This is not the way I wanted it to end.’ It’s a line I heard over and over again during the teacher strike. It’s applicable to both retiring teachers and the students who saw their school year end with less than 24 hours notice. Many of the students, abruptly told last Thursday would be their...
Teachers and government ‘not even close’ to a deal
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — There is still a major gap between the teachers' union and the government when it comes to a new collective agreement and the education minister says as it sits the union’s proposal simply is not affordable. “We are not even close to where we need to be to get a negotiated agreement,” Peter...
Council faces off: Is Stuart Wood more important because it is downtown?
KAMLOOPS - More than an hour was spent discussing the merits of keeping Stuart Wood as an elementary school and whether the city should step in to provide ‘support’ to the school district in making the decision. “Where was this passion for John Tod last term?” Mayor Peter Milobar said, “Was it because it was...
Teachers unpaid during strike
FUND HAS BEEN EXHAUSTED THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With salaries cut back during the strike and a fund normally used to cover teachers during strike action exhausted, local teacher associations are now setting up hardship funds for those needing help. “There is a slight fund but it’s exhausted. It’s the same fund we used to fight class...
What the strike means for Kamloops students
KAMLOOPS - We know there is no school while teachers engage in a full strike but what does that mean for report cards, year end dances and items the could not be cleared out of desks and lockers in time? Grade 10-12 students will complete exams as scheduled beginning tomorrow but only Grade 12 students...