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LETTER: Thank you, SD78

Editor:

Editor:

As we approach the holiday season, we want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our Fraser-Cascade School District Family.

To say that the past year and a half has been challenging would be a tremendous understatement. We have endured a pandemic, heat waves, fires in surrounding communities, flooding, landslides and road closures. Our students, staff members and families have remained resilient, patient, compassionate — and demonstrated an overwhelming generosity of human spirit through it all. The responses from Hope, Silver Creek, Agassiz, Harrison and Boston Bar have been provincially recognized as examples of how communities pull together during challenging times.

To our parents and guardians, thank you for all that you have done to support our schools these past eighteen months. It has not been easy to navigate, and you have worked hard to keep your children safe while sending them back to our schools.

To our teachers and support staff, if ever there has been a challenging time to be in education, the past 18 months has been it, has it not? Teaching with masks, social distancing, online learning, hybrid learning, consistently shifting reports on COVID-19 protocols, and the constant environmental challenges have made teaching and learning incredibly difficult. We extend our appreciation to our clerical, maintenance, bus drivers and custodial staff for your persistence in keeping our buildings running, getting our students to school and all of the extra preparation and cleaning that has been required. It is hard to maintain any sense of normalcy when the ground keeps shifting (literally), and yet you have done it and continue to do it. Thank you for being such a heroic group this past year and a half.

To our students, you are the reason why we are here. You are passing through a challenging time in our nation’s history. You have demonstrated the ability to stand firm, and will recognize that resiliency and hope are crucial qualities we all need as we pass through our lives. As you reflect on what you have been through, feel proud that you are doing your best to continue to come to school every day. That self-discipline will allow you to look forward to a better future and the brighter skies that are on their way!

Wishing you all the best over the winter break and a Happy New Year!

The Fraser-Cascade Board of Education and the District Leadership Team.

Linda Kerr, Board of Education Chair

Balan Moorthy, Superintendent of Schools