Dear families, 

I take great pride and joy in welcoming you back to the 2025-26 school year! I would like to extend a special welcome to all of the new families joining Harold Panabaker this year and welcome back all of our returning families as well! It is exciting to be part of a great learning community and our Harold Panabaker staff is looking forward to working with you and your children and supporting their academic, social and emotional growth. 

I hope your child will find Harold Panabaker a positive, safe, warm, supportive and caring place to learn and grow. 

To all Panthers, let’s make it a great year! Looking forward to seeing all our wonderful students on Tuesday, September 2. 

Sincerely,  

Shelly Li, Principal 

Here are a few things that we would like to communicate with you before we get started on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.  

First Day of School 

On the first day of school, students will meet in their homeroom classes at 9:15. Homeroom teachers will contact families on Thursday, August 28 to let students know their homeroom teacher’s name and classroom location. Teachers and administrators will have copies of class lists and be around the school and field to welcome students and help them find their classrooms. Staff have planned activities throughout the first week to connect with students and help them learn about the school community. We look forward to getting to know our students and supporting their transition into the new school year. 

School Hours: 

Monday to Thursday: 9:15 a.m. – 3:50 p.m. 

Friday: 9:15 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. 

All students will attend the first day of school. The first week will follow regular hours. There is no school on Monday, September 1 for Labour Day. 

Our Staff 

Administrative Team 

Principal: Ms. Shelly Li 

Assistant Principal: Ms. Megan Roach 

Administrative Assistant: Ms. Karen Weatherhead 

Bookkeeper: Ms. Linda Webster 

Teaching Team 

Humanities Team 

Ms. Kerry Dickson 

Mr. Bryan Doerksen 

Ms. Robyn Easton 

Ms. Cassandra Fenwick 

Mrs. Jenny Fischer  

Ms. Suzanne Hall 

Mrs. Carmen Hansen 

Ms. Sarah Hougen 

Mr. Peter Kohler 

Math/Science Team 

Ms. Shyla Bruvall 

Mr. Mark Feng 

Mr. Keegan Nickerson 

Ms. Brooklynne Pearson 

Ms. Lina Perez 

Mr. Steven Privat 

Mandarin Team 

Ms. Tess Han 

Ms. Ying Liu 

PhysEd Team 

Ms. Tammy Broks 

Mr. Will Stanley 

ALP  

Ms. Kailey Dowson 

Support Staff 

Educational Assistants: Ms. Baiba Korns, Ms. Naurin Pathan, and Ms. Patricia Sefel 

Library Assistant:  Ms. Cherise Belisle 

Chef: Mr. Aaron Molina 

Facility Operating Team 

Mr. Michael He, Mr. David Kim, Mr. Bryan Mydland  

School Supplies 

Grade 5 and 6 students are provided with most classroom supplies. They will also need: 

·         Backpack 

·         Lunch kit 

·         Pencil Case 

·         Binder (optional) 

Grades 7 to 9 students will need:  

·         Backpack  

·         Change for gym: t-shirt or long sleeved athletic top, shorts or pants, athletic shoes. School colours are black, grey and maroon. An online school store will be open during the school year for families wishing to purchase Panther clothing and gym strips (optional). 

·         Lock for locker room 

·         Basic Scientific Calculator (exponent and square root buttons are needed)   

·         Geometry set 

·         Ruler 

·         Binder  

·         Lined Paper 

·         Graph Paper 

·         Pencils, Pens, Erasers  

·         Pencil Crayons or Markers  

·         Pencil case  

·         Water bottle 

Parents dropping off and picking up student(s) for the Fall 

Parents, we need your assistance in keeping all our children safe. Please choose safety over convenience. It is not safe to drop children off in the staff parking lot or in the bus zone (directly in front of the school). Please drop off and pick up your child(ren) on the east side of Sackville Drive or along the school field. Having a plan identifying an area for the student(s) to be picked up further away from the building will support the distancing measures. 

Who is my child’s teacher? Please expect a special message from your child’s homeroom teacher on Thursday, August 28. 

Student Placement: A great deal of time and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2025-26 school year. Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. We have tried our best to balance classrooms academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. All of our staff work hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher. 

Best ways to stay informed. Please make sure to take advantage of all the communication channels that we offer. 

·         The Harold Panabaker website is full of great information and we encourage you to check the website often for news and updates. 

·         Make sure to check your email regularly!  We send the vast majority of our communications home via School Messenger. 

·         Please be sure to read our Week at a Glance.  All Harold Panabaker families will receive a weekly email; we urge you to read the newsletter.  This is our primary mode of communicating important announcements and event information to parents, and we appreciate you taking the time to "stay in the loop!” 

Student Lunch Options 

Lunch hours are from 12:38 to 1:16, Monday to Thursday. While we have an open campus policy, allowing Grade 7–9 students to purchase food from local businesses, we encourage students to remain on campus to participate in the various intramurals and clubs offered during lunchtime and to purchase lunch from our tuck shop. 

Our food services supervisor is a professional chef who prepares hot, nutritious, and delicious meals every day at a reasonable price. Monthly menus will be shared with families at the beginning of each month. We strongly recommend that students buy lunch from our tuck shop. New this year, snacks will be sold on Fridays. 

Grade 5–6 students will be supervised on campus during lunch hours.  

School Photos 

Our school photos are scheduled for Monday, September 8. Retakes are scheduled for October 15.