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May 26, 2010
At its May 25th public meeting, the North Vancouver Board of Education approved changes to the 2010/2011 school calendar. As a result, schools will be closed for six additional days in the upcoming school year.
The Board appreciates the responsive input of parents and staff that contributed to their deliberations. Over 5,000 responses were received regarding possible changes, with over 86% of respondents indicating that they either approved, or did not mind, a modest reduction in the number of instructional days (so long as the time was made up) as a budget reduction measure. The strongest support for which days to close was November 12, 2010 and an additional week at Spring Break.
In addition to annual statutory holiday and non-instructional days the Board approved for schools to be closed:
Friday, November 12, 2010
and
a two week Spring vacation March 14 - 25, 2011.
An additional 50 minutes will be added to the school week to make up the days. Schools have been given specific criteria to establish their timetables to address how they will accommodate the 50 minutes. As well, all secondary schools will have a common last day in session: June 16, 2011.
The complete school calendar is posted here.
In making their decision, trustees stressed the importance of reviewing and assessing the impact of the additional days of closure, to further inform decisions involving the school calendar in future years.
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April 22, 2010
The Board is considering a local school calendar for the entire School District that would decrease the number of days of instruction by six (6) days. To meet the Ministry of Education’s requirements, the length of each school day would be increased. If these proposed changes are implemented, ten (10) minutes would be added to each day in session.
Click here for a copy of the proposed school calendar
Click here for a copy of the letter to parents and staff
The Board will make its final decision regarding the 2010/2011 school calendar at a Public Board Meeting on May 25, 2010.
April 14, 2010
Thank you to the thousands of respondents who provided feedback through our recent survey exploring the idea of possible changes to the 2010/2011 school calendar.
Please note that the survey is now closed.
Results will be analyzed and a report prepared for consideration by the Board of Education. Preliminary analysis indicates very strong support from all stakeholder groups for a change or changes to the 2010/2011 school calendar. A final report, including a summary of the survey results, will be made available on the website prior to the May 4th meeting of the Finance and Facilities Committee.
Should the Board decide to pursue an amended calendar for the coming school year, further public input will be invited at this meeting.
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April 7, 2010
As a cost-saving measure, the Board of Education has requested a review of the 2010/2011 Standard Ministry School Calendar for the North Vancouver School District that will look at reducing anywhere from 1- 10 instructional days in the year. To help inform the review, we've created a survey to garner feedback on the idea from staff, students, parents and community members. Please note that instructional time for students will need to be made up to account for any adjustments to a school calendar, but the design of how this time should be addressed has not yet been determined.
Changing the school calendar introduces many considerations to weigh. Should the Board decide to pursue an amended calendar, an opportunity for further public input will be created at the May 4th meeting of the Finance and Facilities Standing Committee.
The survey is only a few questions, should take from 1 - 3 minutes to complete and closes on April 14, 2010.
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