News Stories

On March 10, the Province of B.C. announced several changes to existing public health orders (PHO) that affect the Provincial COVID-19 Communicable disease Guidelines for K-12 Settings. These changes come into effect the first day of Spring Break – March 14, 2022.

At a meeting on March 3, the SD8 Board of Education directed Superintendent Trish Smillie to extend the implementation date of the district’s Proof of Vaccination Regarding COVID-19 Administrative Procedure from March 11 to April 11, 2022. This one-month extension will allow the Board time to consider evolving COVID-19 data and changes to public health directives.

The purpose of the Proof of Vaccination Procedure is to safeguard the health and safety of employees and students from COVID-19.

An overview of discussion items & major decisions from the School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) Board of Education (SD8). Full meeting agendas/minutes and a schedule of upcoming board meetings are available on our meetings page.

The recent announcement by the Williams Lake First Nation of 93 unmarked burial sites discovered at the former Williams Lake, St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School adds to the terrible truths of missing children buried at other former residential school sites in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada.

January 20, 2022, Nelson, BC -

The Board of Education - School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) passed a resolution on January 18 that directs Superintendent Trish Smillie to create and implement a Proof of Vaccination Procedure for all staff and contractors. It will not apply to students.

The purpose of the Proof of Vaccination Procedure is to safeguard the health and safety of employees and students from COVID-19.

- Partners and public invited to complete online survey

School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) invites students, parents, staff and the wider community to share their voices in an online survey. The survey is part of a comprehensive public engagement process initiated by the Board of Education to inform a new policy to address racism.

The past two weeks have been busy for families, students, teachers and other school district staff who have worked together to make sure students safely returned to school, and that we have plans in place for continued learning if school closures occur due to spread of the Omicron variant.

To assist us, the Ministry of Education has shared provincial protocols with school and district administrators and staff so together, we can manage school associated activity in the best way possible.

Kootenay River Secondary School is upgrading our current security cameras system. Please review the attached document to familiarize yourself with the coming upgrades. This system provides us with a valuable resource in responding to various incidents. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact the Principal, Brian Hamm at brian.hamm@sd8.bc.ca. 

SD8 student athletes happy to be back on the courts

The suspension of sports in BC last year took affected student athletes and coaches in our district, with BC high school sports halting the play of all sports in the province due to the pandemic. However, with the return of some of the traditional sports this fall, we now have SD8 students, teachers, staff and parents all cheering.

SD8 Board approves permanent name change for secondary school

At the December 7th, SD8 Board meeting, a motion to permanently change the name of the secondary school in Creston was unanimously passed. The school is now officially named the Kootenay River Secondary School.  

“A new name is necessary for a new start” said Principal Brian Hamm, who has been working together this year with a group of educators to find an inclusive name for the school, one that bestows the spirit of reconciliation.