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February 28, 2023

Dear Secondary Students, Staff and Families,

Re: 2023/2024 Secondary School Schedule

For the last three school years, the school district adjusted the secondary school schedule to provide optimum teaching and learning conditions while optimizing the health and safety of students and staff. These adjustments have given students, staff and families the opportunity to experience, and the school district the opportunity to explore, different configurations.

As we contemplated the secondary schedule for the next school year, we again engaged in a comprehensive process that involved surveying secondary students, their families, and staff, and consulting with school administration and staff. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide input.

I am pleased to share that from this process of engagement, the North Vancouver School District will adopt the following secondary school timetable for the 2023/2024 school year:

• Semester: Argyle, Handsworth, Seycove, Sutherland, Windsor
• Linear: Carson Graham
• No change: Mountainside

The schedule for the 2023/2024 school year will give secondary schools the ability to:

• Maintain a high standard of teaching and learning across a variety of educational programs, while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of students and staff.
• Maximize in-person, in-class instructional time.
• Maintain a later start time for scheduled classes.
• Offer students and staff a daily opportunity to receive or provide extra support.
  

The weekly schedule for schools on the semester timetable will see students take as many as four (4) in-timetable courses from September to January, and as many as four (4) in-timetable courses from February to June. It is designed to provide:

• Tutorial time in the morning, before the first period.
• Four 70-minute in-timetable periods per day, with a fixed weekly rotation for periods 1, 2, and 3.
• A 60-minute lunch after period 3, which is then followed by period 4. 
• Flexibility for students who require travel time to attend to afternoon commitments, such as academies, which will be scheduled during period 4.

Schools will provide more detail, on both the fixed rotation for periods 1, 2 and 3 and whether some minor adjustments to the length of the transition times may be made. School staff will now consider the transition times between periods and may recommend shortening the 60-minute lunch period to afford slightly longer periods of transition time (depending on the configuration of the school building and other factors).

We understand student learning takes place before and after school, and we would like to assure you that opportunities outside of the timetable will be maintained going forward.

The weekly schedule for Carson Graham, with its linear system, will see some of the changes noted above (e.g. tutorial time, up to a 60-minute lunch period, maintaining opportunities outside of the timetable), but most significantly, Carson Graham students will take as many as eight 70-minute in-timetable courses from September to June. This will allow Carson Graham to deliver the International Baccalaureate programming as effectively and efficiently as possible.

You can expect to receive more detailed information about the timetable and weekly schedule through your child’s school. You can also expect that we will provide students, families and staff opportunities to provide feedback on the secondary timetable and schedule to ensure the school district continues to best meet the teaching and learning needs of the secondary school community. Should you have any questions regarding the information I have shared today, please reach out to your secondary school principal.

Respectfully,

Dr. Pius Ryan
Superintendent of Schools

Superintendent Update Secondary School Schedule