On behalf of the Board of Education of the Chinook School Division I would like to welcome our students, their families, our teachers, all the various support staff, and all our SCCs to the new 2017/18 school year. It’s always an exciting time for all our kids, from small to large, as well as our staff. Everyone is refreshed and anxious to get, “back in the saddle”. Our board wishes all the best of the coming year to our students and staff as the year is being unpacked.

This year is presenting a new set of challenges as we share the Province's financial struggles. The supports for staff and students, while still in place, have been rationed by comparison to past years. We usually face this time of year trying to see if we can do, “more, with the same”. Our challenge this year, which we hand off to our teachers and staff, is to try to their best ability, to do, ”the same, with less”.

We know that this is a challenge that our staff will rise to. We know that their commitment to our children knows no bounds. But we also know that their capacity to do more can be stretched until it’s exceeded and that limit is one we’ve tried not to reach as planning for this year progressed.

As we wish our students, staff and all their families the very best in the coming year, we also ask that everyone recognize that every staff member in Chinook is carrying a little bit heavier load this year. We ask that everyone tries to be more patient and understanding as the inevitable challenges reveal themselves.

Welcome back and enjoy the 2017-2018 school year!

Larry Caswell, Board Chair

Chinook School Division