The Sooke School District has set its sights on improving reading and numeracy skills across the board.
"A key focus for us is literacy and numeracy," said Paul Block, SD 62 superintendent. "While a lot of conversations are about growth and the elections, what's most important to us is to focus on kids and learning."
Coming out of the pandemic, studies have shown there was a drop in literacy and numeracy scores internationally, nationally, and provincially, Block noted.
"During the past four years, we implemented new literacy reading assessments for every student from kindergarten to Grade 3 and planned intervention for those not reading at their grade level," he said. "Our operational plan has expanded that to kindergarten to Grade 12 to address the gaps that emerged during the pandemic."
Another major focus this year is formulating a new strategic plan for 2025 to 2029 during the final year of the current plan.
Block said that process will include multiple engagements with the district's partners, staff, parents, and the community.
"We're aiming for approval of the new plan by April 2025, and implementation by July of that year," he noted.
Block acknowledged there has been some challenges with the implementation of school bus fees this year.
"Overall, it's understandable any time there's a change in transportation," he said. "Going from no fees to charging fees and reductions in service is challenging for some families. Most of the reductions were in Colwood and Langford, with very little in Sooke."
The walking boundary around Journey Middle School was expanded, resulting in the elimination of Route 31 for students within this boundary. Rural students living outside the expanded boundary have been reassigned to other routes.
Block said there's been no issues with the provincial restrictions on the use of personal digital devices.
"Staff recognized the negative impact and we were definitely ahead of the curve on that because we implemented it five to seven years ago," he explained. "Parents know the process and that if they need to get a hold of their child during the day, they just have to call the school office."
Check out https://www.sd62.bc.ca/parents-students/personal-digital-devices for more information.
Block took the beginning of the school year to share some positive advice with parents and students.
"I encourage families to focus on establishing good routine and good habits, and regular routines and healthy choices when it comes to sleep, food, and digital devices." he said. "When we focus on building good habits through positive relations and respect, we'll see our families and students thrive in school. If we can make incremental changes on a daily basis, we'll have monumental change by the end of the year."
