News Stories

Dear McMillan Families,

With the reopening of school to all students on January 10, there are a few things you should be aware of. This past week, teachers and the rest of our school staff were busy make adjustments to classrooms, and planning for some changes to our routines that will hopefully help keep us all healthy and in attendance.

When school starts on Mondays, these are the changes you or your child might notice:

-where possible, student seating will be arranged in a forward facing, spaced manner

Happy New Year McMillan Families,

I hope everyone had a restful break, and enjoyed some quality time with close friends and family.

As most of you already may know, school reopening has been postponed from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 this year, in order to assess the impact of the omicron virus on our community, and make preparations that will help us slow down the spread of this virus within our school. Our goal is always to ensure that students and staff remain healthy, so that school can continue to operate as close to normal as possible.

I hope this letter finds you healthy, safe and in the company of loved ones. On Wednesday, Minister of Education Jennifer Whiteside and Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry held a joint news announcement regarding the delayed return to school for students for the remainder of the 2021/2022 school year. To allow schools to adapt to the impacts of the Omicron variant that is impacting our province, all K-12 students will return to school on Monday, January 10, 2022.

Today McMillan experienced a shelter in place protocol, due to a police incident that occured in the neighborhood. This can be a stressful for parents for sure, so there are a few things we want you to know about shelter in place  and why it happens.

Join us in a virtual assembly of remembrance.

At an in-camera meeting on November 2nd, the Abbotsford Board of Education deliberated on the implications of a potential proof of vaccine mandate for all K-12 staff. After careful consideration and discussion, and following the K-12 Sector Guidelines for Vaccination Policies document, the Abbotsford Board of Education has decided not to mandate proof of vaccination for staff.

Congratulations to all our cross country runners! These students worked hard during practice, and then showed up for two races in all kinds of weather! They all demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, cheering each other on and working to improve on past performances.

We would like to acknowledge the cross country team!

At the October 12th Board Meeting, the Abbotsford Board of Education passed a motion to direct staff to review and report on the implications of a vaccine mandate for all K-12 staff.

"We have been advised that the Ministry of Education has convened an advisory committee with partners in the sector to develop common principles, standards and guidelines," said Dr. Stan Petersen, Chair for the Abbotsford Board of Education. "This committee will support boards of education with their decision-making regarding the potential implementation of vaccine mandates."

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. To do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and for everyone's safety, all public meetings of the Abbotsford Board of Education will be closed to the public and held virtually until further notice. The meetings will also be live-streamed.

Although we were unable to host a "Meet the Teacher" event as we all would have loved too, by now you should have received a virtual introduction from your child's teacher(s). 

Please see the above movie for an introduction to all the staff at McMillan. We are all looking forward to getting to know you better, and having a terrific year together!