Superintendent’s Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers:

As we continue into the very busy month of June, the positive energy of celebration and joy is in the air, but also the feelings of change, transitions, and some nervousness, especially for graduates who are starting their lives in post-secondary, new career pathways, travel, or a gap year. It is through such times, that we need to lean on each other and foster a sense of well-being (one of the core values in our 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan) in our homes and schools.

Sun Peaks School (K-9) – June 5, 2025

Principal Breden and I enjoyed starting our day in Ms. Fell’s Kindergarten-Grade 1 class led by Ms. Shirley, a well known Teacher On Call.

Ms. Shirley shared how she had connected the picture book, Edward the Emu with an art activity in which students explored colors and shapes to draw their own emu, and she planned to engage students in music about the emu using xylophones. The passion that she has for Arts Education is palpable. She stopped to share one song that the K-1 class has been working on called, Napping House. It was a cumulative action song about how there was a house with a grandparent, child, dog, cat, mouse, and eventually a flea who came in to nap. The students did the actions to match the words, and they had a good time sharing it as they sang.

Ms. Rinaldi’s Grade 1-2 class taught by Ms. Bishop and supported by Maria Davis, Certified Education Assistant, were taking part in math stations including math games, measuring exercises, and “True and False” math equations. I spent time with Tayton who showed me how cutting out paper gumballs enabled measuring different objects. I also learned the card game, “10 Friends” from Evelyn and Athena who said that the object of the game is to have two cards at once that add up to 10. If you don’t have a card that does that, you need to draw one. It required quick thinking and counting, and they each said that it made them think faster.

Ms. Mann’s Grade 2-3 class was doing cross-curricular activities in Art and Social Studies. By designing a map of a fictitious country. Ruxin, a student in her class, explained that she made up names based on where she had been and what she liked. She showed me how they had to add a map key and these symbols were important to make sure that there was a varied terrain (mountains, hills, flat lands, water). Azalea named her country after her last name.

At recess time, the students ran out to multiple areas of the hill, and one group continued to design their dam structure which carried water from the top of the hill to the half-way to the bottom. It was intricate involving the creation of pools of water in strategic spots to create momentum for the water to flow downstream. Another group was building “gymnastics forts” while others played a game called “Infection Tag”. Mr. Breden said, “I find that students are very imaginative and they are never short of ideas about what to play.”

We then travelled to the Grades 5-7 portables. Ms. Greer’s Grade 5-6 class was studying perimeter and area. They were converting units of measure to see the difference it makes to move from cm, m, and km. They took part in rotations to complete exercises about perimeter and area, to play a game requiring knowledge of shapes (“Polygon Problem”), and a math game on the computer (“Prodigy”).

Ms. St. Onge’s Grade 6-7 class was studying Healthy Relationships, and Mr. Massey took time to share how they had designed cars to see which design would move the best using the force of a balloon. The students also shared their work on learning about an earthquake or volcano that they studied, it was interesting to see which ones they chose and why.

We also spoke with Mila, Abigail, and Natasha who had collaboratively directed a play in the community supported by Art Zone. These students were inspired to have Grade 5 and 6 students act in the play, Outside the Box, and it was incredibly successful. To read more about this team, go here.

Sun Peaks Grade 9-12 Academy students were busy working on course work, and Mr. Gunther shared that many of the students are playing sports at a high level and this academy enables them to succeed. The students enjoyed taking on course work with other students in their class and many come every day and treat this academy as a daily place to come and work together.

Before leaving for Heffley Creek, I stopped in to see Ms. Schmalz’s Grade 3-4 class. They were studying fractions in a small group and in stations. I worked with a student named, Eira, on how best to create common denominators and she drew pictures to group them. It was a vibrant day of learning at Sun Peaks.

Heffley Creek Elementary School and @KOOL – June 4, 2025

Principal Conroy and I visited the library that was beautifully designed and planned based on the work of Ms. Twyla Parenteau, Library Assistant, who was guided by purchasing decisions supported by District Library Coordinator, Ms. Andrea Wallin.  Mr. Conroy shared, “The Parent Advisory Committee was so supportive and managed to get us a donation from Tolko Industries for $5,000.” Everyone was invested in making the library an inviting space for students, families, and staff and they have succeeded!

We stopped in to see @KOOL teachers—Ms. Campbell, Ms. Nichol, Ms. Lancaster, Ms. Toews, and Mr. Yin-Cheng—and Principal Hembling who had just hosted a barbecue for the elementary online students’ families. They were just settling in from this time with families to teaching online for the rest of the afternoon. This has been an excellent site for online education because students have access to a playground, well designed sensory spaces and classrooms. I took a moment to take Principal Conroy’s and Hemblings’ picture. Thank you for working so well together!

Ms. Dillman’s Kindergarten class was preparing to write stories by drawing a scene in their stories. They had also just written and drawn in little books about butterflies and shared the text by reading it to me. They also showed me how they learned to make the butterflies “fly” using magnets.

Ms. Silva’s Grade 1-3 class was just about ready to leave for the day. A few students took me to see their “animal hotels”. They had each chosen an animal who is natural to their area. They were inspired to create these scenes by first reading Heartwood Hotel. The group of three students (Jackson, Rhaege, Gemma) explained, “We researched animals in this area and then created little hotels for each of them with things like would like to eat, sleep in, and how and where they would spend their time.

Secondary Battle of the Books – May 30, 2025

The District’s annual Battle of the Books is a beloved local reading motivation program that inspires a love of reading across all grade levels. On May 30, 45 Grade 8–12 students from six Kamloops secondary schools gathered at the Henry Grube Education Centre to compete in the Secondary Battle of the Books. Throughout the day, students competed in a series of book battle challenges and in the end the team from Westsyde Secondary narrowly defeated last year’s champions from NorKam Secondary. Congratulations to all the student teams who participated this year. Read more.

SD73 Students at the Canada-Wide Science Fair – May 31–June 6, 2025

This week, two Kamloops students travelled to Fredericton, New Brunswick to represent our district and showcase their innovative science projects at the prestigious Canada-Wide Science Fair—Canada’s largest annual youth science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) event. Congratulations to Benjamin Stroich (Grade 9 at SKSS) who showcased a root system simulator designed to help prevent landslides and Joel Defouw (Grade 7 at Juniper Ridge Elementary) who earned a Bronze Medal for his AI-powered solar panel optimizer! Read more.

Graduations – May–June 2025

I have enjoyed a number of graduations this past week, including the Indigenous Graduation Ceremony where we celebrated the largest number of Indigenous student graduates in our district’s history. You can explore the 2025 commencement schedule and meet this year's Valedictorians here. What’s true about every one of the graduation ceremonies is that they exist because of the staff, parents, and importantly, the students who invested in the program and performances. Thank you for all that you have done to learn and grow as a person—may you end the year well and make a great start to the next phase of your lives. Congratulations, Graduates of 2025!

Have a wonderful weekend while staying cool, drinking plenty of water, and enjoying your family and friends!

Rhonda Nixon, PhD
Superintendent