August 29, 2014

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with an update on the provincial labour dispute and, in particular, with respect to whether or not schools will be operating on Tuesday, September 2.

As you are aware, the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) and the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) reached an impasse with regard to negotiating a new contract and, as a result, on June 17, 2014 the BCTF escalated to a full-scale strike. Unfortunately, there was no resolution to the dispute over the summer months and so the strike is still in place. A glimmer of hope came about this week with the two parties agreeing to meet with Vince Ready, a highly respected mediator. We are hopeful that he can assist in mediating a settlement, but at the time of writing this letter, there is no agreement and the prospect of schools operating on Tuesday following Labour Day remains uncertain.

Our goal as a school district is to get schools in operation as quickly as possible following the lifting of picket lines.

If a settlement and/or resolution to the strike action is reached by early Monday evening, we hope that schools may open on Tuesday with our normal shortened opening day. Parents are encouraged to consult our website (www.vsb.bc.ca) and follow the local media for announcements over the long weekend.

The safety and security of our students is our highest priority. Should any students arrive at school if picket lines are in place, our school administrators will ensure that they are cared for until they can be safely returned to their homes under the supervision of a parent or guardian.

I am sorry that the normally exciting beginning to a new school year has been reduced to this high level of uncertainty.  We have an outstanding public education system in British Columbia and I am proud of the hard work and support provided by all staff in this complex school district.

It is my hope that the labour impasse is resolved quickly at the bargaining table and that our school district can soon return to normal operations.

Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steve Cardwell

Superintendent of Schools

다운로드 :

Dear parents/custodians of international students;

Earlier this week I had shared a note to all parents/custodians in our community about our hopes for a return to school on September 2nd. While that letter was in general for all parents I wanted to write specifically to our international students and their parents/custodians. For these students, the labour unrest that threatens the start of school is likely both a surprise and unfamiliar territory. Students have paid their fees, have travelled in some cases across the world and their expectations for going to school on Tuesday are in significant jeopardy. I wanted to inform you of our plans and what we are doing to continue to provide a quality experience despite the strike.

First, we have arranged and completed the language assessments needed for secondary students and have provided these assessments to schools. We changed our routines to ensure that students could have their English language abilities assessed which will help for appropriate class placement once school begins. Understanding their needs is the first part of arranging a quality program.
Next, we have shifted some of our routine travel and cultural experiences that we would do in a year. We have moved these experiences forward from throughout the year to the first two weeks of September as an extended orientation. We have worked closely with some of our partners to provide experiences that will enable students new to Surrey and Canada to get to know our metro region more in depth and to experience some of the cultural wonder and diversity that is the Greater Vancouver area. We believe students will enjoy these experiences with expert guides and these activities will help begin the school year off in a positive way.

Finally, we are monitoring the situation very closely to determine if there are other adjustments to be made if the strike should continue. Of course, at this time, we do not know whether or not teachers will be back at work next week. If they are back at work, that is fabulous news and we will begin our year normally, if they are not back, we have plans in place for our international students to get the year started.
We believe we have a strong international program that provides quality education and rich cultural learning. The Surrey School District is committed to making sure we are doing everything possible to ensure that our international students receive the quality they have come to expect. I am confident that we have good plans for the first two weeks of September and our senior leadership team is working hard to determine how we can continue to provide a rich program for our students even if the strike continues.

You will receive an email from our International Department that will provide details of our upcoming routines so that students and parents or custodians know what to expect next week.

I wanted to write personally to you and our international students to let you know that that we are committed to providing a quality program and we still believe the students will have a great year in Surrey.

We hope that the strike resolves itself quickly so that you can have the certainty you deserve. However, please know that we are working hard on your behalf to do all we can do to make sure your year starts well.

Sincerely,
Jordan Tinney
Superintendent of Schools/CEO

Copy: Surrey School District certified Agents

Dear Parents and Custodians of Surrey’s International Students,

As a follow-up to the letter sent this morning from our Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jordan Tinney, I am writing to provide more information for our international students, parents, custodians and agents.
We are encouraged by the fact the provincial government and the BCTF (teachers’ union) have re-engaged in talks this afternoon in an effort to reach a settlement as soon as possible. If we receive last-minute notice of a resolution and are informed that schools can open, we have routines in place. While there would certainly be some issues related to timetabling of students and finalizing classes, we would like nothing more than to open as quickly as possible.

Opening times and details will be communicated to parents and custodians via email, our website and social media. Please know as information becomes available, we will be updating our website with any significant news. Parents and custodians are also encouraged to continue following the media for updates.

If school should not begin on the traditional first day of Tuesday, September 2, an extended orientation for Grade 4-12 students new to Surrey School District commencing Wednesday, September 3 will be offered. These activities will allow the new international students to explore their city, expand their understanding of Canadian culture, and continue to acquire English language skills. Information about these activities will be communicated to the appropriate parents and custodians in an email from the International Education Department on Friday, August 29.

Please note that we will continue to monitor and re-assess the situation and keep you updated and informed. We wish that we had more positive news to share though there is still time for schools to open next week if a deal can be reached before then.
Sincerely,

Angela Olson
Manager, International Education

cc: Surrey School District certified Agents

To all our Langley Agents and Partners around the world,

Unfortunately the labour disagreement between the Provincial Government and BC Public School Teachers has not reached a settlement. Both sides are currently continuing to meet formally so I am very hopeful that we will have an agreement soon and schools will open as planned in September. I have provided as much detail as I have in the attached letter.

The attachment will also outline some tentative planned activities that will take place for students should a labour disruption continue into September. Please note that for our secondary students, the planned activities are for new students only. For our elementary students, all students will be permitted to participate. Also note that plans will be cancelled if schools are open. 

Thanks you again for your continued understanding and support.

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September 1, 2014

Letter from the Superintendent

Re: School start delayed

Dear Parents/Guardians, Students and Community of Delta,

I am writing this letter to provide you with updated information about school start-up next week. Unfortunately, school will not start on Tuesday, September 2^nd, 2014. Teachers will continue to be engaged in a full-strike on Tuesday, and this strike could potentially last throughout the entire week of September 2-5, 2014.

Over the weekend, mediator Vince Ready stepped away from the labour negotiations between the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) and BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF). He did so indicating the two sides are too far apart to mediate at this point. This means a deal has not yet been reached and schools will remain behind picket lines on Tuesday, with a strong likelihood the pickets will continue throughout the week.

School Operation during the full strike

With schools behind picket lines, there will be no instruction and no support staff/CUPE members on site. While school buildings will be open, only Principals and Vice-Principals will be in the buildings. Since staff will not be available to provide adequate supervision or instruction, we ask parents to NOT send their children to school and to make alternative childcare arrangements as needed.

Strong Start Centres will also be closed and user groups will not be able to operate because we will not have staff in place to facilitate building use. We understand that pickets are not intended to impact daycares, so daycares located within Delta School District buildings may remain open; however, please directly contact your daycare operator to confirm whether or not they are open.

Transportation

School buses for students with special needs will not be running during the strike.

Further Information

The Delta School District will continue to inform parents of any changes or developments in the job action status through school websites, the district website at web.deltasd.bc.ca and via email. We ask parents to pay close attention to our website and to local news media for reports regarding the strike.

I appreciate the difficulty of this situation for our families and I want to thank all of our parents, students and staff for your patience throughout these uncertain times. I remain optimistic that a negotiated settlement will be reached soon so our students can get back to school.

Yours truly,

Dianne Turner 

Superintendent, Delta School District