North Cedar Intermediate School

2215 Gould Road Nanaimo, BC V9X 1J9

Phone: 250-722-2722 Fax: 250-722-2055
S.D. #68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith)

January 19 2015
To Parents and Guardians of Woodbank Primary and North Cedar Intermediate
Schools
Re: The Boards Decision to Suspend the Completion of Cedar Elementary
for the 2014-15 School Year
As many parents and guardians may know, last week the trustees of the Board of
Education passed a motion that recommends the suspending of the completion of
Cedar Elementary for the 2014-2015 school year. The motion also states that the
Board begins a 90-day consultation process that includes a full review of the
Enhanced Facilities for Learning Plan. Sixty days will be for receiving public input
and 30 days will be for review and reporting back. The process will start by
February 9 and end by May 13. At the end of the consultation process the Board
will make a recommendation on the educational use of the former Cedar Secondary
facility.
Implications for students and parents of Woodbank Primary and North Cedar
Intermediate schools includes the delay in opening a school in the former Cedar
Secondary site, irrespective of the grade configuration. At this time it is uncertain
as to the final school facilities and grade configurations that will be confirmed for
September 2015 in Cedar.
We recognize how challenging the past 18 months have been for the Cedar
community in terms of rapid changes, and a consultative process resulting in
proposed school closures. Moreover, it is understood that the impact on some
students and families has been profound in the past calendar year with the closure
of Cedar Community Secondary School.
While we are currently uncertain of exactly how next year will look regarding the
status of Woodbank and North Cedar, the Board will confirm grade configurations
and facilities sometime in May. More importantly, teaching and learning is a social
process that is about people and strong relationships, rather than simply buildings.
Your children will continue to receive a quality education in 2015 and beyond in
Cedar schools.
In the meantime we would respectfully request that all parents and guardians
register their child(ren) in the usual manner at their catchment area schools.
Kindergarten registration is particularly important since enrolment projections
determine staffing and resource allocations to each school in our district. Please

confirm with both Woodbank and North Cedar of your intentions for your child for
the 2015-16 school year. This will assist us and the Board in planning the optimal
school organizations in Cedar.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward during a time
of change.
Sincerely,
Ms. Christina Ansell and Mr. Gregg Halfyard