News Stories

Schools across the Abbotsford School District recognized the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year as part of the lunisolar calendar. Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other East and Southeast Asian communities in Canada and worldwide were celebrating the beginning of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Rabbit (or Cat in Vietnamese culture) which was officially recognized on January 22nd, 2023.

(Victoria, Ministry of Education and Child Care) - Empowering students and educators to identify and take action against racism and discrimination in British Columbia schools is the aim of a new provincial K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan launched on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.

When the music students from Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts travel down to New Orleans for the French Quarter Jazz Festival, they get noticed.

The jazz ensemble, Abby Flats, has taken part in the festival twice and will be heading there again in April, along with thousands of musicians and music lovers. Teacher and program directer Paul Luongo says the group is excited to make a return to the annual fete.

Last time they were there, before the pandemic, they were stopped on the street with people saying: “Hey, aren’t you that group from Abbotsford?”

The Abbotsford Board of Education regularly meets throughout the school year. Agendas and minutes from the public Board Meetings can be accessed through the District's Electronic School Board. Below is a summary of highlights from the meeting. 

Presentations

Robert Bateman Timberwolves – AA Varsity Provincial Champions

Students from Robert Bateman Secondary’s Boys Football Team share with the Board their exciting season after winning the AA provincial title early in December 2022.

Premier David Eby; Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives; and Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care, have released the following statement in honour of Black Excellence Day:

Today, we celebrate the many contributions of Black people and communities throughout our province.

After the passing of a beloved classmate earlier this year, grade 5 students at Terry Fox Elementary decided to develop a new leadership club to support the needs of their school, with a focus on fundraising and giving back to the community. With the help of their teachers, Amy Baker and Jeremy Wiebe, over half of the grade 5 students from Terry Fox Elementary formed the leadership club Terry’s Team.

This holiday season, students from Sandy Hill Elementary gave back to their community and became sponsors for the “Sponsor-a-Family” program through Archway Community Services and the Christmas Bureau. The initiative began mid-November, and for several weeks the school worked towards sponsoring families and seniors in need in Abbotsford over the Christmas season. With an original goal of sponsoring two families, the school quickly surpassed their target thanks to the generosity and donations from the Sandy Hill school community.

The Abbotsford Board of Education regularly meets throughout the school year. Agendas and minutes from the public Board Meetings can be accessed through the District's Electronic School Board. Below is a summary of highlights from the meeting. 

Presentations

ASIA Sumas Mountain: Jazz Ensemble

 A small cohort of students from The Abby Flats, the school’s big band and vocal jazz ensemble presented some holiday cheer to trustees for the last board meeting of 2022.

On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, flags at all Abbotsford schools and district sites are lowered at half-mast.

On this day, over 30 years ago, an act of violence shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. As we mourn the ones we lost and remember their lives, we reaffirm our commitment to creating workplaces and schools free from gender-based violence.

40-38 – for an entire year that score haunted players on the Robert Bateman Timberwolves senior varsity football team. On Dec. 4, 2021, Bateman lost by that score in overtime to the Carson Graham Eagles in the coastal championship game. That crushing loss was all the returning players thought about.

For quarterback Nolan Watrin, he looked at the score every single day. Watrin taped 40-38 to the ceiling above his bed. A day didn’t go by where when he went to bed or woke up, opened his eyes and spotted that score.