School District 83

Two North Okanagan-Shuswap school district properties up for sale

VERNON - The North Okanagan-Shuswap School District is putting two of its properties up for sale. The first is the former board office in Salmon Arm, which will be listed for $800,000, and the other is the old South Canoe School, on the market for $500,000. Board of Education chair Bobbi Johnson says Colliers International...

North Okanagan schools get provincial cash handouts

VERNON - Local schools are getting a cash infusion from the provincial government. The money will go toward several capital projects at schools in Vernon, Salmon Arm and Armstrong. Okanagan Landing Elementary is getting $600,000 for a geothermal heating plant projected to save 72 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, and about $15,000 in operating costs....

Salmon Arm mom pulls son from school after learning he was placed in locked room

SALMON ARM - A Salmon Arm mother is still in shock after finding out her seven-year-old son was being locked in a room at school as part of a behaviour management plan she knew nothing about. Jackie Graham found out about the practice when the principal of South Broadview Elementary School in Salmon Arm called...

Six-year-old Shuswap student’s letter about friendship will melt your heart

SHUSWAP - Here is your dose of adorable for the day. Hillcrest Elementary School student Brody S. wants to create Friendship Day, and he’s looking for support from Salmon Arm City Hall, specifically the mayor herself. In what must have been the best letter the mayor received that day, six-year-old Brody S. outlines his vision...

North Okanagan-Shuswap budget cuts ‘gut-wrenching’

NORTH OKANAGAN - Literacy programs, grief counselling and class sizes are all taking a hit next year in what the North Okanagan-Shuswap school board chair calls some ‘gut-wrenching’ decisions to balance next year’s budget. The school board approved two pages of reductions totalling $1.7 million at its board meeting Tuesday, May 12. "We have tried...

Shuswap school closure decision difficult for school district

SALMON ARM - The closure of a rural Salmon Arm elementary school has been avoided, at least for one more year. Faced with the decision of whether or not to close Silver Creek Elementary a majority of trustees voted to keep the school open for another year while exploring the feasibility of introducing a Montessori...

Decision on proposed Shuswap school closure expected tonight

NORTH OKANAGAN - Some tough decisions are expected to be made by the North Okanagan-Shuswap School Board tonight, May 12. It’s the meeting at which board members must decide whether or not to shut down Silver Creek Elementary School in Salmon Arm. The school was placed on the chopping block when the findings of a...

Shuswap Pro-Life Society’s request to show anti-abortion display on school property refused

SALMON ARM - The North Okanagan-Shuswap school board has turned down an anti-abortion group’s request to use school property for a pro-life display. The Shuswap Pro-Life Society asked to use school district property near Centenoka Park Mall for a one-day display of 10,000 little pink and blue flags, each representing 10 babies lost to abortion...

How a group of North Okanagan teachers took funding into their own hands

NORTH OKANAGAN - It’s not always easy in cash-strapped times for teachers to find spare change for programs, but a group in the North Okanagan has found a way to think outside the box. The Outdoor Learning program in the North Okanagan and Shuswap, unlike many other courses in School District 83 such as the cancelled adult...

School District 83 facing yet another budget shortfall with little left to cut

NORTH OKANAGAN - Deeper cuts are on the way in the North-Okanagan Shuswap School District.  At a board meeting Mar. 10, secretary-treasurer Sterling Olsen said the district must find $1.8 million in savings to balance next year’s budget. “It is a very challenging financial picture and it looks like we have a number of years...

Vernon, North Okanagan-Shuswap School Districts call students back to class

UPDATE: POWER BACK ON IN MOST SHUSWAP SCHOOLS, CLASSES A GO  NORTH OKANAGAN - The North Okanagan-Shuswap and Vernon School Districts are welcoming students back to class Wednesday, Jan. 7. The green light from the ditricts comes after two snow days due to severe weather. School District 83 hadn’t called a snow day in decades....