Hockey academy proposed for Skaha Lake Middle School

PENTICTON – Plans are in the works for a hockey program at Skaha Lake Middle School for the 2017-2018 school year.

Okanagan Skaha School Board chair Linda Van Alphen says the program will partner with the Okanagan Hockey Group and is intended to provide performance training and skill development for student hockey players.

The academy will be offered to boys and girls in grades six to eight, with students participating in 57 on-ice and 28 off-ice sessions during the school year.

Van Alphen says the board’s approval at Monday’s school board meeting, Jan. 9, is one step in the process.

A presentation is planned for all parents of students in order to assess the level of interest in the program, which is anticipated to cost between $800 and $1,100 annually, per student. The final cost of the program will depend on the number of students participating, Van Alphen says. No date has been set for the presentation.

The school board also agreed to support the next stages of a conceptual plan to “daylight” a portion of a creek which currently runs through a culvert along the edge of the Giant’s Head School playground in Summerland.

Twenty students from grade nine to 12 from Princess Margaret Secondary and Penticton Secondary School will be travelling to France and Belgium for the 100th anniversary of the Battle at Vimy Ridge April 6-12, 2017, after the board gave final approval Monday night.

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