At its regular board meeting on Sept. 24, the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School Board approved in principle proposed changes to the 2014-15 school year calendar to respond to the fact that 14 instructional days were lost in September due to strike action.
The planned changes are now subject to a 30-day consultation period.
The planned changes include:
• Scheduling a professional development day on Monday, Feb. 24 to replace the Sept. 29 day, which was postponed.
• Moving the end of semester one at secondary schools to Friday, Feb. 6 to balance the number of days between the two semesters. Provincial exams will be held in the first week of February.
To comment on the proposed calendar changes, write to the Board of Education via e-mail to ckelt@sd68.bc.ca or mail to the Secretary-Treasurer’s Office, 395 Wakesiah Ave., Nanaimo, B.C., V9R 3K6.
During the meeting, the school board also approved the reduction of the originally planned schedule for Professional Learning Community (PLC) time at schools, from 32 Mondays of early dismissal to 16 Mondays this school year.
The district will also cancel the May 5 Success for All Day, and that will become a day of instruction. This will add about 21 hours of instruction to the school year, while preserving a start to the PLC initiative, according to the board.