Another school year has begun with classes having started Sept. 3, and according to School District 73 (SD73) spring projections of enrollment numbers for schools in the Clearwater area were steady just before the first week of classes.
“All the projections for schools were holding,” said Bill Hamblett, assistant superintendent for SD 73.
“That’s what we know and during the week when the kids show up it could go up or down a bit, but just in conversations with the principals, it looked like the numbers were holding and that’s good.”
Those projections indicated Clearwater Secondary School would be looking at 185 students attending this year with Raft River School seeing 282 students.
Blue River Elementary School was expected to have 12 students and Vavenby Elementary School was projected to have 25.
All the schools are also fully staffed.
“We are looking forward to extending a warm welcome to our students, and working with them to have a successful, memorable year,” said Alison Sidow, superintendent of schools, in a recent release.
“As our students are in motion each day to and from their classes, extra care is needed to help keep them safe. For example, remembering to slow down while driving through school zones.”
https://www.clearwatertimes.com/news/sd73-budget-responds-to-growth/
Sidow added it’s worth reminding residents of communities how many people will be travelling to and from schools throughout the year.
Every day of the school year, more than 14,500 students will attend more than 40 schools in Clearwater, Barriere, Kamloops, Chase, Logan Lake, Savona and Westwold.
More than 4,000 of those students are bused roughly 9,000 km each day so safety is of key importance for the Transportation Department led by manager Sherry Kristjanson. Last year Kristjanson promoted student safety through a public service message, which reminded drivers to brake for school buses when the red lights are flashing.
It should be noted students need a bus registration card to be able to take the bus during the school year and those who haven’t received a bus registration card in the mail should register for one by Sept. 6. Registration forms can be picked up from the bus drivers.
Parents should also make sure children are eligible to ride the bus. The SD73 school bus walk limit policy applies to all students in the district. For Kindergarten to Grade 3 students, the limit is four km to a school and for Grade 4 to Grade 12 students, the limit is 4.8 km to a school.
All bus schedules are subject to changes during the school year due to traffic patterns, weather conditions, and population density.
For information about bus routes and schedules parents in Clearwater can get in touch with the SD73 Transportation department at 250-674-3224.
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