NLPS District Newsletter

Nine trustees elected during General Local Election October 17

Seven school trustees will return to the NLPS Board of Education along with two new faces.

On Saturday, October 17, trustees re-elected include:

• Tania Brzovic
• Tim Harris
• Leanne Lee
• Chantelle Morvay
• Leana Pellegrin
• Mark Robinson
• Tom Rokeby

Adrienne Cafariello and Zeni Maartman were also elected to the Board of Education.

Trustees will be sworn in at their inaugural Board Meeting on November 2, 2026 at 6 pm. at the Dufferin Learning Centre 1111 Dufferin Cr. Nanaimo BC.

Bears are especially active this time of year as they try to find enough food to eat before hibernating.

Bears are not uncommon in Nanaimo-Ladysmith and are sometimes spotted near wooded areas and trails- including close to some of our schools.

If your child walks to school near wooded areas or trails, we encourage walking together together in groups. Don't worry about being quiet! Talk loudly or play music to give a bear the heads up that you are coming their way. Your child should also know what to do if they spot a bear.

What to do in a bear encounter

• If you see a bear, stop where you are and stay calm. Never run away. Observe the bear’s behaviour to decide on your next move.
• If the bear has not noticed you, leave the area quietly. Go back the way you came while keeping an eye on them.
• If the bear has noticed you but is not reacting to your presence, speak softly and back away slowly.
• If the bear becomes agitated, makes noises, or seems aggressive, continue backing away slowly and talking softly. Do not run away.

BC has adopted permanent year-round daylight saving time, or Pacific time (PCT), which means clocks will no longer "fall back" an hour in November or "spring forward" in March. Clocks will stay the same time going forward.

This means that the sun will rise later in the morning during the winter months. During the school year, the latest sunrise will be 9:10 am, in January. "First light" or, the time we start to see the sky brighten, won't be until approximately 8:30 am.

But it won't be forever! As it happens every year, the days will get longer and brighter. By February 1, "first light" will be at 8:12 am with sunrise at 8:46 am and by March 1, "first light" will be at 7:26 am with sunrise at 7:58 am. The positive of all this is that the earliest the sun will set will be around 5:17 pm (around December 15), meaning it will be light until nearly 6 pm or later, throughout the year.

School start times will remain the same throughout the school year. With darker mornings, the school district has been looking at the lighting at all of our school sites to make sure school grounds will be properly lit for safety as staff and students arrive.

Safety will be top of mind as we navigate darker mornings this winter. We are encouraging everyone to think about being visible, especially for anyone that walks to school in the morning.

• Wear lighter colours so that drivers can see you. A black hoodie and black jogging pants make you nearly invisible to cars, especially if it's raining!
• Attach something reflective to the front of your jacket or backpack. Reflectors can increase your visibility by hundreds of meters, giving drivers much more time to avoid pedestrians.
• Use well lit crosswalks or crosswalks with flashing lights. Always make sure cars are stopping before you step into a crosswalk.
• Don't run between cars in school drop-off lines! Stay on sidewalks and paths.
• Drivers: Slow down and stay off your phone. ALWAYS watch for pedestrians especially in school zones.

Read on for some tips on getting out of bed and to school on dark winter mornings.

Some winter mornings will not see the sun rise until after 9 a.m., meaning NLPS students and parents will need get ready for the day before the sun does.

Waking up to a dark winter morning can make it tough for some students to get out of bed and get ready for school. However, experts we spoke to say simple routines can make the transition smoother.

Because our BC is staying on daylight saving time this November or, PCT, families in Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools will see winter sunrises later than before, with the latest sunrise expected after 9 a.m. in late December and early January.

To get ahead of darker mornings, now is a good time to think about how light, activity, and steady sleep routines can help kids feel ready for school on winter mornings.

Elliott Marchant, a psychology professor at Vancouver Island University, says that light is a key signal for our body clocks, which help us know when to wake up and when to get ready for sleep.

VIU biology professor, Ita McGrogan adds that light entering our eyes affects our internal clocks, which control melatonin release. Melatonin is a hormone made by our bodies that helps us sleep and keeps our sleep/wake cycle on track. In the morning, daylight entering our eyes stops melatonin release, giving us that "I'm awake" feeling.

For darker mornings, Marchant suggests parents help their students by focusing on the start-of-the-day environment. If possible, turning on a full-spectrum light bulb when their children wake up, eat breakfast, and get dressed is more helpful than keeping the house dim until sunrise.

“If they’re getting up at least into a bright environment, that has the greatest potential to have an impact on them,” he said.

McGrogan also recommended phototherapy lamps, used for Seasonal Affective Disorder and available at most drug stores, as additional support for especially slow risers.

A no-cost support that parents can tap into is keeping wake-up times and bedtimes as steady as possible, even on weekends, and maintaining a regular daily schedule. Being mindful of these schedules can also help internal body clocks stay on track. Big changes can make it harder for children to get back into school-day routines.

