School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen

Facilities

School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen consists of ten schools, five of which are elementary, three are high or secondary schools, while two are alternative schools, within a total of six communities in British Columbia, Canada, in fragments of the southern Okanagan and lower Similkameen regions. The schools of the latter region include Cawston Primary School—held in the town of Cawston—whose principal is Shannon Miller. Cawston School is a Kindergarten to Grade 4 school that is well known for its Weekend Western Day Assembly, held on Victoria Day Weekend and featuring hobby horse barrel racing. The village of Keremeos is home to Similkameen Elementary Secondary School (S.E.S.S.), which holds students from Grades 5 to 12, with the principal being Naren Searcy. Hedley did have a Kindergarten to Grade 4 school of its own until January 2008, when the Okanagan Similkameen district voted four to two to close the school. Linda Thiel was the last principal of Hedley Elementary School and oversaw its closure.

In addition to the schools of the lower Similkameen, the southern Okanagan holds seven of the ten schools part of the district, as well as its main "maintenance department" office, which is held in the town of Oliver. All schools in the district which are part of the Okanagan region maintain the same format: elementary schools have children from Kindergarten to Grade 8, while secondary schools consist of pupils from Grade 8 to 12. This includes Okanagan Falls Elementary School, which is held in the Okanagan Falls town, with Lisa McCall serving as the school's principal.

The Osoyoos town is home to Osoyoos Elementary School—whose principal is Dave Foster —and Osoyoos Secondary School, which is principled by Glen Heinrichs. Since 2001, British Columbia has invested over 4.8 Canadian million dollars on replacing Osoyoos Elementary School, as well as Okanagan Falls Elementary School. It offers the Okanagan Similkameen Learning Centre, which consists of students from Grades 8 to 12; the principal of the learning centre is B. Hansen. Its neighboring town, Oliver, is home to, as of September 2011, Oliver Elementary School and Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School—the former's principal is Mike Safek, while the latter's is Dave Foster.

The community also had a secondary school, named Southern Okanagan Secondary School, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) investigation found no conclusion.

In addition to the conventional school programs, School District 53 offers three adult learning outlets, an outreach school, three early learning centres, as well as one elementary hockey academy. It also works with a number of Aboriginal people, having signed an enhancement agreement to improve academic achievement of them. 2,665 students attend schools in this district, whose superintendent is Beverley Young.

Demographics

1,303 of those 2,665 students within the district attend elementary schools, while 1,202 attend secondary schools; 102 are adult education students. School District 53 contains 480 employees, and its motto is "Learning Today for Living Tomorrow". The bus service has been considered for expansion.

The British Columbia province gives funds to the school district, so that it can maintain their schools correctly.

An emergency—a "sudden", "unexpected" occurrence that requires action for a situation—at schools within the district 53 scope can result in school or bus transportation facilities. This district's policy on emergency was amended on April 30, 2008, which includes fire, threats or facilities, violence, school bus accident, serve weather, earthquake, hazardous spills, accidents, explosions, or floods. This rule was amended on September 26, 2007.

References

References

1. "BC School District 53: Okanagan–Simlkammen". [[Education in Canada.
2. "SD53 Home". School District 53 Okanagan Simlkammen.
3. "Cawson Primary School". Cawston Primary School.
4. "Schools". School District 53 Okanagan Simlkammen.
5. "Similkameen Elementary Secondary School". Similkameen Elementary Secondary School.
6. Kendrick, Ritchie. (March 2008). "Heart of the community, Hedley Elementary School to close". [[British Columbia Teachers' Federation]].
7. "Welcome to Hedley Elementary School". Hedley Elementary School.
8. "School District No 53 (Okanagan Similkameen) – 6057 Spartan St, Oliver, BC". [[Yellow Pages]].
9. "Okanagan Falls Elementary School". Okanagan Falls Elementary School.
10. "Welcome to the Osoyoos Elementary School Web Site". Osoyoos Elementary School.
11. (November 3, 2012). "Osoyoos Secondary School". [[Osoyoos Secondary School]].
12. "Okanagan Similkameen Learning Centre". Okanagan Similkameen Learning Centre.
13. "Welcome to Oliver Elementary School". Oliver Elementary School.
14. "Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School". Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School.
15. Dhillon, Sunny. (September 12, 2011). "Fire causes major damage to Oliver, British Columbia". [[The Globe and Mail]].
16. Moore, Wayne. (April 20, 2012). "$19.5M to rebuild burned out school". Castanet.
17. "Okanagan Similkameen". [[Education in Canada.
18. "School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen) Job Description". School District 53 Okanagan Simlkammen.
19. "Regional District of Okanagan–Similkameen Transit System Study". [[BC Transit]].
20. "School District No. 53 District Achievement Plan 2012/2013". [[Education in Canada.
21. "Emergency Preparedness". School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen.
22. "Smoke Free School District". School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen.