The Okanagan Similkameen School District No. 53 is offering a variety of career education programs running through second semester on top of the regular career experience and Train in Trades programs.
In a report dated Feb. 26, Rob Zandee, chair of the school board outlined some of the initiatives offered by the school district.
This year, the school district’s Gateway to Trades program is being housed at South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, with 14 students enrolled.
This program is offered every other year in the district and moves between communities.
In addition, the school district’s new Gateway to Technology program began on Feb. 4 at the Okanagan College campus in Oliver.
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The program has 12 students from the district and is offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. with an Okanagan College instructor leading students through topics including coding, web development and computer networking.
The school district is also hosting its Professional Cook Level 1 program again this year in partnership with Camosun College.
Students are working on the technical training of Professional Cook 1 online and attend one lab session in Oliver on Tuesday afternoons from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Courtenay Welter, the foods lab instructor, is back again from our last offering two years ago.
This year there are four students in the program from South Okanagan Secondary School and Osoyoos Secondary School.
The school board also received notice of motion for two policies at the Feb. 26 board meeting. The policies are a smoke-free, smokeless tobacco-free, electronic smoking products-free and vapour product-free school district and a policy regarding impairing substances in the workplace.
The school district is also accepting Kindergarten registrations for the fall of 2020. An advertisement will also be placed in the local on-line and print papers.
Registration was opened in all schools on Jan. 13 for parents to register children who will be five years old by Dec. 31, 2020. These will be children born in 2015.
Parents must bring their child’s birth certificate and medical card.
The school board has also passed the 2019 to 2020 Amended Annual Budget in the amount of $34,710,917.00.
Zandee said the budget is balanced this year, as is required by law, without having to draw from reserves.
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