This is especially important for teenagers, since puberty naturally shifts their body clocks toward staying up later and sleeping in. Recognizing this shift can help parents be more patient with sleepy teens and work together with their teens to help build routines that consistently give them enough time to rest.

Typically, a smooth morning starts the night before.

Marchant suggests quiet activities help children relax before bed. Playing an exciting video game or watching an action-packed show right before bedtime can make it more difficult for their brains to settle down. Also, following a familiar routine every night in the hour before bedtime, like brushing teeth, washing up, and reading, signals to the body that sleep is near.

“That time, in which you’re doing the same routines, teaches our body and brain basically to sort of say, ‘OK, I’m getting ready for sleep, time to gear down,’” he said.

During the day, movement and regular meal times also help set body clocks up for a consistent pace. Marchant recommends scheduling physical activity in the morning or around midday, such as active play or recess, and eating breakfast and dinner at set times each day to support a steady daily routine.

Darker mornings may take some getting used to, but families can help by keeping the day’s routines familiar. A bright start, time to be active around midday, and a calm bedtime routine can help children get the rest they need while we wait for those longer spring and summer days to return.

Open to everyone, NLPS Indigenous Culture Night rotates between four schools in the district on Wednesday evenings from October until May.

A shared meal, a prayer song and a reminder to hold each other up brought people together for an NLPS Indigenous Culture Night earlier this month.

At the heart of the evening, hosted by traditional knowledge keeper Gregory Charleson from Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, was a message about connection: we are all human, we are family, and we have a responsibility to care for one another.

Many different families from different walk of life came together to sit down and share a meal, and to build a community of support.

Alongside the food and cupcakes served in celebration, the evening made room for cultural sharing of songs and dance, as well as conversations about what future gatherings could include.

The evening included a version of Love Your Creator, a prayer song reclaimed in the Nuu-chah-nulth language through the efforts of Quuia Charleson, his son Gregory Charleson., Elder Larry Paul and a language teacher. With words about love from morning until sundown, the song complemented the evening’s message of family and connection.

There was also discussion of welcoming dance groups to future Culture Nights, as well as a hope to one day hold a district potlatch. These were ideas for continuing to bring people together and creating more opportunities to share and celebrate Indigenous cultures.

The gathering offered a reminder that building community happens through time spent together, sharing food, listening to songs and recognizing our connections to the people around us.

Everyone is welcome at Indigenous Culture nights. The events are held on a rotating basis in the gymnasiums of Wellington Secondary, Georgia Avenue Elementary, Brechin Elementary, and Fairview Elementary, on Wednesday evenings between 5:30–7:30 p.m., from October until March 2027.

The City of Nanaimo’s governance and priorities committee has recommended adding traffic-calming measures near Fairview, Frank J Ney, Brechin, Park Avenue, Rutherford and syuw̓én̓ct elementary schools.

Proposed measures include raised crosswalks, speed humps, speed-reader boards and flashing crosswalk beacons.

Read the Nanaimo News Bulletin article here: Six elementary schools on Nanaimo’s list for speed-management measures | Nanaimo News Bulletin

Mark your calendar! Non-instructional (Pro-D) days (school is not in session) for the 2026-2027 school year:

• Monday, October 26
• Monday, November 30
• Friday, February 12
• Monday, April 26
• Friday, May 21

Presentations were given by:

• Assistant Superintendents Jacquie Poulin and Darcy Hoff provided an overview of school start-up and an update on summer programs.
• Director of Instruction Kerri Steel presented the 2027-2027 Accessibility Committee Workplan.
• And Mark Walsh presented the Annual Vandalism Report.

View the meeting agenda.

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Are you looking for low to no-cost events and activities in Nanaimo and Ladysmith? Head over to our Community Connections webpage by clicking the button below. There you will find a variety of locally-based events, camps, and resources.

Head over to VIU October 24 for postsecondary info and free family fun!

VIU Fest is Saturday, Oct. 24, from 12–4 p.m.

Looking for some free fall fun? Do you have a child starting to think about university? If so, you don't miss the fourth annual VIU Fest.

VIU’s Nanaimo campus will have hands-on science displays, university pop-up classes, activities for kids, food and drinks, prizes and giveaways, $2 pumpkins (!) and some of the best views in town.

Future VIU students can also enter to win $10,000 in tuition and food credits. Application fees will be waived for anyone who wishes to apply to VIU that day.

Vote in the provincial election at VIU!

VIU's Nanaimo campus is also hosting a polling station in the Trades Discovery Centre (Building 108) that day. Vote in the provincial election, and stay for some festival fun!

To register for a pop-up class, visit: https://connect.viu.ca/pop-classes

For more info about the overall event, visit: https://connect.viu.ca/viu-fest

NLPS District News is produced by the NLPS communications team. We welcome your questions and feedback! You can reach us at communications@sd68.bc.ca